Chapter One: Predation
The amber glow of sunset filters through the trees, illuminating the hulking figure of eleventh squad captain Zaraki Kenpachi resting on the wooden steps of his bunk house. The warmth of the day is giving way to the cool taste of evening air; a slight breeze dancing through the captains jagged locks carries the sound of tinkling bells with it. The newly allied ryoka are due to leave tomorrow at sunrise, having completed their mission to save the life of Kuchiki Rukia. Leaving with them will be Ichigo Kurosaki, the young Shinigami that handed Kenpachi his first real taste of defeat; and it is bittersweet.
The captain reclines back on his elbows, brow furrowed; his mind obsessively recalling the metallic scream of sword against sword, the savagery of each blow, the euphoric thrill of an opponent finally withstanding the full raw force of his monstrous reiatsu. The memory of the determined fire in those brown eyes, framed by streams of crimson, stirs something carnal within him. His train of thought is interrupted as he notices a presence; a small figure joins him where he sits.
"Ichii is leaving tomorrow, Ken-chan." His little lieutenant chirps happily, her legs swinging from the step where she perches. Without moving his gaze from the skyline, he half smiles; appreciating her way of knowing when there's something on his mind. "You should go and see him before he goes!" she suggests. He considers for a moment, something within him tugging insistently at the thought. With his fingers lazily toying with the hilt of his zanpakuto, his tongue absentmindedly wets his chapped lips. "yeah, maybe I will."
Moonlight bathes the streets of soul society, and with the drunkards of the evening long since asleep the place is eerily quiet. Ichigo heads nowhere in particular, lost in thought. In the aftermath of the conflict, he relishes a rare moment of solitude while his friends sleep. He finds himself unable to join them in rest, his mind too alive with activity.
Suddenly, a familiar reiatsu can be felt in his periphery, causing his breath to catch in his throat. Captain Zaraki, he thinks to himself. Swallowing hard and unwittingly quickening his steps, Ichigo scoldingly reminds himself that he's no longer an intruder. It's just a captain on night patrol, nothing out of the ordinary, he reasons. The Captain probably isn't the type to value a good night's rest. However, as the sinister reiatsu grows ever closer, he can't seem to suppress his growing anticipation.
Before he knows it, the presence is directly before him. He hurriedly scans the dark, his eyes nervously flitting from alley to rooftop where they fall upon the imposing silhouette of his pursuer. He readies himself.
The wind whistles in the eleventh squad captain's ears as he swiftly bounds over rooftops, his zanpakuto unsheathed in his grasp. The siren call of Ichigo's unrestrained reiatsu entices him like a moth to a flame. Never before has he found another's power to be so intoxicating. He yearns for more. In a matter of moments, he comes to a halt atop a tall building, sensing the substitute Shinigami beneath him. Peering down into the dimly lit alley below, he locks eyes with his prey; stood in waiting, a hand placed cautiously on the hilt of his weapon.
In an instant the captain is upon him, leaping from his rooftop perch to bring his sword down hard. Stumbling backward slightly, Ichigo forces zangetsu up against the blade, sending a shower of sparks into the night. A salacious grin spreads across Kenpachi's face, and in a burst of frenzied movements he swings his zanpakuto at the smaller man; each blow harsher than the next.
"Zaraki, what are you-" Ichigo is forced backwards by the impact of a forceful strike against his blade. The captain impatiently tightens his grip on his weapon, lunging forwards. "I have no reason to fight you!" Ichigo continues through gritted teeth, pushing against the attack. Unrelenting, the larger man continues his onslaught, hoarse laughter rising from his throat.
"You know that isn't true, Kurosaki!" he bellows, revelling in the ever-increasing aggression in his opponent's defence. An oppressive torrent of reiatsu suddenly bears down on the substitute Shinigami; the immense spirit pressure weighing down on his limbs. "Can't you feel it?" Kenpachi delights in the young man's strained expression. He raises his sword to deliver another blow as Ichigo tries in vain to create distance between them.
Despite himself, Ichigo feels his technique becoming increasingly more hostile as instinct takes over. For a moment he allows his composure to slip, his reiatsu forcefully pressing up against Kenpachi's. "Feel what?!" The irritation in his voice betrays his attempts to defuse the situation.
The welcome sensation of the younger man's reiatsu raging against his own only fuels the rising intensity behind his attacks. "The adrenaline" Their zanpakutos come to blows, setting the alley awash with sparks. "The unquenchable thirst for battle" Ichigo is thrown backward by the force of a sword strike. "The urge to dominate, to overpower." Kenpachi's tongue absentmindedly darts out to wet his lips.
The substitute Shinigami heatedly throws himself toward the larger man; the impact forcing his herculean form backward into the alley wall. With crossed swords, their eyes meet for a beat, and Ichigo tries to ignore the way the contact makes his insides churn. "I'm not like you, Zaraki." He snarls, irritated by the amused smile playing on the captain's upturned lips. "I fight to protect. I fight with purpose. You fight for your own selfish enjoyment." He shakes his head, stirring his auburn shock of hair. "I am nothing like you."
Wordlessly, Kenpachi delivers a swift and devastating kick to his opponent's abdomen, sending him hurtling backward into the opposite alley wall. A cloud of brick dust permeates the air as he lunges after him. Ichigo cries out in pain as a jagged blade tears into the flesh of his left arm, a steady stream of crimson flowing from the wound. With a smug grin, the sword is unceremoniously withdrawn, causing Ichigo's features to twist in agony. "Then fight to protect yourself, boy."
With the sudden rush of pain and adrenaline, a switch appears to have been flipped from within as Ichigo abruptly charges at the captain; striking wildly in retribution. "Damn it, you crazy bastard!" He snarls contemptuously. With each passing moment their exchange of blows becomes more urgent; and Kenpachi can't help but admire how hypnotic those brown eyes are when consumed by rage. The paving stones below are adorned with a vibrant crimson as attacks find their targets, tearing flesh asunder.
"Yes, Ichigo!" Kenpachi roars, his visible eye wild with anticipation as he feels the steel of the substitute Shinigami's blade slash his chest, savouring the euphoric high of the pain. "More!" His nameless zanpakuto comes down across the younger man's shoulder, tearing at the fabric of his shihakusho to reveal bloodied, ravaged skin. "Give me everything!"
With each biting wound Ichigo can feel himself weakening, his limbs increasingly heavy under the weight of the captain's ever escalating spirit pressure. Meeting his opponents feverish gaze, a morbid thrill runs though him as it dawns that both men may not walk away from this encounter. Despite the fact, he finds that he can't bring himself stop. He doesn't want to stop. Raising his weapon, with a forceful burst of reiatsu, he readily gives in to the captain's commands.
"Ban-kai!"
The alley is engulfed by a swirling miasma of obsidian; raw power radiating from the figure at the epicentre. The haze dissipates to reveal Ichigo swathed in black; his formerly cumbersome zanpakuto now resembling a sleek, ebony katana in his grasp. He aims his weapon at the visibly mesmerised shinigami. "It isn't too late to walk away, captain." A taunting tone to his voice.
Without a moment's hesitation Kenpachi is upon him, impatient to taste the full power of his Bankai for himself. With remarkable speed, Ichigo attacks from all angles, and the captain gratefully accepts the sting of his blade. With an overwhelming strike, his large form is once again forced against the brickwork, the younger man triumphantly leaning in against crossed swords to meet his near reverent gaze.
"So, this is the power of your Bankai." Kenpachi murmurs, his line of sight trailing appreciatively from the boys bloodied face downward; bringing his fingers up to probe the notches he had carved in the pale flesh just visible beneath the collarbone. He decidedly enjoys having inflicted his mark on the boy, an indulgent chill travelling through him at the thought of it scarring for all to see.
A prickling heat crawls up the younger man's neck beneath the captains increasingly lecherous stare, the unexpected touch reducing his mind momentarily to static.
Meeting Ichigo's eyes once more, Kenpachi brings a bloodied hand up to his face, a delirious expression adorning his weathered features. "And now" he hurriedly tears away his eye-patch, a colossal wave of reiatsu erupting from within. "The fun part!" He thunders, his restraint falling redundantly to the alley floor.
Blown backward by the shockwave, Ichigo's knees threaten to buckle beneath him under the weight of the crushing pressure. Stood less than a meter from the source, he can't help but wonder if this is how it feels to be too close to the sun. "Damn." Gathering his resolve, he rushes toward the advancing captain, their blades colliding with a metallic scream.
Kenpachi can barely think straight, captivated by the raw power of the younger man's reiatsu struggling against his own; giving just as much as he takes with every devastating impact of steel and flesh. With Ichigo distancing himself, preparing for the next blow, his eyes linger on the lean muscle of the boy's battered torso, the pale skin of his throat, the parting of his lips with each ragged breath. At last, rising desire overcomes him.
Raising his sword, Ichigo prepares to attack. "Getuga Tens-" calloused fingers clamp like a vice around his throat as he is roughly pinned to the alley wall. He chokes out a startled whine, a dangerous amount of force squeezing his airways. Before he can react his zanpakuto is ripped from his grasp, clattering to the ground in his distant periphery. A sickening wave of panic takes him over, replaced almost immediately by numb confusion as he feels a muscular thigh slide between his legs.
Marginally easing his grip on the younger man's throat, punctuated by a frantic, choking intake of breath, Kenpachi leans in; experimentally trailing his tongue across Ichigo's jawline. He is greeted by the taste of salt and the metallic tinge of blood. With his thigh forcing his captive's legs apart, he crudely begins to grind their pelvises together, huffing out a satisfied grunt at the long-awaited contact.
Lightheaded from asphyxiation and mind reeling in disbelief, Ichigo stares into the night; watching his spotted vision clear with each strained breath as he feels the warmth of the captain's breath against his skin. The spell is broken as he becomes aware of the growing hardness rutting up against him. "Kenpachi!" He rasps, his throat still firmly in the larger man's grip. He struggles against the oppressive weight, working desperately to free himself; the onslaught of Kenpachi's reiatsu overpowering even his Bankai in his current state of shock.
The captain hums appreciatively as his name leaves Ichigo's lips, pressing the length of his erection hard against his inner thigh.
The contact sends unwelcome jolts of pleasure down the younger man's spine. "why-" a strangled groan escapes him as teeth and tongue ravenously explore the sensitive underside of his jaw. "are you doing this?" He sputters, the heat of humiliation burning at the tips of his ears.
Trailing his tongue along the shell of the younger man's ear, Kenpachi savours each and every exquisite, shameful sound he is able to coax. The increasingly feeble shows of resistance only fuelling his hunger. "Because" He murmurs, tearing at the already tattered fabric of Ichigo's shihakusho to expose the remainder of his torso; kneading his thumb hard into the flesh of his inner thigh. "-I've wanted this" He continues hotly. "-Wanted you, since the moment I felt your strength". Rolling his hips hard against his captive's, a wicked grin spreads across his face as he feels a growing hardness against his own.
"It looks like I'm not the only one, Ichigo." he whispers darkly into his ear, toying with the sensitive skin of his earlobe.
End Chapter One.