Chapter 5: A Bloody Brawl and A Train Ride

This is my longest one yet! ^_^ This is basically a fighting chapter, as all that really happens is a battle between Kenpachi and Arius and then the one between Death Eaters and Death Gods. I had a lot of fun writing this one, I hope you'll have just as much fun reading it.

Edit: I changed his Zanpakuto, as the previous one was unstructured and not at all suitable for him. And on that note, I also have in the works a story with Harry as an Arrancar, but don't expect it to come out for a while, I am working on this and others at the moment.

Also as a sidenote as I was editing I managed to make the fight even longer (and bloodier) than it was before. Please, enjoy.

The Unknown Captain: A Bloody Brawl and a Train Ride

"Well well well, what have we here, the Hero of Rukongai. I didn't think I'd see you for at least another hour. Not that it matters, for I, Kenpachi Zaraki, will finally know who is the strongest fighter," the huge captain of Squad 11 called with a malicious grin on his face. It appeared that the cry for help that Arius heard was just a trick as the issuer of the sound was currently scrambling out of the line of fire.

Arius's eye twitched, "So, you came all the way out here just to fight me?"

Kenpachi's grin widened, "Indeed."

At that moment, a shock of pink hair appeared over his shoulder, "Kenny wants to play!"

When he saw the vice-captain badge on her arm, he face-palmed. He had heard that the lieutenant of Squad 11 was childlike in appearance, but he didn't know it was meant literally. "Are they letting anyone into the Gotei 13 these days?" He brought his hand down and turned around in the same movement, "I categorically refuse."

Zaraki's grin faded, "What? Are you coward? Afraid to face a real warrior?"

He shook his head, "Nothing of the sort, I just have no need to fight you. It would be a waste of time and I already know what the outcome would be. No matter how strong you are, without Bankai you could never hope to beat me, and you don't even know your Zanpakuto's name. You aren't worth the effort."

Now the Captain of Squad 11's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Is that your final answer?"

"It is."

"Then so be it." With that the man charged forward and drew his blade in one movement and thrust it in the middle of Arius's back... or it would have if he hadn't shunpoed out of the way. As for all Kenpachi's strength, he had not quite focused on any discipline beyond his sword, relying on his brute strength and overwhelming Reiatsu to overpower his opponents. Not that it had failed all that often, mind you, but when one over-specializes, it can make them easy to counter.

Arius looked over at the man with a bored expression on his face, "Is that all? If so, I have other things to deal with."

And turned around only for Kenpachi to repeat the maneuver again.

As he reappeared to the man's right, Arius glanced at him with a resigned expression, "I take it you'll keep attacking me until we fight?" Under the man's intense gaze he found his answer, and, sighing in exasperation, conceded, "Very well, you want a fight, now you've got one. This shouldn't take too long."

The two Shinigami stood opposite each other in a large open space inside the Squad 11 barracks. How did they get there so fast? Well, they shunpoed, or at least Arius did. Zaraki ran and jumped the entire way, so he had to wait a little while for him to show up. The reason for the location? It was the only place properly outfitted for such an endeavor, and Arius didn't want any civilians to wander into the conflict zone unwittingly.

Yachiru, the pink menace ( or demon, as she was called by her fellow Shinigami), was the referee, although it didn't look like she ever intended to interfere as she had a bag of popcorn in her lap as well as a box of chocolate that the rest of the division was eyeing warily.

"Begin!" she cried happily, hand already reaching for kernels.

Zaraki drew his sword and charged at Arius, who lazily drew his own and caught the strike with his blade halfway out of its sheath. He shook his head, "You'll have to try harder than that." It was not quite as easy as he was trying to make it seem, as for all his own power, Zaraki's physical prowess dwarfed them, so holding off the blade while keeping a calm appearance was difficult, and he was failing if the slight narrowing of his eyes and the tensing of his left arm as he locked swords with his opponent.

Fight-for-brains smiled menacingly, "Oh, this is only the warm-up. Just wait until the real action begins."

The Squad Captain then proceeded to push harder and slowly began to cut through Arius's Zanpakuto.

Raising an eyebrow, Arius kicked out with his left leg only for it to be caught by Kenpachi's.

"You'll have to try harder to beat with such amateurish moves."

"Who said I was going to beat you with that? That was just a diversion."

And indeed it was, for while his opponent was occupied preventing his kick from following through, Arius had broken the stalemate and freed his blade. And while the sword was damaged by the cut Zaraki's blade made, it was still strong enough to go on for a little longer, although if it took any hits around that spot that would change quickly.

Drawing his sword fully from its sheath, he held it in a neutral stance as he paused for a moment, each taking in the other. The blade in question was a Jin Tachi, a samurai-styled sword with an interesting guard. It showed a dragon circling around the sheath, the dragon being blue in stark contrast to the gold of the rest of the guard. The blade was straight, unlike a curving katana, and the handle curved upward toward the bottom.

And so they began their fight again in earnest, all the while Yachiru cheering on Kenny happy that he had found a new playmate.

The two went back and forth for another half-hour before Arius tired of playing games. He had cuts covering his hands and face and rips all over his clothing. Kenpachi wasn't much better off, although he seemed to avoid taking anything that could hinder him in the long run, only a small scratch here and there and his Shihakushō, which covered a lot less than a standard one, had only taken minor damage, with a few rips here and there that could be mended easily.

Jumping away from Kenpachi, he looked at his opponent with shadows in his eyes, "It seems I can no longer just use my sword anymore." By this time a large group had gathered to see the fight between a captain and the supposed Hero of Rukongai. They leaned forward, hoping to get a glimpse of the Zanpakuto that no one had ever seen. Sure, there were rumors, but that was all as no one still alive (or at least existing) in the Soul Society had ever seen it firsthand.

Arius brought his sword up at a vertical angle before him and cried, "Burst forth from below, Shinkai no Gōon!"

The blade started to turn into water before their eyes, even the handle turned into the liquid. A Water-type Zanpakuto! The last one to have that type was Kaien Shiba! And indeed it was. But this one was far more devastating than the former Vice-captain of Squad 13.

The blade reforms, becoming a longsword with a blue blade and a silver edge along with a silver handle with blue accents along with a silver handguard and a silver wing-like crossguard (A/N: think Genesis' sword from Final Fantasy with a blue blade instead of red). Water gathered along the edge of the blade. When he felt there was enough, Arius brought the blade back and then threw it forward, calling out, "Mizu no Ha (Lit: Water Blade)!"

At that the gathered water leapt off the sword and flew towards Zaraki. Some of the bystanders laughed at the thought of a little water taking him down, although all laughter ceased when it turned into an elongated blade that charged him down at breakneck speeds. He was barely able to bring his blade up to block when he saw some of it break off and keep going, cutting across the face. He grinned, the fight was better than he had imagined. Now he just needed him to release his Bankai and he could see who was strongest fighter in the Seireitei. He didn't count Ichigo as he had already had his rematch and beat the snot out of him. And he refused to believe that Kurosaki lost the match on purpose (which everyone but him accepts as fact).

And it was then that Arius shunpoed across the field, blade held in an upward slashing position. Kenpachi, who was watching him, predicted his move, and swung his blade down, impacting with Zaraki's always released Zanpakuto, sending shock-waves outward that shook the stands around them. Ikkaku would have been foaming at the mouth if he was there. Of course, this would have been after getting out of the way as a couple benches collapsed.

They exchanged blows, neither making any headway, until Kenpachi finally got tired of the stalemate and removed his eye-patch, releasing his contained Reiatsu. He brought many in the stands to their knees, but Arius remained where he was, only a raised eyebrow to show he was paying attention, "Come on, Captain Zaraki, simply releasing more spiritual pressure isn't enough to impress me." Although the quantity of said pressure was mind-boggling considering his unwillingness to actually do anything with it beyond bursts of energy and bringing people to their knees. Oh and making his skin harder. Sure they were useful, but they weren't even the tip of the iceberg, or rather, not even the entirety of it.

And so, instead of answering with words, the giant of a man simply slashed his sword straight at Arius, creating a giant wave of energy many would have tried to avoid at all costs.

But Arius wasn't like others, oh no. For when he had died all his magic had been converted into Reiryoku, and he had had an impressive amount of magic when he died. And that wasn't even factoring in the extra boost he got from the soul shard that had tagged along as well, although it was sent to Hell in the end, seeing as it was part of the soul of a murderer.

He slashed the air before him and cried out, "Junsai!" (Lit: Water Shield) At which point a shield of dense water appears before him, which, while not stopping the attack, forced it to follow the barriers shape and went right went over it and blasted into the wall behind him. Although Arius did experience a great pressure on his ribs that he had not expected, eliciting a grunt that informed Kenpachi that his attack wasn't completely nullified.

But, with the limited success, Kenpachi decided to take a different approach, "So are you going to hide behind that shield all day or are you going to fight me like a man?"

Arius snorted, "This isn't a question of my masculinity, and besides, I don't need a shield to beat you, it was more of a test of sorts, seeing as I haven't really used these abilities in combat with anyone besides Gin."

At those words many wondered who he was referring to, seeing as the only Gin they knew of was dead by Aizen's hand, and he was sealed in the deepest level of their high-security prison.

The air around Arius began to grow heavy, as the man's emerald-green eyes shown with an otherworldly light, and he said, "I think it's time to end this little game. Bankai!"

Silence enveloped the arena. No one had expected him to have Bankai, well, no one except Zaraki, how he knew no one will ever know but that's not important right now. That he wasn't even a member of the Gotei 13 only spoke of phenomenal that feat was.

A roaring sound came to their ears as Arius became covered in a large amount of water, many clutching their ears and closing their eyes trying to shut out the pain that something that sounded close to Hyourinmaru but bigger blasting their eardrums.

When they looked again, Arius had gotten a wardrobe change.

He now sported a suit of armor that is coated with water emphasizing its element strongly. Two wings of water sprout out of the back as well, granting the ability of flight. The crowning piece is the four-horned helm on his head, proudly displaying which type of creature resided within his blade. His eyes glowing ominously beneath it.

With this, Zaraki grinned like a madman. He had initially thought that the guy's Bankai would be something more watery in nature, but this, well, this was right up his alley. He might not be overly fond of Hitsugaya's Zanpakuto, it not being melee-oriented, he respected the dragon residing within it, as they were creatures of pure power and power was one thing he could definitely respect.

With that the battle began again in earnest as Zaraki was eager to prove he could beat a Bankai even without having his own. He had done it before, but it had been a while, so he wanted to try his luck again.

Arius manipulated some water to create a copy of his Shikai, allowing for swordplay to continue. They exchanged blows at breakneck speeds, neither giving an inch. Nicks and gashes appeared along the gray-blue armor and cuts and scratches covered the upper torso of Kenpachi. although the damage on the armor was repairing itself while Zaraki's was not. After a half-hour of this, the dead Englishman decided to up the ante, gathering water in his throat and then releasing it, launching it at Kenpachi at lightning speed.

Zaraki launched an energy wave that cut through the water, causing it to break apart. The attack continued upwards and would have hit Arius if he had been there.

Up in the air, Arius concentrated his Reiatsu, covering his body with it (The Reiatsu has no defensive qualities in this state). After a sufficient amount has been gathered, he arched his body and thrust his arm forward, shouting "Jōshō Suirō!" (Lit: Rising Water Dragon), launching a huge dragon's head in the shape of Shinkai's head at the target, mouth opened wide. Upon impact, a semi-thick mist enshrouded his opponent and the area around for about 5 meters in each direction, making visibility difficult for him within, as any shape that would appear in the mist could be foe, or pieces of debris created in the aftermath of the technique. Those outside watching the mist found themselves unable to see within the mist due to its density.

The mist did not last long, however, as Kenpachi unleashed his Reiatsu and cleared it away, the power it held breaking down the structure of the watery mist.

Arius dove down and clashed swords with the hard-headed captain, making a crater upon impact, sending a small shockwave branching outward toward the stands once again, with more than 1 Shinigami puking due to vertigo.

When they retreated, Arius kept to the air. His wings began to glow briefly before they sliced forward launching two crescent-shaped strikes at his opponent.

Kenpachi laughed at this, and merely struck out with his blade, deflecting the blows.

It was after he had done this that he noticed that his opponent wasn't quite done yet. As Reiatsu gathered around him, he watched grimly as Kenpachi neutralized his attack. Then, thrusting out his blade multiple times, each time with the blade's tip pointing right at Zaraki, he called out, "Shinkai o Tenmetsu Burēdo." (Lit: Flashing Blades of Deep-Sea)

Nine copies of his blade appeared in front of Arius before they launched at the battle-monger, He tried to dodge them, remembering the blade that his Shikai sent at him, but they merely changed course, and soon enough the man was pinned to the wall of the enclosure, a sword pinning each hand and upper arm and 2 blades in each leg (1 for each thigh and calf) and the last one, while not sticking into a body part, was quite close to nicking his neck.

With all the blood that the man had lost, and with his apparent state of unconsciousness, Arius considered the match over. Although he did find the grin on the man's face slightly disturbing. So, sealing his Zanpakuto, he sheathed it, bowing in respect to the head of the 11th Division.

"I hope this answers your question, captain." And with that last remark, he left, intent on returning to the slums, but it appeared that fate had other things in store for him. He had just passed by the Barracks for Squad 8 when he heard it's spokesperson for the day.

"I hope you weren't planning on leaving anytime soon, new Captain of Squad 11."

He quickly turned around, hand already on his sword's hilt, when he saw an old man wearing a Shihakusho with a coat on his back, quickly going over the people that were that old and were captains, Arius was quick to deduce that this was Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, captain of the First Division.

"And what the hell are you talking about?"

The old man chuckled, "I suppose you aren't familiar with the way that the captain of the Eleventh Division is chosen. In order for a new captain to be made, they must defeat the previous one and do it before several eyewitnesses. And you did it not only before most members of Squad 11, but several others as well. Congratulations, Arius Pelagios, you are now a captain of the Gotei 13."

Far away, in the place hidden from normal eyes, a group of Death Gods prepared to head off to their mission, which would take place at Hogwarts, as they were aware of a connection between it and Voldemort, or Tommy as Ichigo likes to call him.

Toshiro on the other hand was all to happy to call him Riddle-san, as it was one of the most common ways to address people in Japan, and would summarily drive the man to even greater heights of rage.

And so here they were, sitting in a compartment waiting for the train to leave Platform 9¾ while Ron Weasley moaned about Harry being a spoiled brat who couldn't die without finding a way to make himself better than him, sure he had worded it differently but whiners all carry the same tune. The trip to Hogwarts was sure to be interesting as there had been a tip-off that Death Eaters would attack the train, and also a rumor that they would have outside assistance. Needless to say, Ichigo was all too happy for the interruption and was anxiously tapping his foot waiting for their new enemies to appear.

Shortly after departing the station, Hermione appeared in the doorway to the crowded compartment, calling for Ron who was required to attend the Prefect meeting at the front of the train, much to the relief of everyone in the room who had gotten tired of his complaining.

As soon as they were gone, Renji looked over at the tiny captain and said, "So shortie, when do you think we'll be attacked?"

A tick mark appeared on Toshiro's forehead. It took both Ichigo and Matsumoto to calm him down, "You're lucky I can't kill you."

Renji snorted, "Yeah, lucky. Like you could anyway short-stuff."

This time, instead of going into a towering rage, the temperature simply dropped to 30 degrees Fahrenheit (A/N: sorry, I am not overly familiar with Celsius) and he said in an eerily calm voice, "You're right, but only because the paperwork isn't worth the effort."

Now it was the red-head's turn to have a tick mark on his forehead, "Why you!"

Ikkaku and Yumichika grabbed him holding in his seat, "Come on, Renji, you know what'll happen if you attack him."

With a huff he crossed his arms and glared at the window. Which turned out to be a good thing for right at that moment a large group of Death Eaters appeared and were getting ready to attack. A reason why they hadn't sensed them before was that apparently the intense concentration of magic on the train caused their soul pagers to not function properly, something that they hadn't expected, and so they had to wait until they got to Hogwarts to make them resistant to its effects on technology, something that had not taken all that long to learn, truth be told.

"Guys! We've got company!"

And so everyone left their gigai and soon the train itself and charged their opponents. Now, one thing to know about wizards and Shinigami is that, while they have magical abilities, there is a fail-safe in-case a Soul Reaper appears, and that is that there is a notice-me-not charm of sorts active on all Shinigami so even though they can be seen they won't because to the human eye they are invisible, mostly. Only those with special powers like Chad and Orihime can break through the charm's effects.

The Death Eaters were another story, however, as it seemed they weren't even effected by their presence, but the Hollows with them were, as they howled in rage and charged them with the dark wizards casting spells support.

Ichigo quickly brought up Zangetsu to block the spells because no released Zanpakuto can be destroyed by anything other than by another Shinigami or a human with special abilities different from that of magic. Of course that doesn't mean that he isn't affected either, as he was still pushed back by the force of the spells. Renji, seeing an opening, flew into the air and sliced the first Hollow's mask in half, destroying the hollow and sending it to Hueco Mundo.

With one Hollow down, only 4 remained, but that was still 4 too many as they were all bigger than the one Renji just killed.

The next smallest one was as tall as a two-story building and was ugly as hell. It had a metallic left arm ending in circle were five fingers were placed around it, presumably to make a drill if spun quickly. its right arm was what appeared to be a giant whip that ended in a hook. Beyond that it was exactly what a Hollow normally looks like.

Ichigo dashed forward and swung his blade at the monstrosity, but it was a wasted effort as the Hollow was quick to bring up its left arm and block the attack.

It then brought forward its right arm and brought it down at lightning speeds at him intent on burying the hook in Ichigo's back when Ikkaku appeared and cut the hook off, earning a cry of anguish and outrage from his opponent. And it was at that time that one of the remaining three decided to join in the fun, and brought its clawed arm down upon Ikkaku, only to find him missing and then its mask disintegrated as the Third Seat of Squad 11 cut it in half.

Ichigo, capitalizing on his friends success, then leapt up and brought his sword slamming down on the smaller Hollow, slicing through the metal appendage and destroying the mask in the process.

While Ichigo and Ikkaku were dealing with the first two, and the Death Eaters preoccupied with Toshiro, Yumichika and Rangiku, Rukia and Renji dealt with the smaller Hollows.

When the Hollow charged, Rukia released her Zanpakuto, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

The blade turned white and a ribbon extended from the end.

She held the blade upside down and cries, "First Dance,Tsukishiro." The blade glowed and then she made a slashing motion when her target is in position. She then drew a circle with the tip of Sode no Shirayuki, the space within that circle and anything inside freezes. The circle not only freezes the ground but everything within the circle's influence including anything above it up in the air, creating an extending pillar of light that then freezes everything within in the circle.

The Hollow shrieked as its body was frozen, and upon being frozen solid, shattered, and was destroyed in the process.

Renji meanwhile faced down a slight-smaller Hollow that appeared to have the most gruesome features. Its right arm featured what appeared to be a giant axe, and its left held a halberd. Although where it got a weapon of that size will remain unknown. Its front was littered with faces, presumably of the souls it had consumed.

So, holding his sword before him, he ran his hand down its length and cried, "Howl, Zabimaru!"

The blade turned into its extendable form and he was quick to throw it at the giant hollow who tried to avoid it but was torn to shreds by the now-serrated blade.

With the Hollows defeated all that was left were the Death Eaters, and the three facing them had no trouble defeating them as they didn't have any way to block swords short of grabbing something and throwing it at them to slow them down. It was later discovered that Rabastan Lestrange was among the number of dead Death Eaters and Neville Longbottom was quite happy that one of the bastards who ruined his life got what he deserved. His body had been cut clean in two along with his head separated from his neck.

With the threat neutralized, the Shinigami got back on the train that had stopped because one of the student DE had threatened the driver. Of course Hermione, Neville, and a couple other former DA members were quick to take him down after Hermione saw the Death Eaters outside and organized a resistance.

With the Hogwarts Express safe again, the trip to the school resumed. But new dangers awaited the Soul Reapers and their allies. For while they had defeated the threat outside, one person had watched the entire thing and alerted his master to the new development. Things were going to be getting very interesting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Words to know:

Shinkai no Gōon: Roar of Deep-Sea

Okina Ageshio: Great Rising Tide

Mizu no Ha: Water Blade

Junsai: Water Shield

Jōshō Suirō: Rising Water Dragon

Shinkai o Tenmetsu Burēdo: Flashing Blades of Deep-Sea

I still haven't gone into everything Arius can do with that blade of his. That's right folks, he has a few more tricks up his sleeve.

Thanks for reading! ^_^