The last few days were pretty difficult for Ichigo. With the final tests of the semester approaching, he devoted almost all of his free time to study, especially due to his somewhat complicated situation. Not that he was having trouble understanding the subjects that they were teaching at the college, but his strong personality and straightforwardness, although being qualities that many appreciate, also put him in trouble. He got along pretty well with most of the teachers but there still were cases of some teacher who did not like him and had the same line of thought as some of his teachers in Karakura, thinking that he was a punk because of his orange hair and scowl. As a result, some of them, or one teacher in particular, always posed questions that were way more difficult than they should be in his tests.

''Damn that Gael, I'm sure the questions he put in my test were about things we'll study just in a year or two!'', he grunted mentally while his scowl deepened, scaring some of the students that were passing nearby.

He was brought back from his train of thoughts by a vibration in his pocket. Taking his cell phone, Ichigo opened it and checked his whatsapp. He rapidly read the message that was sent to him.

''Heyia carrot head! Sorry but today I cannot go to the arcade. I need to take care of some unforeseen matters that need my attention urgently, but if you have some time tomorrow, we can grab something to eat after your classes and go to that bookstore that I mentioned a couple days ago. Send me your answer later, okay?''

Ichigo could not prevent the smile that made it's to his face. It was always like this for some time now, just a message from Valkyrie and his mood would get better.

''Who would thought that she actually accepted my offer to visit my college?''

A few days after their first meeting at that pub, whose name Ichigo could not even remember, things started to change. On a normal day, while walking away from campus with his hands inside the pockets of his jean pants, he saw a silhouette that immediately caught his attention. She was standing in front of the gates of the university. Her black hair, as dark as a moonless night swayed due to the slight breeze. Her clothes were different, but still black. When Valkyrie Cain saw him, she raised one of her pale hands and waved it to him in a greeting.

The presence of the dark eyed woman caught him by surprise. Yes, he said to her that if she wanted to talk to him again, she would just ned to pay a visit to the Trinity college, but he didn't really expect to see her, thinking it was just a ''pub friendship'', the type that you would get along with the person just for a day and then, never see that person again.

An even greater surprise for the former shinigami was when she actually invited him to have a few drinks, saying that it was a way of thanking him for what he had told her at pub in the other day and that his words helped her to get mentally stronger.

Ichigo immediately accepted the offer of the young woman and agreed to meet with her at the pub they chosed around 11 o'clock. He then went to his work, rather anxious because of his personal appointment with Valkyrie.

The time at work passed faster than normal for him, and soon, he was at home again.

Wearing casual clothes, that being a black long sleeved shirt and jean pants, Ichigo headed to the bar, already finding Valkyria standing in the doorway the moment he arrived. The rest of the night was spent between the two getting to know each other better, telling a little about their lives, families and laughing at the ridiculous stories about their crazy dads and at the jokes they told each other. He had to admit that this specific night was the best day that he had since arriving in Ireland.

After that day, the two began to go out together constantly, a strong bond of friendship already forming between the young adults. Almost 3 months have passed since then. Ichigo loved to hang out with Valkyrie, she was a fun girl and yet she somehow reminded him a bit of Tatsuki, especially for the fact that the two of them have a strong character and that they don't take bullshit from anyone, another resemblance between his childhood friend and Valkyrie was that both of them could actually kick some major ass too. Still, there were times that Valkyrie acted strange. For a few days she behaved normally, in others, she would became extremely nervous and check their surroundings suspiciously, there were also moments that she didn't seem to be herself, smiling in an empty way and almost acting like a robot. Those actions left him a bit uneasy.

It was a pretty strange thing, but he never asked anything about it, respecting her privacy, if she was in trouble and wanted help with it, or simple share her problems with him, she would say it to him at the right time, but that was her decision to make and he would not try to pressure her for answers.

''Leaving these things aside, today is my day off...I think I'll exercise a bit and go for a small jog.''

With that on his mind, the orange haired man headed towards his apartment.

xxxx

''Uff...Uff...Haahh...''

Breathing a little heavier due to the physical exercise, Ichigo ran through the streets, his clothes being a simple black shorts and a white sleeveless shirt, an Ipod was inside the pockets of his shorts and hard rock played on the device, passing through his phones and reaching his ears. At the time, the young man was not in Dublin, but in a port city called Haggard, which luckily for him was only a few minutes away from Dublin. The city was perfect for activities like this, being almost empty and not having as many vehicles and people circulating around, unlike the ever-bustling Dublin.

Stopping by a pier, Ichigo took a bottle of water from the small backpack he carried. Giving a big sip to cool down his throat, the college student made a sound of contentment and left a small sigh, gently breathing the cool night air.

''Activities like this really help to relieve some of the accumulated stress.''

Putting the bottle back in his backpack, Ichigo resumed his jog. For five minutes, he continued his run without any problems or eventualities. But the tranquility the boy was feeling was completely shattered when a black car, that literally came out of nowhere, drove past him at great speed.

''What the fuck ...?!''

Being a fan of old cars, Ichigo easily recognized the model of the car. It was a black Bentley, it seemed to be from the late 1950's. The car moved wildly from side to side, and even with the distance of 20 meters between him and the vehicle, Ichigo could clearly see a figure on the top of the car, punching it with violence. The figure then managed to slip one of his hands through the car window, holding the steering wheel. The driver fought for the wheel of the car while he used his gloved fist to punch the crazy man, but that was not enough. The car lost its direction, and with a tremendous force, it crashed against one of the poles in the street. The figure on the ceiling was violently thrown forward and fell on the floor, remaining motionless.

Coming out of his stupor, Ichigo ran toward the destroyed vehicle. Getting closer, he could see the shape of two people inside the car. Running as fast as his fatigued legs could allow, he reached the driver's door and opened it in a rather abrupt way, not that it mattered in an extreme situation like this.

''Hey, are you okay?!'', he half asked and half shouted. The driver moaned and turned his head to the side slightly. Ichigo instantly recognized the driver. It was that weird man from 3 months agoo, Gery? The one who had approached Valkyrie in the pub the first day he saw the woman. His long brown hair was pretty messed and the scarf was wrapped around his face, just like in that day.

Glancing at the passenger's seat, Ichigo felt his heart begin to beat faster and his face suddenly lose all of it's colors when he saw the bloody face of Valkyrie Cain. Running to the other door, he opened it with so much force that someone would think he could pull the door off of the vehicle. Placing one of his hands on the shoulder of the dark-haired young woman, Ichigo shook her slightly.

''Valkyrie, Valkyrie! Answer me! Hey!", He shouted, worry clear in his voice. The black-haired girl did not answer.

Putting two fingers on her neck, he sighed with relief, he could feel her pulse, proof that she was still alive.

"Thank God.'', He thought, allowing his body to relax while his expression softened. Suddenly, a moan was heard. It came from the injured girl, who began to open her eyes.

"What happened?" She asked to herself. Blinking, Valkyrie raised a hand to her forehead and flinched, "Ouch!", She exclaimed when she felt a stinging pain on her head.

Ichigo, although still worried about his friend, smiled.

Noticing someone close to her, Valkyrie turned her head to the left, and when she saw the person next to her, her eyes widened.

''Ichigo?''

''Yes it's me. Don't worry, I'll call for help, so hang on.", He said to her as he took the cell phone from his backpack began to dial the number the closest hospital.

''No Ichigo, listen to me! You have to get out of here!'', She said desperately, her eyes widening even more and looking at him with worry. The carrot head just raised a brow.

''What are you-''

*CREEEEEK!*

This sound interrupted his words. Glancing towards the the source of the noise, they both watched as the man, who had been thrown from the top of the car nd till now was not moving, began to rise. His nails scratched the floor, causing that strange sound. When the man finally finished getting up, he raised his head and his whole figure was illuminated by the light of one of the posts. Ichigo immediately knew that there was something tremendously wrong with this man. He was pale, bald, and his eyes looked like two black orbits that stared at him with something akin to hunger.

For a second, no one moved. Feeling a drop of sweat ran down his forehead, Ichigo gave a step back. When the former shinigami unconciously moved his right foot, the man ran toward him at speeds that a normal human being should not be able to possess.

Realizing the danger that this strange man represented, Ichigo raised his fists in front of his face, preparing himslef for the innevitable fight that awaited him. The man then stepped into his personal space in the blink of an eye, both hands going toward his neck in an attempt to strangle him.

Even though he no longer had his powers, the orange head's instincts were still sharp and his physical abilities could be compared to those of an Olympic athlete at their prime. Lowering his body, Ichigo managed to deflect the attack of the ''berseker'' in front of him and sent a rotating kick, which connected with the side of his opponent's head and made him stagger to the side. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented to him, Ichigo ran up to the man and jumped into the air, holding the blad head of his enemy and sending a flying knee into the man's face. The impact was strong and Ichigo did hear a cracking sound when his knee entered in contact with the guy's nouse. Landing on the ground, he began to throw a shower of punches and kicks at his mysterious opponent, every blow hitting the chest, abdomen, ribs, shoulders, and head of the still standing bald man.

''I'll end this now!''

Giving one last punch with all the force his arm could muster, he once again turned his body, trying to kick f his opponent in the stomach. What Ichigo expected was to feel the contact of his foot with the man's stomach,sending him flying because of the force of the kick, but that was not what happened.

''What?...!''

At the moment the kick was going to make contact, the man put one of his hands pale, ugly hands in front of his abdomen and blocked the kick. Clutching the ankle of the orange haired man with both hands, he lifted the ex-shinigami into the air and threw him towards the pier. The landscape passed through his brown eyes as Ichigo bounced on the ground like a soccer ball for several meters, until he came to an abrupt stop at the pier. Opening his mouth to breath, he spat some blood.

''Shit... I think I broke a rib or two.''

Seeing something jumping in his direction, his eyes widened and and, acting on instinct, he lifted one of his legs. At that moment, the man fell on top of him, his hands reaching for his face,with the intention of ripping out both of his eyes. Ichigo instantly put his arms in front of his face to protect it. Even as he felt the man's sharp nails rip the skin of his arms, Ichigo still kept his leg raised, putting some distance between them and preventing the man from advancing further.

While Ichigo struggled for his life, his black haired friend was occupied with something else.

Inside the destroyed Bentley, Valkyrie fought against her own belt, trying to get out of there as soon as she could to be able to go help her friend, but this thing just wouldn't let go!

''To hell with that.''

Creating a ball of fire, she burned a part of the belt, finally getting free. The girl then ran towards the two men who were fighting on the floor, ready to push the air and get that crazy bastard off of her companion.

Ichigo was beginning to feel his muscles start to get tired. He knew that if he didn't find a way out of that situation right now, the moment he had no more strenght in his body, that would be the moment that this man would surely kill him.

Deciding to retaliate, ichigo waited for the right moment and, once the crazy dude reached for his head once again with both of his arms, he seized his opportunity and held his opponent's shirt. Putting one foot in his stomach, he pumped his remaining energy on his leg and made a judo move, throwing the man over him and makig him fall out o the pier and into the cold water of the sea.

Standing up, he watched as the man began to swim, desperately trying to get out of the water. He kept struggling for a few more minutes, till his body finally stopped moving. When Valkyrie was able to reach the strawberry, the bald man had already sunk to the dark depths of the frigid ocean.

An uncomfortable silence engulfed them, but it didn't last long.

Turning to the girl that was standing besides him, Ichigo spoke.

''Can you tell me what the hell was that? '', He asked seriously.

At his intense gaze, Valkyrie began to play with a lock of her dark hair, shifting her eyes from Ichigo and focusing them on the ground.

''Ehhh, well...''

''Aaaaahhhhhh!'' A scream resounded through the night. Turning to the one who did it, the duo watched as 'Gery' got out of the car, his hands grabbing his head.

''My dear Bentley!'', He screamed once again, sorrow clear in his voice.

Sighing, Valkyrie looked at Ichigo again.

"Ichigo, can you come with me? I'll explain everything to you, but first I need to make that guy there stop with the dramatic scene." She pointed to the man who continued to mourn over the destruction of his beautiful car.

Nodding, he walked besides her, heading to the wrecked bentley.

''Hey, 'Gery'! You can stop already! Don't you think this is enough?'' , She asked, making 'Gery' turn to her.

''Valkyrie, you know very well that there's only 57 models of this car worldwide, which makes this tragedy even worse!'', She rolled her eyes at his words.

''We can worry about that later, right now we have more important matters at our hands.'', Valkyrie said while pointing at Ichigo.

''A troublesome matter indeed... Ah! I almost forgot to ask, what happened to the man?''

Ichigo raised an arm and pointed to the pier.

''He drowned shortly after I threw him into the sea.'' He declared in a casual tone.

''Oh! Well, I guess I should thank you for that, actually that man was extremely dangerous! My partner and I were after him for a while.''

Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

''Partner?''

''Yeah, we're both detectives, My name is 'Gery', nice to meet you.''. The man bowed forward slightly.

''Ichigo Kurosaki.", It was his simple answer.

'Gery' then regained his composure, but then, a strong breeze blew, making his scarf and...hair fly by the night sky and go towards the sea.

Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw the man's true appearance.

Silence reigned again.

...

...

...

''You're a skeleton.'' Ichigo spoke plainly.

''Ah! Yes! I am indeed, as you can see, a skeleton, but the real question is, am I real?'', 'Gery' said mysteriously.

''...What?''

"Maybe I'm a part of your imagination, a hallucination caused by the trauma that you must have suffered after such atrocious experience.", Ichigo gave him a deadpanned look.

''You're believing what I'm saying, right young man?''

''Not even a bit of it.''

''Ok then.'', Gery nodded and Valkyrie facepalmed.

Glancing at Ichigo, she could clearly see that he wanted answers and, knowing how he was, he would do everything in his power to get them.

Looking at the man and the skeleton, Valkyrie had a hunch that this would be a long night.

xxx

AN: And here's the second chapter! I have to say...this got more attention than I thought, especially considering the low number of views. I actually had a bit of a struggle with this one and re-wrote it three times, hope that it turned out good.

Also, do any of you guys know where I can read Death Bringer, Kingdom of the Wicked, Last Stand of the Dead Man and The Dying of the Light? online or if it at least has PDF archives? In my country they just released the books till Mortal Coil and I would like to read the rest of the series, I could expand this story and make it be a long one, it would be fun to see the dangerous adventures that Ichigo would have in this dark and yet funny world!

I didn't had a beta. I tried my best to correct everything so I apology beforehand for any errors.

Now to the reviews.

Chaos-Guard: Thanks man! The Skulduggery series is pretty awesome and it's a universe that is pretty fun to write!

TheTechnoMage: Thank you! I actually always pondered why nobody wrote a crossover between those two series, they both have kick ass characters and a good story.

rammramm210: I'm happy that you enjoyed it :)

hevenlydemonknight: Glad that you liked the concept!

Guest: I like Whisky too :D

Till the next chapter guys!