Enemy of the King

Author: Spirit of Entropy

(Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone. I realize I haven't been saying that lately. Here it is: chapter 10.

Just a reminder, I highly suggest reading this story in "1/2" format. So please select the "1/2" option out of the "full 3/4 1/2" selection. Other than that, please enjoy the latest installment.)

Second Arc: Soul Society

Date Posted: 8/9/2010

Font Key:

Text

"Speaking"

Thought/emphasized words

Attack names/Hollow Speak/Ghostly Speak/Scene Break

(Sound effect) / (Other)

Reiryoku = Spiritual Energy

Reiatsu = Spiritual Pressure

Last Time:

Ichigo, Orihime, Sado, Uryu, and Rukia exit from the shortcut dimension, finally entering the Soul Society. It was midday already in this world.

They find themselves in the middle of a clearing in the woods. A small village could be seen down the hill. And on the furthest horizon, towards the center of Soul Society, was the Seireitei. Tall structures could be seen even from the incredible distance away. A dark smog seemed to hover over the base of the God corps.

Ichigo and the others looked upon it like predators stalking its prey. Their target was close and their desire to win grew.

"This is it. We may not have started the war with the shinigami, but we will finish it!"

Chapter 10: Rogue of the Rukongai

"The trip through the Dangai Precipice World wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Orihime realized once they were all safely out.

"Yea. It's a good thing that we didn't go through on the day that the Kototsu was purging it." – Uryu

"Can you imagine how bad it would have been for us? If we had trouble before even getting into Soul Society." – Sado

"Yeah, well it didn't happen so let's just move on." Ichigo told them as they made their way through the woods.

"So what do we do first?" Orihime asks.

"We need to create a base of operations. Sort of like a headquarters we can return to." Ichigo explains.

"Why do we need that?" – Rukia

"We won't be able to rescue the souls right away. It will take time to gather information and to find out everything we can about the enemy's weaknesses. So this mission will be divided up into smaller operations with achievable objectives. Together, each of these operations will eventually lead to the final goal. In between these operations, we would need a place we can return to and recuperate, recover, and plan out our next move. That is a base of operations." – Ichigo.

"So what type of place are we looking for?" – Uryu

"We need it to be well structured, it shouldn't stand out, and it would be great if it was hidden." – Ichigo

"Then I guess we should check with the locals." Sado confirmed as the group made it into the village.

The building architecture within the town resembled wooden structures of varying degree of detail and craftsmanship, all similar to Kyoto during the Edo period of Japan. The plus souls wore rag-like robes and old style clothing. Despite this humble lifestyle, the inhabitants looked relatively happy.

"Our appearance makes us stand out too much." – Ichigo

"I think we'll be okay for now. There aren't any shinigami here from what I can tell." – Uryu

You're the one who looks the most out of place. Sado thought with a sweat drop, referring to the Quincy's white clothes and cape.

"Hey you youngins' over there. Are you newcomers?" An old man called out to them.

They paused, unsure of whether or not they should respond. "Yes sir. We just arrived. Could you tell us a bit about where we are?" Rukia was able to ask kindly.

"Of course young lady. This is District 80 of North Rukongai, also known as the Zaraki district. We are the furthest away from Seireitei. Follow me, I'll show you around." The old man offered.

"This place used to be infested with crime and was generally referred to as the worst 'slum'. But being so far away from Seireitei has its own benefits." The old man indicated as he points out the smoke stacks and dark towers on the horizon.

"It's difficult for the shinigami's 'absolute rule' to reach here." – Old man

"'Absolute rule'? What do you mean?" - Orihime

"You kids must be really new here if you don't even know that much. The shinigami have a strict iron-fist way of controlling the masses in Soul Society. Freedom to live and to express yourself is hard to come by in the closer districts." – Old man

A group of children run by them, laughing happily.

"But places like this, which are furthest away from the central Seireitei are free to live beyond the oppression." – Old man

"So how bad is it in the interior?" – Uryu

The old man looks down to his feet for a moment. A bit of depression rises up. Dark memories from his time in the inner districts resurface.

"There isn't a word that exists that could describe the terror and horrors of the inner towns. The shinigami are ruthless. They take what they want, they control what they want, and they will kill you if you get in their way." – Old man

Ichigo and the others look shocked at just the mere description of the rule of the God corps. The shinigami may have done evil things in the human world, but Ichigo couldn't imagine just how strict they controlled the Soul Society.

"The people you see here are all 'refugees' from the inner districts. Life is simple here but as long as we can live freely, we are fine with what we have." The old man told them with a contented smile.

"Hey everyone, he's back!" a villager shouts in the streets.

Ichigo and the others see the townsfolk gathering together excitedly near the center of the village. Everyone was smiling in anticipation.

"Who's back?" - Orihime

"Come see for yourself. Our savior has returned." The old man told them with a wide grin.

The group gathers together with the crowd. They see a large caravan moving down the street towards them. A tall muscular man was at the head of the caravan. He had a wild expression and spiked hair, with bells on the end of each spike. He also wore an eye patch over his right eye.

"That's Zaraki Kenpachi, our savior. That name is given to the strongest warrior in the land. The shinigami in Seireitei call him the 'Rogue of the Rukongai'. Zaraki-sama is always fighting the God corps. Nobody knows why he does it, but every time he fights, he wins. And on his return, he brings back supplies and refugees." The old man explains as they see some poor-looking and malnourished plus souls resting in the carts of the caravan.

Without a word, the Rogue of the Rukongai leaves the caravan at the center of town and walks away from the crowd. The villagers cheer as they reap the most recent rewards from Zaraki's battle. The refugees were also put into immediate care.

This man might be able to help us. – Ichigo

"Do you know where we can talk to this guy?" Ichigo asks the old man.

"He lives in seclusion in a temple just outside the district." - Old man

"Thanks." Ichigo told him as the group was about to leave.

"I should warn you. He is a…'wild' spirit." The old man tells them finally.

"I wonder what he meant by that." Sado said aloud as the group left the town.

"Do you think he will help us?" – Orihime

"You know the old saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? Well if his enemy is the shinigami, then he should want to help us." Ichigo reasoned.

The light from the sun hanging in the sky turns orange. Its dusk now as the group approaches the isolated temple. They were amazed at the vast size of the compound. Tall concrete walls, about 3 meters high, surrounded an area of about 4000 square meters. An ornate archway structured the only entrance into the temple. The courtyard was vast and covered in a mixture of gravel and sand.

The temple itself was grand. An ancient structure composed of a combination of Corinthian pillars and roof tile design of the Sengoku era. The walls were decorated with paintings of a golden dragon.

Several torches were lit along the sole walkway up to the temple. Combined with the late dusk sunlight, they could see a silhouette behind the rice paper door at the top of the stairs. The shadow was seated on the wooden floor with his legs crossed in a meditative position. The figure looked like he was waiting for the group to approach.

Ichigo hesitates for a moment. "Ah screw it!" he shouts as he rips open the sliding door. Suddenly, a powerful spiritual energy erupts from within the dojo-like temple. The strong reiatsu forces the group to stumble backwards in alarm.

The beast known as Zaraki Kenpachi rises to his full height. Stepping out from the shadows of the dojo, his menacing grin is revealed in the torch light.

"What…what is this Reiryoku?" Ichigo struggles to breathe out.

"Oh. I don't usually get visitors. Unless you aren't here to visit me. You're here to challenge me! Great! I'm always in the mood for a fight!" Zaraki declares as he storms out of the temple.

"You! The guy that looks like a shinigami, I'll fight you first!" Kenpachi shouts as he rushes at Ichigo, blade raised high.

"W-wait!" Ichigo barely dodges in time. Gravel and small pebbles explode from the near miss. The sheer wind from the speed of the strike almost knocked Ichigo off his feet.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, and we're not here to fight you! My friends and I just want to ask for your help." The young man pleads.

"That's boring. In this world of battle, if you don't fight, you die. If you want to keep on living, you better learn that quickly!" Zaraki lunges again.

Ichigo had no choice but to unsheathe his zanpakuto and block the strike. A blowback of force shot out behind him, as the young man held back Zaraki's attack.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried out in worry as the others were about to jump in and help.

"All of you stay back!" Ichigo ordered. I need to try and reason with him.

"It wouldn't be fun if they interrupted our fight anyway." Zaraki grinned as he continued the assault.

"We share a common enemy. We came here to ask for your help in fighting the shinigami." - Ichigo

"Who said the shinigami was my enemy?" - Zaraki

"? !"

"I just love to fight. The thrill of battle is what makes me feel alive. I will fight anyone who is strong." Zaraki revealed shockingly.

"Then what about the villagers? They call you their savior." – Ichigo

"Some of them started following me around while I searched for strong opponents. And every time I beat a shinigami, they would take what they could and bring it back here. I don't really care much for material possessions, so I let them do what they wanted." Zaraki told them.

"So the 'savior' doesn't even realize he is helping people when he fights the shinigami." – Uryu

"I don't care about the pointless struggles between shinigami and pluses or Seireitei and Rukongai. If you're strong, I'll fight you. It's as simple as that." Zaraki shouts as he launches another large blast attack sending Ichigo crashing into the ground.

"But if you need incentive to fight, I guess I can tell you something. I figure you're looking for a place to stay hidden from the God corps. If you can beat me, I'll give you the perfect location." Zaraki told Ichigo as he indicates the temple.

"This compound is an ancient temple, designed for housing the strongest warrior of every generation. Its walls are made with powerful Spiritual Suppression Stone, to hide the Reiryoku from leaking out and being detected. The compound is also physically well hidden in the woods. I'd say it would be the perfect place for you. And all you have to do to get it is beat me." – Zaraki

"Tch. You should have just said so from the beginning." Ichigo smirked as he gripped Zangetsu tightly.

"Hahaha. Don't think it'll be so easy, boy!" - Zaraki

This guy is strong. I can't hold back anymore. Ichigo realized as he channeled energy into the tip of his zanpakuto.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo shouted as he launched a wave of energy that carved up the ground beneath it.

Zaraki faced the attack head on with a menacing grin. With a powerful roar, the Kenpachi beast deflects the attack into the air with his jagged sword.

"Haha! What a rush! This is a true battle!" Zaraki shouts.

Suddenly, a deathly gold reiatsu explodes out of the strongest warrior in Rukongai.

How can he have so much power left? – Ichigo

"His eye patch! It fell off!" Orihime pointed out.

"I found that thing during one of my 'raids'. It eats at my excess reiatsu, weakening me." Zaraki explained.

"Why would anyone want to do that?" – Uryu

"Because without it, most of my battles end too quickly! I'm the kind of guy that wants to enjoy a fight to the fullest. So I'll even limit myself in order to experience the thrill! But, I don't need it here! You seem like you can handle it, Ichigo! So don't disappoint me!" Zaraki exclaimed as he charged the young man at full power.

"Graaaah!" Zaraki grunts as he swings upward. An arc of golden reiatsu shoots out from the blade and races across the ground.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo launches his attack to counter.

"There's more where that came from!" Zaraki shouted as he swung down, launching another arc of spiritual energy.

This time Ichigo couldn't move out of the way and was hit with the full force of the attack. "Gaaah!" he shouts in pain as a wound gashes open on his shoulder.

"Ichigo!" Orihime shouts in worry.

Ichigo clutches his arm painfully as he thinks about his opponent's moves. This guy is all strength. There is no strategy or planning involved in any of his movements. I need to find a way to counter.

"Are you trying to come up with something? Ha! Stop thinking about fighting and just fight me!" Zaraki taunts as he swings down and then quickly back up again, creating a pincer-like wave of deadly energy.

Ichigo grips Zangetsu tightly as he tries to block the devastating attack. But it was useless. An explosion of Reiryoku erupted from the collision. A small crater formed, with Ichigo standing in the middle, his body covered in scorch marks.

If I continue like this, I might die. Ichigo thought to himself. But suddenly, an idea came to him.

"This whole time, I've been trying to figure out a strategy that I could use to beat you. I figured that if I could overturn someone of your power, with as little effort possible, then the rest of the shinigami would be easy pickings. But I couldn't come up with anything." Ichigo admitted.

Zaraki looked on with a raised eyebrow, curious at what his opponent had to offer now.

"This battle has been narrowed down to strength vs strength. So in order to win, I will have to go all out!" the young man shouts. Ichigo re-sheaths his zanpakuto on his back. He connects his two fists together in front of his body. Powerful spiritual energy courses through him.

The spectators see the shadows on the ground dance around erratically. Parts of the surrounding Earth become upturned.

"Open the gates to the Realm of Darkness. The absent void is all consuming. Bend to my will and defy destiny!" Ichigo's shinigami uniform was replaced with a long black cloak. His own shadow arose from the ground and encased him in a transparent dark aura. An ancient form of writing appeared on his arms in black ink.

"This is my true strength: Gate to the Realm of Darkness. I won't hold back anything!" Ichigo resolved.

"Hahaha! You're very interesting boy! You finally decide to show me the true extent of your power!" – Zaraki

Kenpachi holds his sword out to his side. An explosion of deathly gold reiatsu nearly consumes the field, as the black shadowy reiatsu from Ichigo's Elemental Realm holds it back.

"Hraaaaaahh!" Zaraki powers up his Reiryoku. The spiritual energy takes the form of a yellow skull that grows in size.

The writing on Ichigo's arms levitates off and form cuffs around his wrists. The painted tattoos circle around, accelerating as Ichigo powers up. Black fire ignites in Ichigo's fists, reaching up his arms.

"Seal of Darkness: Dragon's Roar!" Ichigo chants as he unsheathes Zangetsu in a quick-draw motion. The black fire in his arms channels into the sword and explodes out the end. Ichigo's spiritual energy combined with that of the Elemental Realm, takes the form of a large serpent Dragon with black scales and red eyes. The terrifying monstrous attack charges forward.

Zaraki looks on with excitement as he channels everything into his blade and swings with all his might. The two attacks collide in an enormous display of Reiryoku and power. Rubble, wind, and reiatsu sparks scatter outwards from the center.

The dust clears to show Ichigo and Zaraki lying still at the bottom of a massive crater, unmoving.

"Ichigo!" Orihime runs over and checks on him. The others were frozen in shock at the ferocity of the battle.

Are they monsters? Rukia thought with awe and a hint of fear.

"I'm okay…Orihime." Ichigo struggles to breathe out. His voice relieved her a bit as she started to heal his injuries.

The shinigami from Karakura struggles to sit up, just as Zaraki does the same. In that last moment, Ichigo could understand Zaraki's will: the desire to fight, the need to find an opponent worthy of challenging him. Even though Ichigo didn't feel the same desire, he was able to understand Zaraki just by crossing swords with him.

Words weren't needed.

"Orihime, heal him too when you can." Ichigo told her.

"That was the best fight I've ever had! Haha. I'll help you all." – Zaraki

"Why? !" the others ask in surprise, but Ichigo already knew the reason.

"Strong people like us are born to fight. We are instinctively drawn to battles, whether we know it or not. You want to fight the shinigami for a just cause or noble reason. I'm not as sane as to agree with that. I haven't had sanity in so long. But I'll help you just because I believe you will attract a lot of strong opponents. And I want to be there to fight too." Zaraki resolved.

A new ally has joined the Protectors from Karakura. His unyielding will for battle matches his desire for powerful enemies. Will it help the Protectors or lead to their downfall?

End Chapter 10

(Author's Note: Sorry this came out so late in the day. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will begin the Protector's first operation. Thanks for taking time to read this, and I'll see you all in two days.

Now for some other stuff. Sorry no omake this time. I couldn't think of one.)

Spirit of Entropy's Encyclopedia:

Zaraki Kenpachi – the strongest warrior in all of the Rukongai. He enjoys fighting strong opponents more than anything. Throughout his battles against the shinigami, he has earned the nickname 'Rogue of the Rukongai.' His past is shrouded in mystery, but as he joins the Protectors in their struggle against the God corps, Zaraki's background will slowly reveal itself.

Quote from a Future Chapter:

"The Earth fragment is the easiest to find, but it might also be the hardest one to obtain."

Next Time:

Chapter 11: Maggot's Nest