AN* And I have returned once again. Warning, this is a shorter chapter then usual, but I didn't want to go to far and wind up starting to touch on subjects that are better left for the next chapter. Anyways, thank you for all of the feedback that I have been getting and I am hoping for more, so leave your reviews at the end and enjoy the chapter.

Living Legacy

Cloud stepped forward again, the buster sword whistling through the desert like inner world as he brought it to bare against Ichigo who tried to block it with the katana only to find that the power behind the strike was so vast that it sent him skidding back and stopped him from even attempting to get a counter in as Cloud followed after with another lightning fast swing that Ichigo had the sense to dodge this time instead of blocking it as he tried to use the katana's smaller size to his advantage and strike in the gap. As the blade drew closer Cloud simply leaned back and his elbow shot out and into Ichigo's face, knocking him to the ground as Cloud brought the giant blade back around and slammed the flat of it into Ichigo's unguarded middle to send him flying to the edge of the cliff.

"Not nearly enough Ichigo." Cloud stated as the orange haired Shinigai stood "You've forgotten the lessons that Uruhara taught you."

"No I haven't." Ichigo protested as he prepared to strike again.

"Yes you have. Your strikes scream of fear." Cloud snorted in disdain as he moved first, entering Ichigo's zone and slamming the guard into Ichigo's shoulder to knock him down to his knees where Cloud kicked him in the side of his head, knocking him to the ground "Your entire being is one that screams of fear. You don't want to hurt your enemy, but you do not want to be hurt either. You do not have the mind of a warrior, let alone a SOLDIER." Raising the buster sword up he gripped the weapon with both hands now "You cannot win with fear owning your heart. You can only win with sheer determination." The sword descended in a flicker of movement and Ichigo reacted before he knew what he was doing, moving to the side and and using the katana to knock the buster sword off track enough to avoid the hit.

Ichigo's eyes gleamed blue as he swung the smaller blade and blinked as he realized that Cloud had let go of the buster sword and had grabbed his arm before he could even touch him. A flicker of amusement appeared in the blond haired man's gaze as he held him in place with a single hand.

"Is that all?" he asked quietly.

"Not even close!" Ichigo shouted as he slammed his forehead into Cloud, trying to daze the man, while using his left hand to grab the buster sword only to have Cloud's foot shoot out in a kick that knocked Ichigo back a step and made him release his grip on the larger blade.

"Cheeky. Thinking you could take what you have not earned." Cloud stated as the blade began to glow again "Until you are worthy, this blade would be utterly useless in your hands. Now, watch and learn Ichigo. I'll show you what it means to be SOLDIER. Blade Beam!" Bringing the buster sword down a wave of energy shot off towards Ichigo who leapt to the side and realized that the attack was far from finished as it split into two different attacks, and one was heading right for him too fast for him to dodge properly this time. The blast caught Ichigo in the side and sent him bouncing on the ground as Cloud moved to follow up the attack, swinging the buster sword up and then leaping into the air after it with Ichigo only managing to survive by having moved back half a step and the tip of the buster sword only just breaking the skin. Landing smoothly Cloud looked at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow as the orange haired youth gathered his resolve. Ichigo didn't rush forward blindly this time as something about Cloud's easy going stance told him that was exactly what he wanted Ichigo to do, instead he kept the blade ready as he moved with careful and deliberate steps towards Cloud who seemed to note the approach and moved to match.

"You keep saying Soldier. I'm not a soldier, I'm a shinigami." Ichigo remarked, trying to keep the zanpakuto distracted with conversation.

"SOLDIER. It's a title. A rank." Cloud replied "But you don't need to know about that yet. For the moment you need to prove your worth."

Ichigo only frowned as he struck, swinging the blade as quickly as he could and tried to keep Cloud on the defensive who only used the larger blade to block the strikes with ease as he stepped forward into Ichigo's zone and forced Ichigo to block the strike as Cloud pushed the edge closer and closer to Ichigo's neck.

"Is this all your resolve is capable of?" Cloud asked.

Ichigo didn't answer as once again his eyes flashed blue before staying the same hue as Cloud's own eyes as he began pushing back the buster sword. With a roar of anger Ichigo knocked the sword back and swung low at Cloud who jumped back and landed with a grin now on his face as he spun the blade over his head.

"Much better. Now let's really see if this can last. Meteorain!" As the spinning blade stopped Cloud leapt into the air and swung the blade, causing a shadow to fall over Ichigo who looked up to see six small meteors, each about the size of a car, falling towards him.

"What the hell?!" Ichigo shouted as he ran towards Cloud, seeing the shadows drawing closer and leaping into a forward roll he dodged the first impact and used the blast to move forward again to dodge the second and third, with four and five falling to the sides, boxing him in as the sixth one fell towards him. Reacting more then thinking Ichigo leapt up to meet it, swinging the small blade at the falling meteor. Cloud watched as the blade struck the meteor and send Ichigo crashing back to the ground but not without having revealed the strength of the blow as the meteor split in two and crashed to the sides of Ichigo. Standing slowly Ichigo looked ragged as he faced Cloud again who had again started spinning the blade.

"Interesting Ichigo. But you haven't won yet."

"I'm going to." Ichigo said as he charged forward "I'm not going to let you drop any more meteors on me!"

"I had no intention of doing that." Cloud replied with a grin as the blade stopped spinning "Finishing Touch!" Bringing the blade down to his right side in a two handed grip he swung the blade towards Ichigo and created a twister around the younger warrior who blinked in shock as the winds hit him and sent him airborne.

Ichigo initially panicked as he was pulled from the ground but quickly recovered as he spotted a few chunks of ground that had been ripped up along with the attack and landed on one. Keeping his balance on the twisting foothold he realized that while the twister itself was dangerous Cloud wasn't standing around and waiting for him as he saw the blond haired swordsman leaping up the debris as well and landing on Ichigo's piece swung the sword at him as Ichigo blocked the strike and taking a page out of Cloud's book slammed a kick home into his leg to knock him off balance, along with tipping the chunk of earth as well. Leaping off of the piece as it was ejected from the twister Ichigo landed on the next piece and swung his blade as Cloud had been hot on his heels, his smaller blade stoppind Cloud cold in midair but the man was not deterred as he used the remains of his forward momentum to flip over Ichigo and swung the flat of the buster sword at Ichigo, knocking him off the debris this time and sending him flying out of the twister. Ichigo's eyes were wide as he was heading for the ground in a collision that he knew would be fatal and he closed his eyes as he realized just what an idiot he had been.

"This is Cloud's real power. The power he was trying to teach me how to use properly but I just used him as a tool. Shinigami are supposed to work with their Zanpakuto. If I had worked with Cloud instead of letting my arrogance get the better of me I would have never been bested. I was a fool. I'm no better than Kenpachi who doesn't even know the name of his Zanpakuto." Ichigo mentally chastised himself as he saw Cloud leaping out after him, blade at the ready "I'm sorry. And if you can find it in yourself to forgive me, we'll do it right this time. I'll learn to trust you, learn who you really are."

Cloud grinned as he felt the flux of power shift and the weight in his hands become far less as he saw the Buster Sword appearing in Ichigo's hands, much to the young Shinigami's surprise as he turned in midair and stabbed the blade into the ground, using the massive weapon to slow his momentum as he skidded to a stop and saw Cloud landing without much effort as he spun the smaller blade in his hands.

"It would appear that you are worth a second chance." Cloud nodded.

"Thank you." Ichigo said.

"Don't thank me. This isn't charity." Cloud replied as he looked at Ichigo, and noted with a bit of interest that one of his eyes had remained blue instead of going back to his usual brown "What you felt here, that was only the beginning of what we can do together. And if we are to survive what is to come then you are going to need to learn much faster then you have been."

"What's to come?" Ichigo blinked.

"A discussion for another time. There is a man that is waiting for an ass kicking." Cloud grinned as Ichigo began to disappear from the inner world "Go, show Kenpachi what it means to be SOLDIER, my living legacy."


It had only been a split second as Kenpachi had started walking away that he felt the increase in power as Ichigo's reiatsu, doubling and redoubling itself as Ichigo slowly stood up once more, the wound sealing itself shut as Ichigo stood tall with Cloud Strife balanced across his shoulders. There was no warning, no posturing or bluster as Ichigo shot forward, swinging the massive blade in a downward arc that slashed through Kenpachi's left shoulder with ease. The man's eyes widened as he moved his own blade to stop the follow up attack as Ichigo brough his blade up in another strike and Kenpachi realized that Ichigo's strength was even greater then it was before as his own one handed grip wasn't enough to stop the rising blade as the blade went in an upward strike that slashed through his right shoulder this time and sent the captain skidding backwards.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to waste here. I'm going to finish this in one strike." Ichigo said as he prepared to rush Kenpachi and end the battle.

"Finish... In one strike? That's no good." Kenpachi remarked as he started to laugh "It's just starting to get interesting! Isn't it?!" Launching himself forward the captain continued "We should drag this out as long as we can!"

Ichigo's eyes widened at this as he thrust his blade forward and let it stab into the oncoming Kenpachi's face, who only kept going as the blade slashed open a wound along his cheekbone as he got into Ichigo's zone and brough his own blade up in a thrust that Ichigo only barely dodged as it inflicted a wound that mirrored the one on Kenpachi. The captain didn't relent however as he kept the onslaught coming and Ichigo kept inflicting wounds onto the man.

"I don't get it!" Kenpachi laughed as he took another slash "How did you revive yourself?! How did you get so strong! I don't get it at all! But that doesn't matter! Right now we should just enjoy this moment!"

"Ichigo, we can't afford to keep this up indefinetly. You may have gotten a great deal stronger but it is taking all of my concentration to keep that wound closed." Cloud warned "And no matter how much you cut him he won't go down. You need to aim for the vitals. Kill him if you must but we can't do this much longer."

"You're crazy! Ridiculously crazy! Do you like fighting that much? Are you not afraid of dying?!" Ichigo shouted as he disengaged again.

"I'm crazy?" Kenpachi asked with a grin "You're the one who's crazy! You're so strong, why don't you like to fight?! Enjoy it! Enjoy the carnage! Enjoy the pain! They're a small price to pay for the enjoyment of a battle!"

Ichigo could only stare in shock at those words as the battle resumed and Cloud spoke.

"He is an addict. He is addicted to the thrill of battle, the thrill of the moment when you life is on the line. That is why he fights, he seeks that high that can only be found in the moment when your life is no longer certain. It is why he limits himself, to extend the thrill of the fight." Cloud sighed "He is dangerous in a way that few people can be. He is naturally powerful, and addicted to the thrill of battle. We cannot afford to make any more mistakes Ichigo."

"I know." Ichigo nodded as he landed another blow.

Kenpachi and Ichigo continued for a few more moments, exchanging blows but Ichigo managing to avoid sustaining anymore injuries while Kenpachi took a nasty cut along his stomach and another to his right arm that removed the sleeve entirely.

"This is great." Kenpachi chuckled as he stared up at the sky after another brief exchange of blows "An equal match up. No... Only by a little... But you are definitely stronger!" Reaching up slowly Kenpachi began to remove the eyepatch that he wore over his right eye "How long has it been, since I last had this noble feeling... It seems that you are a worthy opponent! So I'll go all out on you from now on!" Kenpachi laughed as he removed the eyepatch entirely and his reiatsu spiked, creating a yellow pillar of power that rose up to the heavens and the pressure of it was a physical thing that pushed Ichigo back a bit.

"My god." Cloud said in shock at the display.

"Heh, that's a cheap trick you've saved until now. What's the secret of your right eye then?" Ichigo asked as he kept Cloud Strife in a ready position.

"Secret? My right eye? Ha. Why would I do such a stupid thing?" Kenpachi laughed as he turned the eyepatch to show Ichigo the five mouths and five eyes that were on the side that had been over his eye "This thing is a creation of the freaks in the Institute of Technlogical Research. It's an infinite energy sucking monster." Kenpachi then dropped the patch as he used his right hand to grap his zanpakuto that he had been holding with the left "With the energy that would normally be absorbed by this thing..." Kenpachi trailed off as he swung the blade at the building next to him, slicing through the entire building, causing it to topple "I'm going to use all of it to kill you. It's as simple as that."

"Heh. Do you hear that Ichigo? Not the bluster of the addict in front of you, really listen." Cloud chuckled as Ichigo closed his eyes and indeed hear what Cloud was talking about "The sound of his blade mourning. That wail, he is deaf to it, so lost in his own addiction. They don't trust each other, and because of that no matter how much power Kenpachi might personally wield it will always be weakened. He only believes in the strength that he has amassed himself. He will never understand what it means to be strong."

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded.

"Then are you ready?" Cloud asked.

"I am. I'll give you everything I have, if you'll do the same for me."

"That and then some. You are my living legacy Ichigo Kurosaki. It is time we show this man what that means." Cloud said as he gripped the hilt of the buster sword with Ichigo and poured all of the power that he could into him.

Ichigo's reiatsu rose to match that of Kenpachi's in turn, taking a bright blue appearance around him as Kenpachi's grin widened.

"Hah! You can increase your reiatsu even now! Interesting!"

"Of course I can. Cloud Strife and I fight together. I'm borrowing his power and together we are greater then alone." Ichigo replied as his eyes turned blue "I'll never lose to someone who only fights for himself."

"Cloud Strife? Is that the name of your zanpakuto? Borrowing your zanpakuto's powers, fighting side by side with your zanpakuto? That's bullshit." Kenpachi said with a scowl "Zanpakuto's are just tools of war! "Fighting side by side with a zanpakuto" is just the whining words of those to weak to fight by themselves! It's not something someone like YOU AND ME SHOULD SAY ICHIGO!" Kenpachi roared as his reiatsu became a massive wave, taking the image of a skull as it did so.

"This is it Ichigo. This is the final move. Don't hesitate, don't let fear rule you! End this now!" Cloud roared as he gave more power to Ichigo.

The reiatsu around Ichigo rose up a massive blue wave of it's own the skull of a Hollow appearing within it, tinted with alien sounding screams. The two rushed forward, meeting in the middle and their blows striking with enough power to decimate the surrounding buildings, leaving nothing but a crater that the two stood in, with Ichigo having Kenpachi's nameless blade stabbed through his chest while Cloud Strife was driven home into Kenpachi's right shoulder, much deeper then the pervious slash as the two stood locked in place. It was only a moment before the pair collapsed, with Kenpachi's blade breaking in two and tearing a terrible wound through Ichigo while Cloud Strife fell from the wound in a spray of blood.