Devilish Gaming: Ch.39

“I've never wanted to kill someone, but I really want to beat the shit out of him right now.”

“Ichigo-”

“Oh, no. Killing him would be a mercy. No, I want him to suffer just as he wanted to-”

“Ichigo, calm down.”

“How are you not even pissed right now?! The guy tried to mess with your mind!”, Ichigo exclaimed and Chad sighed from where he was sitting at the grass while looking at the flowing river.

“I am, but getting angry right now will do nothing but disturb what peace I'm trying to hold onto,” Chad answered and Ichigo grunted as he dropped down beside him with a frustrated sigh.

“I just…He could have done that to me or Orihime or any of the group. What if it had worked? What if he rewrote something important that could change you?”

“Not possible. You would beat me up if I acted even the slightest different,” Chad spoke with a smile and a chuckle escaped Ichigo's lips even as he grimaced.

“Yeah, sounds about right,” Ichigo murmured, the two sitting in silence as they watched the gentle rush of the river and felt the cool breeze brushing against them.

“So, what now? You going to talk to them again?”

“For now…no. I've already told Tatsuki since she likes to hang out with them on the weekends and she said she's staying away from them for the time being. As for us, we can't stop right now when we don't know when Aizen and his men will attack.”

“And Tsukishima? What are we doing about him?”

“If he tries it again, we don't hold back, but right now, we don't hunt him unless he gives us a reason.”

“You're way too calm about this,” Ichigo spoke with a smirk and Chad gave a faint smile as he shook his head.

“And you're too emotional.”

“Eh, that's why we're the best duo in town,” Ichigo said with a grin and Chad chuckled softly as he looked up at the sky, staring at the clouds before shaking his head as he stood up.

“Anyway, how have things been with you?”, Chad asked as Ichigo stood up as well, the orange-haired teen snorting at his words.

“Really? How have things been with me? That's the first question you had?”

“I'm talking on a more emotional standpoint, since you got your ass handed to you by Grimmjow.”

“I was dealing with stuff.”

“Uh-huh, and that led to you losing in a worse way than when you first fought Byakuya?”, Chad asked with a smirk, chuckling as Ichigo just gave him a flat stare before rolling his eyes with a grumble.

“You're lucky you're my best friend.”

“Yes, I am. Now, are you doing okay?”

“Eh, I'm doing as well as I can to be honest. There's…there's still the few times that I struggle with controlling my spiritual energy, but I've found this group called the Visored that can teach me how to control my Inner Hollow.”

“You trust them?”

“As much as you trusted Xcution before they tried to betray you. They're the only Shinigami I know that have Inner Hollows so I don't think I'll find another group like them.”

“I see. Want me to come with?”

“Yes, because unlike a certain someone, I don't leave my best friend out of meeting the people that might have a chance to manipulate my mind.”

“I'm never living this down, am I?”

“You are not,” Ichigo spoke with a grin as they continued walk, Chad just shaking his head even as he had a slight smile on his face.

“Hah, fine. When are you meeting them?”

“Right now. Let's go.”

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“…You sure this is the place?”, Chad asked as he looked around, turning to Ichigo to see him blinking before arching an eyebrow as his friend looked at…the path between two warehouses?”

“Yeah, you don't see it?”

“The pathway? Does it lead to their hideout?”

“No, their hideout is just…Oh, right. Hey, Shinji!”, Ichigo called out, Chad furrowing his brow before he blinked as the air on the path shimmered and another warehouses formed in between the two.

“…Kido?”

“Kido.”

“Yo, Ichigo. I thought I said we wanted to see you alone?”, Chad narrowed his eyes at the blonde-haired man walking out of the warehouse, recognizing him as Shinji from the class.

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Name: Shinji Hirako

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: Immense(Suppressed)

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'Suppressed? Okay, so he's most definitely a captain-level fighter.'

“I know, but he's my best friend and unlike him, I actually let my best friend hang out with him,” Chad heard Ichigo speak and shook his head as his friend grinned at him while catching Shinji's glance.

“Alright, he can come in, but don't blame me if the others are a bit…hostile. I only told them about you,” Shinji spoke as he turned and walked in, Chad following after Ichigo and the blonde.

As soon as they stepped into the warehouse, Chad felt the air shifting and looked back to see an orange barrier covering and most likely hiding the warehouse from view.

“Oi! We agreed with Ichigo, but who the hell's the other guy?”, A child-like voice brought his attention back to the warehouse's interior, stopping beside Ichigo when he saw the seven other people of the group staring at him with frowns.

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Name: Love Aikawa

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: Great (Suppressed)

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Name: Kensei Muguruma

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: Great (Suppressed)

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Name: Rojuro Otoribashi

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: Great (Suppressed)

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Name: Hachigen Ushoda

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: Great (Suppressed)

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Name: Hiyori Sarugaki

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: High (Suppressed)

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Name: Mashiro Kuna

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: High (Suppressed)

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Name: Lisa Yadomaru

Age: ???

Race: Soul (Shinigami)

Reiryoku Levels: High (Suppressed)

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'Okay, they're all definitely a lieutenant-level fighter or higher,' Chad thought with a frown as he stood with his hands in his pockets, letting Ichigo do the talking while reading the information of each one.

In all honesty, he was more focused on the Kensei guy as he could see that the man was well-built since he was wearing only a tank top and a pair of loose pants, noting the man doing the same as Chad was only wearing his usual form-fitting black shirt with maroon and red accents and loose, dark grey pants.

“Hey, if Chad can't stay, I'm turning back,” Ichigo spoke with a frown before Chad placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head with a smile when Ichigo looked at him.

“If they don't feel comfortable with me, I can't force them to.”

“Don't worry, Chad. It's mostly just Hiyori looking for a reason to bit-Ow!”, Shinji hissed as he was smacked square in the mouth with a sheathed katana, Chad blinking as he watched Hiyori readjust her katana before turning her glare back at him.

“What the hell are you doing here? You here to make sure Ichigo doesn't go wild?”

“I'm just here as a guy looking out for his best friend.”

“Best friend?”

“We've beaten the asses of a few hundred thugs together and we've even sent a few of them to the hospital. Speaking of that, did you hear that Ochoki and his gang are out now?”

“I did. They tried to rob me last week so now they're back in the hospital for a broken jaw and broken arms.”

“Clean breaks?”

“Always,” Chad spoke with a smirk, Ichigo nodding with a grin before the tall teen turned back to the group to see them blinking at their weird interaction.

“…You sure this is the guy we should train?”, Love, a dark-skinned guy with a thick black spiked afro and wearing a green jogging suit, asked with a raised eyebrow and Shinji chuckled as he nodded.

“Yeah, this is the guy though I'm not sure why Chad is here.”

“Like I said, Chad is simply here to make sure you guys don't try anything and that I don't go overboard.”

“He can stop you?”

“We've sparred a few times and yeah, he can keep up,” Chad was expecting Ichigo to explain how he could stop the teen with his Hollowfication, but as Ichigo smiled at him, he realized that his friend didn't want to explain something that was not his to explain.

'Yeah, he has not changed in the slightest.'

“You sure? If you try to use your power, won't your you-know-what go on a rampage?”

“If you're talking about his Inner Hollow, I know about it and I can keep it in check,” Chad spoke with a smirk, not surprised when they looked at him while Hiyori scoffed.

“Yeah, okay. Shinji, forget testing Ichigo. I wanna test this guy.”

“Oh, brother. Hey, Chad, you mind just…running for your life for a few minutes?”

“I don't mind fighting,” Chad answered as he rolled his sleeves up, making everyone raise an eyebrow while Shinji narrowed his eyes at the answer before turning to the large man that Chad now knew to be Hachigen.

“Hachi, think you can open up the Playground?”

“Playground?”

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'Oh, so they're connected to Urahara, huh? I guess I don't have to be as wary of them as I am,' Chad thought in relief as he and Hiyori stood opposite of each other in a vast rocky field that was under their warehouse, the rest of the Visored and Ichigo sitting on the sidelines.

“You sure you don't just wanna give up? Hiyori doesn't really know how to hold back!”

“Shinji, shut up! If the guy wants to be tough, let him be tough!”, Hiyori shouted at Shinji, who gave a shrug while Chad smiled as his spiritual energy slowly began to exude from his body.

Clenching his fists, he let his Reiatsu flare and the ground cracked under him, a slight shockwave erupting around his form and pushing a surprised Hiyori backwards for a few meters while Chad marvelled at how much more powerful it felt.

Before, he didn't have any trouble with using his Reiatsu for battle, but now, it felt as if every movement was as smooth as butter, throwing a few punches to get used to the speed before cracking his neck with a smirk.

“Okay, I'm read-”, Chad immediately shifted to the side as Hiyori's sword came down, hopping backwards with a frown as she stopped mid-swing and twisted her blade to swing it back at him.

Dodging again by mere centimeters while landing a palm strike to the flat side of her blade, Chad felt happy at how swift his movement was before following up with a shoulder-bump that sent her stumbling backwards.

Yet, he didn't follow up and remained in the same spot, shifting back into his opening stance as he saw Hiyori looking embarrassed at how she was being handled before she rushed at him again.

This time, her swings were less precise and more brutal as each one had a good amount of power and speed behind them, but Chad smiled as his body followed and predicted the path of each swing.

Each of his steps were balanced and every parry had the perfect amount of weight to them, not even needing to use his Fullbring as he lunged in the moment she stabbed at him.

Smacking her wrist and knocking the blade away to the side with a palm strike, Chad continued with a swift elbow to her chest, knocking the wind out of her before grabbing the back of her head.

Pulling her into a rising knee strike, he stopped as she went to block it before wrapping his arms around her neck, locking her immediately into a chokehold for a few seconds before letting go as she didn't submit.

“Are you okay?”, Chad asked even as he kept his distance, watching as Hiyori coughed before looking over to see Kensei and Shinji walking over.

“Alright, Hiyori…that was a bit embarrassing for you and I want to see what else Chad has in store so Kensei's taking over.”

“Argh, fine. Just make sure you knock a tooth out,” Chad watched as Hiyori followed Shinji away from the ground before turning to Kensei in front of him, raising an eyebrow as the Shinigami pulled some kind of wakizashi with an H-shaped tsuba from his back.

“Blow it away, Tachikaze (Earth-Severing Wind),” Air currents formed around the wakizashi and hid it from view before the winds dispersed, revealing it now being a combat knife with a bronze guard, light purple hilt-wrapping, a grey leather grip and a small ring on the blunt side of the guard.

“Using your Shikai?”, Chad asked as he activated Hierro and Fullbring, hardening his skin and pulling the air tightly around his form before hardening it as well when Kensei just answered with a nod.

“Something tells me I'll need it. You ready?”, Chad barely nodded before he ducked low, an air blade barely missing his head before he rushed to the side as another air blade missed cutting his leg.

Rushing in right as Kensei began rapidly swinging his combat knife, Chad hopped from foot to foot with an explosion accompanying each step before he flipped with a barrel-roll right as Kensei delivered a horizontal swing that let out a vicious air blade.

Rolling over the ground before tilting his head when Kensei stabbed at him, Chad grabbed his hand while kicking at Kensei's leg. The Shinigami was quick to catch him with his free hand while blocking the follow-up kick to his chest.

Wrapping his leg around Chad's before bringing his free leg over, Chad let go of Kensei's arm to dodge the attack, pulling his other leg free before both men rolled away from each other.

However, neither stayed away for long as Chad and Kensei rushed at each other, the teen dodging to the side when the man stabbed at his chest. Pushing the knife to the side, Kensei simply let it drop while dropping down for a leg sweep, forcing Chad to hop over it right as Kensei caught the knife while spinning and swung upwards.

Chad could feel the air blade cutting into his skin before he dispersed it with a burst of his Reiatsu, High-Speed Regeneration stitching his wound back together while he took advantage of Kensei's brief moment of surprise to land a powerful punch to his chest.

The blow sent Kensei skidding backwards before the Shinigami caught himself, but he was not surprised to see the man frowning as Chad looked down at his shirt where the wound previously was.

“How did you do that?”

“I have my ways.”

'That being said, this guy is most definitely a captain-level fighter. He's not near the level of Mr. Sasakibe, but he's most definitely a strong guy and I can't take him on with just Hierro and Fullbring,' Chad thought with a frown as he clenched his fists, taking a deep breath before he activated Armadura Malevola del Guardian Demoniaco (Malevolent Armour of the Guardian Devil).

The spiritual energy around his arms flared as they both were obscured for a few seconds before the energy hardened around his arms, the skin around his arms now taking the form of the Brazo Derecha el Gigante's armour while the colours of said armour was that of the Brazo Izquierda del Diablo, being a snow white with maroon and red tribal tattoos running along the length of his arms

At the top of each shoulder was a large spike that curled away from his body and down to the ground, but with a thought, the spikes drew inwards into his arms and the armour shifted to take the defensive form of the Brazo Derecha el Gigante with Diablo's grinning face in red on the front of each shield.

'Okay, this is fitting. The Guardian Devil,' Chad thought with a smile as he shifted both back into their offensive form, pulling a fist back as he looked at the wary Kensei while reddish-black spiritual energy gathered at the tip of his knuckles.

Without saying anything, Chad grunted as he punched forward, but his eyes widened and Kensei dove out of the way right as a red-and-black Cero sliced through the air and tore through five boulders before exploding against the sixth one.

He did note Hachi forming a barrier around the explosion to contain it, but as it faded away, everyone turned to him as he was silent while dismissing his new ability with a hum.

'Note to self: Armadura Malevola del Guardian Demoniaco is not for simple sparring,' Chad thought with a nod before looking at Shinji and Ichigo as the two walked up to them. Ichigo just looked surprised at his fists, but Chad was focused more on the serious look in Shinji's eyes before the blonde spoke.

“If you're going to be here, we're gonna have to know what the hell that just was,” Chad understood the man's words, but instead of saying anything, he simply smiled and clawed at the air around his face, noting their shocked looks when his Hollow mask formed around him.

He was a bit surprised as he noted the horns of his shadow before feeling them, catching sight of black horns and a wide grin on his hollow mask in Shinji's eyes before looking back at the Shinigami.

“Like Ichigo, I have an Inner Hollow that took form after I defeated and devoured a few dozen Gillians. However, instead of trying to kill me, the two of us fused as one and now, I am able to do the things that you just saw.”

“…He telling the truth?”

“He's telling the truth,” Ichigo nodded and Shinji looked back at Chad as the teen dispersed his mask before Chad blinked as Shinji groaned while looking at the rest of his silent group.

“Love, we got booze?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Pour me a glass. It's going to be a long day.”

A/N: Sorry for missing last week's chapter, but I was struggling in figuring out how to continue the story, but I think I've got it.

Anyway, a quick look at Chad's new abilities, he's now allies/ friends with the Visored along with Ichigo and the two are about to train to get used to their powers.

Next chapter: A Guardian vs Rage

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!