Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Daydreams Come True ❯ Kenpachi Zaraki ( Chapter 24 )

Tite Kubo owns Bleach. I just borrowed the characters.

 

This chapter was going to feature another character, but I gave into temptation because it's fun and how could I resist my favourite Bleach character? And strangely it's logical to feature this character at this point and he was mentioned as a possibility in the last Author's Note. I must be slipping.

 

Beware: Coarse language. What else would you expect from:

 

Kenpachi Zaraki

 

Being Captain of the 11th Division was fun, on the whole. Fun when he was fighting, drinking, wasting time, sleeping or pestering one of his subordinates. Hell, even training was fun, especially if it offered a new opponent; but one part of the job was a pain in the arse. Bloody paperwork. He usually palmed off the work to someone else and it got done. Briefly he'd considered getting the kid captain to do it for him as he'd heard he finished it quickly, but a look at the 10th Division Captain and his Assistant Captain made him stop. Neither looked like they would be duped easily.

 

Even though he knew that being Captain was fun, it had become a little monotonous in recent years. No matter how often he demanded that Yamamoto let him patrol the human world more regularly, so he could kill a few Hollows to keep his hand in, the man refused and continued to divide the visits fairly amongst the fighting Divisions.

 

“My Division need it more. Come on Yamamoto, you know we're the best at fighting. Let's get those Hollows kissing their ars…existence goodbye,” he'd said, trying to appeal to the guy's sense. Like all previous attempts it fell on deaf ears.

 

“All Shinigami require the experience. I cannot be seen to favour any Division over another. I have explained this to you before,” the man sighed as he repeated something he'd told Zaraki many times.

 

“Yeah, that's what you always say,” but seeing there was no point in trying to get the man to see reason, Zaraki left. Talking to the Old Man when he was in that mood was a waste of sleeping time.

 

Every recent try had failed, but now, the fight had been brought to the Seireitei. It wasn't Hollows, curse it, but ryoka. It was only the arrival of this distraction that prevented him from removing the slur cast on him by Kuchiki. That man had no balls the way he refused to fight. Was he scared that he'd overpower him too easily? That would really get up the noble's nose. His obvious disdain for commoners amused Zaraki. Commoners? Ha! His precious sister, the one due for execution, was a commoner and so was his assistant captain. If the guy was so proud of his noble heritage why did he bother surrounding himself with commoners? Most of the Shinigami weren't noble, so why all this focus? The guy should concentrate on fighting, not some damn fool notion about blood and pride.

 

Pride was foolish and futile as his sister was being executed for crimes against the Seireitei. That must really grind against his bones, having a noble criminal in his family. To make it even more demeaning the execution would be in public which should bring even more shame. Damn he was pleased that he didn't care about those stupid things. Who gave a shit about other people's opinions? That would mean you'd have to care what they thought, or even care.

 

He'd fight Kuchiki one day, but first he'd settle up with Ichimaru. Devious bastard, getting him in the frame for upsetting Kuchiki and, just when it was getting interesting, he'd hauled Zaraki away. What the hell was the guy playing at? He'd suggested it, slyly mentioning the idea to Zaraki about the offer to the 8th Division Captain and then he carried on like that. It only reinforced his belief that he should never trust the squint eyed git, but at least he was slightly more fun to be around than some of the other joyless creeps who made up the Captains of the Divisions.

 

Aizen always presented as the perfect Captain and he had his little assistant captain fooled, but if he was such a great guy, so caring and thoughtful and such a great commander, why had he failed so badly with Renji Abarai? When he'd arrived in 11th Division, Abarai had been confused, bitter, angry and barely able to hold it together. He'd been one of the elite while he was at the Academy, one of the top three of his year. Then he'd been assigned to 5th Division and all that promise seemed to disappear. Why had Aizen chosen the girl to be his assistant captain when everyone knew she hated fighting? It felt wrong. He'd wasted the talent of one Shinigami and promoted the non-existent talent of another.

 

When asked if he agreed to Abarai's transfer, Zaraki had shrugged, not willing to commit. 11th Division should be the first choice, not somewhere to send the problems. If the guy liked to fight so much, why had he gone to such a wussy Division in the first place? Abarai should have been with the 11th from the beginning. Watching the man during his first training session, he saw that he had potential, but he'd been trained the wrong way, constantly trying to suppress his instincts. He'd move, then check himself and his control was all over the place. Sometimes he seemed to be fighting against his zanpaku-to rather than with it. Zaraki knew that feeling well. That's how he always felt when he fought, but he was different to all the others. He liked fighting on two fronts at once, made for more of a challenge.

 

He'd directed his third seat to take the guy in hand. Ikkaku Madarame was a good soldier, brave, fought well and he trusted him. He also had the time to train him, which Zaraki didn't. Captain's duties always seemed to interfere. Both Madarame and Abarai had struggled to survive their early years in Soul Society and neither of them had pretensions, well no more than any other Shinigami. It had worked; Abarai had finally managed to learn to fight properly and even to use a little kido, not that Madarame could teach him that. Zaraki had briefly toyed with the idea that Aizen had purposely screwed up the guy's technique for some reason. Why, he had no idea, but it meant he observed that Captain more closely than he would normally have done. Not that he had much time for it, but it was interesting all the same. It was hard to find any secrets, but he didn't trust the guy completely, not that he trusted any of the other Captains. They all had their own agenda's, their own plans.

 

Following through he'd even talked to Abarai about how he viewed his previous Captain on a few occasions. The first time had been shortly after he was reassigned. Even though Abarai voiced his respect for Aizen, Zaraki could tell there was a sadness that he had not measured up to his former Captain's expectations. As if Abarai had failed and been relegated to 11th Division as some form of punishment. Though he tried to hide it, that unexpressed belief made Zaraki furious. Didn't the fool understand anything? 11th Division was the elite fighting group, not second prize in a Shinigami contest.

 

Time passed and he talked to Abarai on a number of occasions. The respect for Aizen lingered, but as he regained his confidence and increased his abilities it was obvious

Abarai began to question if his former Captain had tried his best. Gradually his original veneration of the man was replaced. Madarame was closed mouthed about what he discussed with him, but it was obvious his attitude to the 5th Division Captain changed just slightly. When Abarai was promoted to 6th seat in 11th Division he noticed how well the 3rd, 5th and 6th seats worked together. They were the heart of his fighting force and he was almost grateful that Aizen had ignored the latent talent of the man. Either he was a fool or had another schedule that Zaraki didn't want to guess at.

 

The past didn't matter. The ryoka had come, Aizen was dead and there was the possibility of fighting new opponents. They'd have to be strong fighters if they were reckless enough to directly attack the Seireitei. He had to meet the strongest and fight whatever it was. The thought made his face set in a rictus of a grin. It had been too long since he'd faced this kind of challenge.

 

When Ichimaru had blandly stated that he had thought he killed the ryoka at the gate, Zaraki had to hide the smile. He'd taken the role of the chief questioner and knew that they man wanted to make him laugh, make all of them laugh or confuse them. As if the guy hadn't noticed the ryoka was still alive! Yeah, right. He hadn't believed him then, he didn't believe him now. That guy lied as easily as breathing. A useful skill but one Zaraki'd never managed to master. He'd never lie in front of Yachiru because she could tell the lie even before he finished uttering it. Not that he minded, but Yachiru respected him, did not hold him in such awe like Izuru, Hinamori and Hisagi held their captains. Hero worship was all to the good, if there was something to worship. He preferred seeing adjuncts who were a little removed and less constrained by their overwhelming adoration of their superiors. Most of the subordinates of those captains wouldn't even scratch an itch unless they were given permission. Bunch of useless suckers.

 

He'd always liked observing the more equal relationship between Hitsugaya and Matsumoto and Kyoraku and Ise. Respect was there, but they had the same sort of relationship that existed between him and Yachiru. Yachiru balanced him, reminding him that there was more to life than violence and she would let him know when he made a mistake, every time he made a mistake. At least she had a sense of humour unlike Ise and that made her reminders more bearable.

 

He'd guessed that Rangiku Matsumoto had a sense of humour as he'd often heard her joking with her friends and teasing her captain. Since first seeing her, he'd kept his eye on the 10th Division assistant captain. Now she'd broken up with Ichimaru, he was paying attention, covertly, wondering if she would be receptive to him. Her shape attracted him, and he liked women who weren't all hyped up about how important their work was, women who actually had an understanding of what was real and could laugh. She wasn't a pushover, sometimes surprisingly astute and she could fight. Other men might be interested in her, who wouldn't be interested, but he'd give her time to get over her heartbreak and then one day, maybe, he'd talk to her. Not that he lacked willing sexual partners, but he tired of them quickly and Yachiru didn't like most of them because they treated her like a child, looking no further than her child like exterior.

 

Yachiru had talked about Ran on some occasions, and he guessed from her comments that they were friends, not close, but friends. That would make it easier if he got involved with the woman. Ran looked like she knew her way around a man's body and would probably give as good as she got, but that was for later. He needed to concentrate on other matters now.

 

Madarame had told him in detail about his fight with the ryoka, Ichigo. It had amused him to come into 4th Division to see the 12th Division Captain trying to wring an answer out of his 3rd seat. Did the guy realise that 11th Division didn't care about death? Threatening his subordinate was yet another example of how stupid the guy was. Always carrying on about research and knew nothing about life. Another guy who was eyeballing his anal sphincter from the inside, while all the time claiming he was clever while Zaraki was stupid. The guy was a dill! Yachiru had made a comment about how he would look if his makeup smeared, making Zaraki and Madarame laugh. Then she suggested he probably wore the make-up to hide the fact that his face was so normal he could be mistaken for an accountant or something equally boring. It made him wonder how close she was to the truth.

 

After talking to Madarame, he knew where the strongest fighter was heading and he even had the reason for the invasion of the ryoka, not that it interested him very much. What motivated the kids to come here wasn't important. What was important was the fight ahead.

 

After he found the best vantage point he waited; waited all night, his senses alert, barely resting his eyes as he waited. The fight better be worth the wait otherwise he'd be very disappointed. Yachiru was animated about the coming skirmish and chattered breathlessly.

 

“Ken-chan, do you think I can fight him too?”

 

“No.”

 

“He hurt Pinball Head pretty bad. He must be good,” she continued.

 

“Or lucky,” he replied. He didn't want to tell his assistant captain to shut up, but the thought was attractive. She got overexcited when she knew he was going to fight and might prattle on until his opponent arrived. This time he'd prepared for such a situation. “Here,” he said as he gave her a big bag of Konpeito. He kept the other one in reserve.

 

“Ken-chan! Thank you!” the pink haired girl said quickly before she started stuffing the sweets into her mouth. After she finished the bag, she cuddled up close to him.

 

“Wake me up if anything happens,” she told him before she fell asleep. “I don't want to miss out on anything good.”

 

He nodded, his eyes fixed on the street below, watching and waiting. For hours nothing happened, Yachiru slept occasionally stirring as she dreamt, and finally the sun slunk above the horizon. Hanging around like this was a new experience for him as opponents usually sought him out, he didn't have to hide and spend endless hours anticipating some problematic experience. He was getting bored and impatient when movement on the stairs sent a thrill of anticipation through him and he consciously released his reiatsu. Let his foe know the sort of person he was going to face, so he could be warned and prepare.

 

Instead of one person he saw three figures, two wearing Shinigami uniforms. Madarame had told him that the guy he'd fought was wearing one, so who was the other person clad in black? Surely no real Shinigami would join forces with the enemy unless it was some sloth from 4th Division. Retsu didn't keep enough control on her people; she'd been around too long and gotten lax. Or it could be the influx of patients.

 

The 4th Division fool didn't worry him, nor did the other guy in the costume. What sort of costume was it? Whoever chose to dress like that had no taste or was as blind as Tosen, but he wasn't the guy who'd defeated Madarame. He watched them stagger when they encountered his spirit pressure and noticed that one seemed to be able to move more freely than the others. That was the one; the one he was waiting to fight. It was about time, he'd been getting fed up with waiting.

 

He allowed more of his reiatsu to flow, surrounding the guy, gauging him, testing his reactions and he watched him respond, glancing over his shoulder, looking to see his enemy. Finally he stopped and looked up, noticing Zaraki for the first time. Then Zaraki acknowledged his desire to kill, to fight and watched the guy clutch his chest at is he was stabbed. One thing was now clear; the guy could read reiatsu better than he thought he could. Maybe he would be a worthy adversary, or not. The only way to find out was to fight.

 

He met the orange haired ryoka, introduced himself and watched his eyes widen. Why was he surprised that Zaraki was there to fight him? Madarame had told him that he warned the boy that he would want to fight him, but he appeared gob-smacked. Maybe he was mentally deficient which probably explained a lot. Why would a bunch of ryoka go against the might of the Seireitei when they were obviously not prepared?

 

When the quivering collection of flesh and senses finally summoned enough courage to try to cut him, Zaraki almost bellowed with frustration. What a fucking disappointment! The twit couldn't even slice him when he gave him a free shot. He seemed scared and that was wrong. How could he fear fighting? He was used to people fearing him as he fought them, but it seemed weird that this guy was scared of fighting. He'd beaten Abarai and Madarame, so he had some skill but he was afraid. What was going on? How could a guy with his possible abilities be terrified of fighting? Or maybe he was frightened of Zaraki. That was the most logical reason. He'd seen some guys wet their pants when he faced up to them. They were never much of a challenge and he got bored fighting idiots who were scared of him and death. He didn't understand why anyone was scared of something that would happen to them all, eventually. Not that he planned on dying any time soon and from the way the kid was reacting to him, there was no threat here.

 

They traded a few blows and Zaraki began to lose hope of a good fight before the kid started running around, avoiding him. That wasn't fighting! Maybe he was playing a game or attempting to escape. Heaving a large and aggravated sigh, he humoured the guy, chasing him but becoming more uninterested and disenchanted by the moment. After all the anticipation this was proving to be less entertaining than a Captain's meeting.

 

He decided to wait; wait until the running noises ceased and then he would trace the invader. Chasing him would tire out the two of them and he wanted the boy to have some breath available while they were fighting. Finally the sound ceased and Zaraki made his way to the place Ichigo was waiting, looking dazed and confused. Amazingly the kid seemed to have developed a spine in the few minutes he'd remained still. He didn't bother to wonder why. Feeling the sweet kiss of the blade on his chest as his opponent's zanpaku-to managed to cut him he felt a pleasure over take him. Maybe the kid had potential; maybe this fight would be something to enjoy rather than something to endure.

 

At last he had the chance to attack but as he didn't want the fight to be over too soon, he held back. It irritated him as he couldn't remember the last time he had been able to fight without wondering if the foe would be able to cope and how long the battle could last. The zanpaku-to the kid was fighting with was too large to manage with one hand only. Momentarily he wondered if he'd studied kendo, but it seemed unlikely as he handled the blade differently to the way experienced kendo practitioners would attack.

 

After an exchange of blows, as he tested his foes reflexes, frustration crept in. Sure, Ichigo responded, seemed to pick up a few things, but then he became cocky, arrogant even. The fucker thought that he could win because Zaraki revealed that his zanpaku-to had no name and was not sealed. Didn't he understand from the explanation that the blade couldn't be sealed? He didn't even catch the hint about the eye patch. The kid was either slow, or distracted. It didn't matter which because after a short time he lost his resolve and it seemed so easy to destroy his blade and his life. Delivering the killing blow depressed him because it meant the fight was over too soon for him to get any benefit from the exercise.

 

When would he finally get a challenge worthy of his love of fighting? Despondent he turned from the dying ryoka to walk away. The few minutes had been fun, but ultimately unfulfilling. Was this the same person who had bested Madarame and Abarai? On the evidence it seemed unlikely and it made him wonder if there had been another force at work that permitted him to be victorious. From what he'd experienced, it seemed to be more likely that luck had influenced the outcome rather than skill.

 

Dragging the tip of his sword along the ground he walked away. He'd search for other ryoka, hoping that one of them would provide more of a challenge, a distraction from the other factors that littered his consciousness.

 

If that didn't work he'd have a drink, ignoring the Captain-Generals stupid orders. It had amused him when he'd heard that the kid Captain, Ran, and a few others had indulged themselves too freely, despite the warning. It was even funnier that Kyoraku had been sober, for him, during the evening and ended up playing nurse, chaperone and maid while they slept off the effects. He'd watched closely the day following, amused as he watched them try to keep their focus as yet another hangover cure failed. What did rules matter? They could be dead tomorrow and a drink tonight was just a momentary escape. No one had the right to forbid him to do anything!

 

Carrying his sword over his shoulder, he felt something change behind him. A newly awakened power that had been lying dormant surged and drew his attention, making him hope that this change would portend some fun for him. Turning he noticed the kid was now standing, a look of determination on his face that had not been there previously. Without a word, the battle started anew and this time was totally different. The person he was fighting was not the child who had wavered and almost cried when he'd been forced to clash blades. This was finally someone who was worthy of his attention and his time.

 

Giving himself over to the enjoyment of the fight, he found a grin was splitting his face as the speed of the contest increased. Now he had hardened his reiatsu and by some means increased it, the kid could cut him, and he returned blow for blow. The speed of each of them increased, thrusting, parrying and all the time he wanted to roar with laughter at how much this had exceeded his expectations. It was now he could understand how Abarai and Madarame had been beaten if they had encountered this type of offence. It was even more surprising that they had survived.

 

On a few occasions they spoke, trading insults, or in Zaraki's case actually expressing his pleasure in the fight. The words didn't matter, nor did anything else except the clash of the blades, the adrenalin running through his body and the continuing dance of the battle. Being forced back by a blow delivered by his foe was the biggest surprise. It had been too long before anyone had made him give any ground in a fight and he fought on, hoping that just this once he wouldn't have to restrain himself. While engaged he wondered why the kid seemed so reluctant to brawl, almost like he wanted to scrap but refused to accept that he loved it and wanted to continue fighting. After commenting about this to his foe, who gave his some nonsensical answer, he dismissed the concern, enjoying the play of the blades, the gush of the blood and the welcome pain of the wounds.

 

A few more minutes and he was laughing with pleasure. At last, someone who didn't break as he attacked them. Still laughing, he removed his eye patch and felt his reiatsu surge around him, released after too long.

 

Ichigo didn't seem to understand what was going on and accused him of trickery, but why would he need to scam anyone after this time? From somewhere his enemy found more energy, but he could tell that within a short time the victor would be decided. At the beginning he had been certain that he would win, but now he was not so positive. The cuts and gashes were bleeding profusely, and the handle of his zanpaku-to had become slippery with blood, but that didn't matter. He wanted to spin the moments out, enjoy this rare event for as long as possible, but that wasn't to be. They were both failing and after his opponent fell, accepting defeat he knew he had been bested before he too collapsed into oblivion. It didn't matter; it had been worth the wait and the possible death. The only way to die was fighting, as befitted a warrior and the Captain of the 11th Division.

 

After a period of blankness he woke, noticing Yachiru bent over him, her eyes worried, but a smile removed the worry once she saw him open his eyes.

 

The fight, the defeat had shaken him enough to take a step he had sworn he would never adopt. He tried to talk to his zanpaku-to, even acknowledged his fault, but it didn't answer, or he couldn't hear it. If fighting was all, then winning was the logical purpose of any fight. Having never lost until now he had never felt the bitterness of defeat or the need to question his abilities. If the coming of the ryoka had affected him this much, what would be the other affects on the Seireitei? Would everything be changed?

 

Author's Note:

 

Anyone who has read Zanpaku-to? might notice that the Zaraki in this chapter is different. At this time he would be different, perhaps a little less introspective, but still aware that there were things going on that seemed wrong. Also he wasn't dealing with Atonomatsuri's spirit manifestation, who to be frank, is a difficult creature which ever way you cut her.

 

Those of you who have read the manga will notice how many exclamation marks are used when Zaraki speaks. After a brief but fierce struggle with my punctuation conscience I couldn't use that many.

 

I know the Zaraki/Matsumoto pairing is not original, but I like it. It makes more sense than Zaraki/Retsu and I think they seem more compatible.

 

So who will feature in the next chapter? Yamamoto? Yumichika? Yachiru? Yoruichi (not so soon). Unohana? Urahara? Ukitake? Kira? Kurotsuchi (either Nemu or Mayuri)? Kyoraku? Kuchiki (Rukia or Byakuya)? Komamura? Koutestu (either Isane or Kiyone)? Okay, I was playing with the names and the alphabet. Maybe someone whose name starts with some initial or other.

 

Thank you to Bastion and auronsgirl for the reviews.

 

Please review.

 

MS