I didn't realize that the last chapter had not been uploaded. Sorry about that. I've also noticed that my line breaks did not go into previous chapters and I also noticed a few "Kourri's" that didn't get changed out. When I have a chance I'll change those out.

It was two days later when one of the men that had gone out on the patrol came staggering into Captain Zaraki's office. The man was clutching his chest, hands bloody from trying to cover a wound.

Suzume grabbed one of the chairs and set it in front of the captain's desk and said, "I'll grab someone from the 4th." And quickly ran out of the office.

"Sit." Was the command that came from Zaraki and his subordinate did so. This was not the 20th seat, this was one of the unseated members that had been sent out. He didn't remember the guy's name. Runi maybe? It didn't matter. Once the man took the offered seat, Kenpachi fixed the man a glare and said, "Report."

Trembling, the man responded. He didn't sound like he was in a lot of pain, but there was something different about the man, the captain was certain. "We found the man we were looking for in the north 46th district. The man's spiritual pressure was immense. I think it was higher than even your's Captain Zaraki. I was ordered to stay hidden and report the outcome should the others fail, so I did. It was like he was cutting weeds, captain. It didn't matter how the men attacked, he just slashed and they were dead. Every time he cut someone, I could see the spiritual pressure from our men entering the guy's blade and then enter him. He just kept on getting stronger. Everyone else was dead and I was trying to move away so I could report back and he was suddenly there. I was able to get away, but he cut me and took some of my spiritual energy."

As he was finishing his tale, Suzume and one of the higher ranked members of the 4th squad entered the office.

"I've heard his report, you may take him to the 4th division." Kenpachi told the seated officer who nodded and helped the man back to his own division for proper care.

When they had left, Suzume turned to her captain and asked, "What happened to him?"

Kenpachi related what the man had told him and she took a pensive pose, finger tapping against her lips.

"What is it?"

"I think he was allowed to escape so he could report back." She replied slowly.

He nodded after a few moments. "That makes sense." It was his turn to look pensive. After a few moments he began staring at her zampakuto. "This sounds like it might be a good fight, but I wonder if we'll end up needing that sword of yours when all is said and done. I need to report to the old man about this. Go find Ikkaku and work on that second release of yours." He ordered.

She nodded and left him to find the 3rd seat. She found him and explained the situation. He quickly agreed to the training and they went to the training grounds to fight. By the end of the day, the spiritual pressure taken by her zampakuto stayed away for a half hour.

The next day when Suzume entered the captain's office to start on paperwork, her captain was already there with Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Yachiru. He was explaining to his other officers what had happened and what they needed to do. He looked up when Suzume entered and gave her a small smile. "We are all going out to find this guy. We won't be hiding that we're soul reapers this time. Go get packed and we'll meet at the north gate in ten minutes." She nodded and left to go pack.

Turning to Ikkaku he asked, "How long does her blades' effect last now?"

"About a half hour, Captain. Are you really going to use it's power in a fight?"

"No. But considering the amount of spiritual pressure he's stolen, this is actually a fight I don't know the outcome of."

They were on their way to the outer northern districts. Suzume had packed some field dressings just in case this got bad. They were in the 40th district when they felt the immense spiritual pressure. It was much higher than Zaraki's. His three subordinates looked at him in astonishment. He felt so far away but he felt so strong. Yachiru just looked ready to watch a good fight.

"What? So I have to take off my eye patch. No big deal." He said confidently. Inside, he was nervous. He could actually die if that guy is any good with his blade. His abilities would definitely be stretched and he'd have to make sure his own spiritual pressure stayed sharp. This would be fun. He put on his battle grin and removed his eye patch. Might as well let the guy know where he was. With Yachiru on his shoulder and his subordinates trailing behind him, he walked towards the feeling of spiritual pressure in the distance.

Suddenly, the spiritual pressure in the distance started moving towards them quickly. Yachiru quickly jumped off her adoptive father's shoulder after telling him to have fun. She grabbed Suzume's hand and said, "Quick, let's go get some good seats to watch Kenny's fight!"

Suzume looked to her captain and she saw him give a quick nod. He didn't want her in this fight if he could help it. They flash stepped to a higher roof top that had a good view of the area. They watched as Yumichika and Ikkaku leaned against a nearby building that would be out of the immediate area. They had no interest in getting in their captain's way during a fight. Only fools did that.

The man came into view. He was a tall and well-built man. He looked similar to Zaraki. He looked similar in that he looked like he came from the same area as Zaraki did. Beyond regional similarities, they looked nothing alike. The man was a blonde haired, blue eyed Viking of a man. The only thing he was missing was the beard and he might have been mistaken for one. His chest was bare and he sported a long slanting scar. It went from his right shoulder to his left hip.

"You told me to get stronger and come after you again, Zaraki. Did you get my messages?" He called out.

"I did. I told you to get stronger, not to steal strength from others. You're pitiful."

"Same thing. Are you ready to die, Zaraki?"

He smiled, "Not today. Did you get any sword skill with all that spiritual pressure?"

"Come and find out."

They came together with a clash and moved faster than anyone could really track. Kenpachi had the man on sword skill, but couldn't get through the blonde man's skin no matter how sharp he made his spiritual pressure. Even the eyes seemed covered in it.

"How does it feel not being able to even put a scratch on your opponent?"

"Just means it's a good fight!"

As he said that, the blonde man got through Kenpachi's defenses and cut him on the chest. It wasn't deep but immediately some of his spiritual pressure started to leak from him, into the sword and into the man in front of him.

"You are making me stronger, Zaraki." The man laughed wildly at this.

On the roof, Suzume quietly released her zampakuto and aimed at the blonde man. She had a good shot she could take. Yachiru quickly grabbed the end and pushed it down and shook her head, "If you do, he'll never forgive you. Don't interfere."

Suzume nodded and kept her blade in it's released state.

The battle raged on with the blonde man steadily gaining spiritual pressure from Kenpachi. It was sometime later the man had him on his back and was pulling back for a killing blow. Ikkaku and Yumichika ran to intercept and were both swept aside like so much kindling. The blows were severe and though they still lived, most of their spiritual pressure had been stolen. The man went back to the fallen captain.

Watching this all unfold, Suzume turned to Yachiru, "Go get Unuhana, now!" She hissed and without waiting to see if the small girl would obey, she flash stepped in front of the falling blade, catching it with her scythe, the bladed end pointing at the blonde man. Very quickly, she said the words, "Touch of death!" and before the man could react, the hands passed through him, taking some of his spiritual pressure with him. He staggered and she did it again hitting him before he knew it. He slapped her aside and she flew into the side of a building.

"The mouse wants to fight? This might be fun. I'll just replenish what I lost after I kill you." He roared.

Knowing that the effect would be lessened, she silently gave the command to send out the spectral hands over and over. A set of three popped out and raced towards him. Thinking he could just use his spiritual pressure to knock them away he pushed out with it. He was too surprised to even try to move or swing his blade when they just sped up. By now his spiritual pressure was much closer to her captain's when he took off his eye patch.

"You'll pay for that, mouse!" He growled as he charged her. He was so fast! But she was able to dodge at the last minute and get off another blast.

She used every trick she could think of to keep that blade of his away from her, but he managed to stab her a couple times. The thing was, she was also able to get off a couple blasts when he was that close. Her own spiritual energy was getting low and her blade was getting harder and harder to move. Help me! She called to her zampakuto's spirit. He doesn't have the sword skill, but he's just too strong for me, and I'm so tired. She could feel the reassuring presence of the spirit and the feel of his hands on the scythe. The blonde brute surged forward, thinking she was finished. Together, they swung the scythe and a line of red appeared on his neck and then he fell as blood started pumping from his ruined neck. The spirit still had his hands on the scythe and directed them to the sword the man was using. It looked so plain. He directed her to lift the blade and slam it down on the blade of the sword. It shattered and they watched as the spiritual pressure was released from the blade.

Suzume gasped as her own was returned to her and she could hear her captain and superior officers gasp as theirs was also returned.

She let her blade return to it's normal shape and sheathed it. She would have to give it a good cleaning later. Moving was difficult as she had given the fight everything she had. Yumichika was the closest. She went over to him and looked over his wound. It was across his chest and pretty deep. She looked around for his pack, found it, and rummaged through it, looking for any field dressings. He hadn't brought much either. She used what she could, even ripping the sleeve of his uniform off to use to help stem the flow of blood.

She moved over to Ikkaku and did the same. Their wounds were almost identical. The blonde brute had hit them with the same stroke of his sword. Last, she went to her captain. He was breathing, but wasn't conscious. Looking over his wounds, she could tell that the blonde man had been toying with him. She looked for Zaraki's pack and found it near a building. The only thing in it was the healing salve Captain Unuhana had given him for his birthday. She brought that over to him and then flash stepped to get her pack and bring it down from the roof. Yachiru was nowhere to be found, so that meant that she had obeyed Suzume.

As she came down from the roof, the people of the district who had been hiding during the fight began to come out of their houses. A healer came out and checked over the rough bandage job she had given the 3rd and 5th seats and directed the other villagers to move them to the inn. The older woman came over to Suzume and helped her with her captain's wounds and then dressed Suzume's wounds. When she felt it was safe to move the large man, she had some of the men come and take him to the same inn.

Suzume followed after. Seeing her staggering, the woman motioned to one of other men not helping to carry the captain and motioned him towards the girl. He nodded and scooped her in his arms and carried her to the inn as well. She protested at first but realized she really didn't have the strength and let him carry her. Sleep soon claimed her.

She awoke in a strange bed. She looked around getting her bearings. It wasn't the squad 4 hospital. Maybe it was an inn of some sort? She remembered being carried towards one. Her field dressings had been changed and she recognized Captain Unuhana's work. She was still in her uniform, so she got up and opened the door. Not seeing anyone, she walked down to the tavern area of the inn. Unuhana was there, sipping a cup of tea with her lieutenant and a couple of her other seated officers. Looks like squad 4 came in force! She thought to herself.

Unuhana turned and looked at Suzume and motioned her to a seat at the table. Suzume nodded and took the offered seat.

"I'm glad you're awake. Tell me what happened."

Suzume related everything and Unuhana nodded every now and then. When she finished, Unuhana gave her an appraising look.

"That is an impressive shikai. That you were able to defeat someone Captain Zaraki couldn't is a rare thing."

Suzume blushed, "He would have tossed me away like he did Ikkaku and Yumichika if it weren't for my zampakuto's ability." She looked up to the captain of the 4th squad. "I've never fought that well before. I don't understand." She shook her head.

The captain of squad 4 smiled kindly at her, "You have been training hard with your zampakuto, right?" When the girl nodded, she continued, "When you practice against friends and comrades, you really don't fight full out. If you did, my division would be packed with people with life threatening injuries. So, you hold back a little. You don't go for killing or maiming strikes. While you fight with friends, you don't have to use your instinct as much. You are developing it while you fight, but you don't use it to it's fullest extent either.

"When you fought that man, you were able to fight holding nothing back. Being around your captain, you've gotten used to large spiritual pressures, and the adrenaline during the fight helped you cope as well.

"From what you told me of the fight, it sounds like in sword skill, he would have ranked only a little higher then you, but as you kept on putting him off balance with that second release of yours, you were able to counter him. Not to mention, you've probably been training with Ikkaku, who is a very talented swordsman. That you were able to defeat him once his spiritual pressure had been greatly reduced doesn't surprise me. You are a member of the 11th division, after all."

Suzume smiled and nodded in understanding. "Where's Yachiru? I sent her to get you."

"It's good that you did. She's up with Captain Zaraki. I don't think he's regained consciousness yet. Ikkaku and Yumichika are doing well too. Nice field dressing, by the way." She said with a small smile. They both knew she was joking, but under the circumstances, it had really been the best she could do at the time.

"Can I go see him?" She didn't have to specify which him she was talking about. Unuhana nodded and directed one of her subordinates to show her to the room.

Before he opened the door for her, he admonished her to not wake him. She nodded her agreement and entered the room. His uniform top and captain's jacked had been removed and he was covered in bandages. Yachiru was sitting on the bed next to him and she looked up when the door opened.

"Unuhana said he was going to be ok. She made me leave his eye patch off so he could heal faster." Yachiru said, patting her adoptive father's hand. Suzume brought up a chair to sit next to her captain and Yachiru moved to sit in her lap. "Tell me about the fight. I didn't get to see any of it."

Suzume related what she remembered while she held on to the little girl. She reached out and grabbed her lover's hand and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles lovingly. He breathed deeply and opened his eyes a crack. He saw his women sitting together, gave a small smile and went back to sleep.

The next day they were all transferred back to the 4th squad. By then Ikkaku and Yumichika had regained consciousness, but Kenpachi had not. He traveled in the belly of Captain Unuhana's shikai, while the rest of them were able to travel on his back.

It was later that night when he gasped awake in the dark. He heard the familiar sounds of a cot squeaking as Suzume got up and sat at the edge of his hospital bed. He put his arm across her lap and held her close to his side. It hurt a little, but the pain was worth the contact.

"Tell me what happened." He commanded. His voice wasn't as strong as it normally was and she could hear his pain in it. She told him everything and he listened attentively, sometimes asking clarifying questions.

When she had finished her story, she asked him, "Who was he? He seemed to know you."

"When I was still traveling the outer districts with Yachiru, I came across him in the Zaraki district. He was looking for a fight and thought I would be easy meat with a little kid with me. By then I had stopped killing the men I fought. Yachiru had pointed out to me that if I kept on killing them, I would eventually run out of people to fight. We fought, but I found that he severely lacked in sword skill. He was just a hacker. Of course, that's saying something, coming from me. I probably wasn't much better back then. Of course, there was little reason for any real sword skill back then.

"At any rate, I gave him that scar to remember me by and told him to come after me when he got stronger. Hell, I don't even remember his name."

She rubbed his face lightly and he closed his eyes, enjoying the contact. "How are you feeling?"

"Still sore. I should be up and about by tomorrow." He mumbled into her hand, kissing it as it neared his lips.

"So soon?"

He opened an eye and looked at her, seeing the concern in her face, "I heal pretty quickly, remember. Besides, I'm The Kenpachi. I can't be lying about in a hospital bed for too long." He smiled as he spoke, bringing her hand back to his lips so he could kiss her fingertips.

"I'm glad you aren't mad at me for interfering in your fight."

"By the time you interfered, it wasn't a fight anymore. I'm upset that I couldn't beat him, but I'm proud of you for being able to do what I couldn't. Now no one will think I'm showing you favoritism when I raise you to the 10th seat."

"I almost didn't, you know. I really need to increase my stamina."

He nodded. "We can work on that. I can have you chase Yachiru around." He chuckled as he imagined the scene.

"You should get back to sleep, Love." She leaned down and gave a brief kiss and then got up. He could hear the cot being dragged over and it made him smile. It was much lower than his bed, but he dropped one of his arms over the side and felt her grab hold and snuggle into it. The position wasn't awkward and he soon fell back asleep.

In the morning, Suzume awoke to find that her lover was already awake and eating breakfast. His eye patch was back in place and he was wearing fewer bandages. She noticed that there wasn't any light foods like when she had been here. He saw her confusion and said, "Unuhana knows that if she tried to feed me a light meal in the hospital I'd raise hell. She doesn't use an IV on me unless I'm really badly injured, so I wake up very hungry." He quickly shoved a strip of bacon into his mouth. "Hurry up and eat or I'll assume you aren't hungry and eat it for you." He said around the food in his mouth, giving her a grin.

She laughed and sat next to him on the bed. She only ended up eating some eggs and a little bit of toast. She offered the rest to him and he happily ate it for her.

Shortly after they ate an orderly came in and checked his bandages. He ended up removing some more of them as the areas had already healed. "My captain said that you are free to leave whenever you wish to, Captain Zaraki. She has requested that your men stay for the rest of today and will be released tomorrow morning."

Captain Zaraki grunted and stood up. "No time like the present then." The orderly bowed and left, glad to leave the large captain's presence. Zaraki grabed his uniform top and captain's jacket and left to his division with Suzume happily walking next to him. She was amazed at the speed of his healing, but remembered that he had told her that he healed quickly that first "date" that they had had on his birthday.

Epilogue

The years went by and eventually they married and moved in together. Yachiru eventually looked to Suzume as a mother figure, but mostly, she was just happy that her "Kenny" was finally happy. Suzume eventually progressed to the 4th seat and when anyone ever tried to accuse Kenpachi of favoritism, all he had to say was, "Fine, you fight her and tell me I'm treating my wife with favoritism."

Sometimes they would take the challenge and sometimes they didn't. Those that did never told anyone else exactly what the girl's second release was like and it almost became a bit of an inside joke between the captains that had tried her out for themselves; often egging on a captain that wasn't in the know to fight her.

Even more years passed before she finally told her husband the news that she had learned bankai. He was eager to see it, but she very solemnly told him, "I can't, love. Remember how my second release is 'touch of death'?" She asked him. He nodded, "Well, my bankai is just death. From what I can tell, something that looks a lot like Tamashī no karitori comes out of the scythe and administers the kiss of death. He'll fight, but like his hands, he's spectral except for the scythe he carries."

Kenpachi was always amazed at his wife and her abilities. Her spiritual pressure had increased as she had gotten older, but was still below that of his 3rd seat. Though with a bankai like that, maybe one day she could be a captain as well. If a hole ever opened up, he would recommend her. He would hate having her out of his division, but he would never forgive himself for holding her back either. Either way, he looked forward to many years with his accidental lover. Strangely enough, she never did sing for him and he didn't mind. After all, as they used to joke, it would mean she would be allowed to die and he certainly didn't want that.

The End.

I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are always appreciated.