In fact, I DO own Bleach and Persona 4. Muahahahahaha!

*Looks up from the computer to see an army of lawyers*

Uh, never mind.

Chapter 8

Dance with the Devil

"Gotcha, Kan-Kan!"

Kanji jumped and turned, his sewing supplies falling out of his hands, and saw Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi looking up at him.

"Uh, Lieutenant, what are you doing here?"

Her smile beamed. "I came to see why you were sneaking around, Kan-Kan. So, whatcha doing?"

Kanji looked around nervously. "Um, I'm not doing anything Lieutenant."

Yachiru laughed. "You can't fool me, Kan-Kan. I wonder if Kenny should know about this?"

Kanji shuddered at the thought of Captain Zaraki learning his secret. "Look, Lieutenant. If I make you a special doll, will you stay quiet?"

Yachiru seemed to be deep in thought. Then she beamed. "Okay, Kan-Kan. You can make me a Kenny doll."

Kanji let out a deep breath. "It's a deal."

Chie sat on a hill, letting the breeze wave over her.

"That you, Chie?"

She looked behind her to see Kanji walking up to her. "Hey Kanji. How's it going?"

Kanji shrugged and dropped down next to her. "Still feels weird not seeing each other every day, especially Senpai."

Chie sighed and shook her head. "You know, you can just call him Souji like the rest of us. He's not your Senpai anymore."

Kanji just shrugged and laid down. "Call it a habit. So how are you doing?"

Chie laughed. "Captain Hitsugaya's been having me help with the paperwork that Lieutenant Matsumoto won't do. She's better at dodging work than Yosuke."

Kanji laughed too, than stopped as a wave of pressure ran over them. He swallowed, and got up slowly.

"What was that?" Chie asked, looking around.

The slowly drawing fear on Kanji's face had her nervous. "Kanji, what is that?"

There was another push, and they both turned around slowly.

"Captain Zaraki," Kanji said, fear in his voice.

Zaraki loomed over them, his eye narrowed and something small in his hand.

Kanji swallowed. "Can I help you with something, Captain?" he said, his voice small.

Zaraki slowly raised his hand, showing them what he was holding. It was a doll, in the rough form of Zaraki himself. "I found Yachiru playing with this, and she told me you made it for her. Would you care to explain to me why you made her a doll?"

"Bec...because that's my hobby," Kanji managed to say.

Zaraki put a finger in his ear, like he hadn't heard clearly. "You make dolls?"

Kanji couldn't speak, and simply nodded.

"You actually thought you could be in my squad, and make dolls?" Zaraki said, his voice getting deeper.

Kanji mumbled something unintelligible.

Zaraki grabbed Kanji's shirt, and pulled him close. "Care to say that louder?"

Kanji forced his head to face Zaraki. "I said, yes sir."

Zaraki dropped Kanji, and put a hand on his sword. "Then prove it to me." He slowly drew his battered-looking blade. "Show me how tough you are."

Kanji numbly drew his zanpakuto, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He saw Chie next to him, her zanpakuto drawn as well. "What are you doing?"

Chie swallowed and faced Zaraki. "If I may, Captain Zaraki. Someone of your power against Kanji alone is hardly fair. I want to fight with him against you, sir."

Zaraki just shrugged, unconcerned. "If that's how you want it." Then he charged foreword, slammed his sword into hers, sending her down the hill. Then he swung at Kanji, who barely blocked, and was pushed back

Kanji shook his head from the force, and moved his blade along his arm. "Impact, Rokuten Maou." His sword expanded to his shield, and he braced behind it.

Zaraki took a step forward, then whirled and brought up his sword as Chie swung at him. "Not bad, but you have to do better than that." He shoved her off, and she landed next to Kanji.

"You do know we can't beat Captain Zaraki," Kanji said.

Chie got the same look on her face that she had when battling Shadows. "Maybe not, but we can give him one hell of a fight." She grabbed her sword by the hilt and blade, and raised it in front of her.

"Pummel, Suzuka Gongen!"

Then she brought her sword down, breaking it over her legs. Then, the sword became energy, and flowed over her arms and legs. Then the energy solidified into armor, icy blue and covered in shards.

As she started bouncing on her feet, Zaraki's mouth split into an insane smile. "Excellent. Now this can be a bit more fun!"

Zaraki swung at Chie, only to find him blocked by Kanji. With him braced, Chie leapt on his shoulders, and kicked off, going for Zaraki.

"Smile at this!" she shouted, and slammed her fist into his face.

Then a hand grabbed her arm, and pulled it away. Zaraki was frowning. "Is that all you've got?"

"Hardly," Chie said, and spun, kicking Zaraki into the chest, making him step back. As she landed, she punched him twice in the stomach, followed by a kick in the waist.

Chie smirked, than her smile fell as Zaraki chuckled. "That tickled. Now, can we get serious?"

Then Kanji was behind him, and swung the edge of his shield at Zaraki's head. Without even looking, Zaraki grabbed the shield with his free hand.

"I'm just so disappointed with you two," Zaraki said, shaking his head. "With your powers, you should at least have given me a decent warmup."

He threw Kanji toward Chie. Chie cracked her knuckles. "Then I guess we need to show what we can really do." The air around Chie seemed to cool, and the shards on her zanpakuto extended.

Then Kanji noticed ice began to spread from Chie's feet. Then Chie shot forward, ice streaming from her feet, sliding on the ground. She struck a surprised Zaraki, leaving a scratch on his chest.

Zaraki looked down, then at Chie, his smile insane. "My turn." He brought up his sword, and brought it down.

"Chie!" Kanji shouted, and got in front of her, bringing up Rokuten Maou. Zaraki's zanpakuto hit the shield, and started to slice through it.

"If you're going to do something, Chie," Kanji said, struggling, "I suggest you do it now." Then he groaned as Zaraki's sword cut through half of his shield and went into his shoulder.

"Kanji!" Chie cried, then focused her reiatsu. "Alright, let's do this Suzuka Gongen." The ice on her right gauntlet lengthened, forming three sharp blades. "Fuyu Naiya."

She shot around, heading for Zaraki's right side, while his sword was still caught in Kanji's shield. "Take this!" But as the ice hit Zaraki, it shattered from the force of his reiatsu.

Zaraki pulled his sword back, grinning like a fool. "That was impressive. You actually tried to kill me with that attack." Then he looked at Kanji, who was holding his bleeding shoulder. "You got in front of her, and took a strike, ready to die. That's the kind of thinking I want in my squad."

"So...my 'hobby' isn't a problem?"

Zaraki shrugged. "Yumichika isn't exactly a manly man, and I still tolerate him. You shouldn't be a problem."

Kanji bowed as best he could with his injured shoulder. "Thank you captain." Then the world chimed and froze.

Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond.

It brings thee closer to the truth.

Thou shalt be empowered when fighting with allies of the Devil arcana.

Zaraki walked away, and Chie and Kanji resealed their zanpakutos. Chie put Kanji's uninjured arm over her shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you to Squad Four. Yukiko will heal you right up."

I want to thank Astrih Konnash for giving me the suggestion of having Kenpachi find a doll made by Kanji. It helped me expand the story some. Originally Kenpachi was simply going to fight Kanji to "take his measure" after Kanji had time to train and get stronger. So, if anyone else has any suggestions, let me know and I'll try and integrate them into the story.

Chie's zanpakuto is an ice type that uses her martial arts skills. It's not as large as Yoruichi's anti-hierro armor, but about the size of her Persona 4 weapons.

"Fuyu Naiya"-"Winter Diamond"

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