Devilish Gaming: Ch.37

The Brazo Derecha el Gigante crashed against Zangetsu as Ichigo and Chad clashed, sending out a shockwave that shook the training arena under Urahara's shop.

The Shinigami in question stood on one of the larger rocky outcroppings while watching as the two friends fought, Chad smirking as Ichigo grinned while pushing down.

“We haven't sparred together, have we?!”, Ichigo asked, grunting as Chad pushed him back before using the flat side of his blade to smack Chad's left jab upwards.

Gripping his blade and swinging down, he smirked as Chad's right arm shifted into its defensive form and blocked the sword slash, pushing it away before kicking out and catching Ichigo's side.

The blow was just a glancing one and Ichigo leapt back, rolling his shoulders as Chad hopped from foot to foot before shaking his head.

“No, we have not.”

“This is a good time to see whether or not you're strong enough to keep up, then,” Ichigo spoke as he crouched slightly, Chad doing the same before both rushed at the other.

The collision was thunderous as sparks erupted from their spiritual energy clashing. The ground cracked and Urahara raised an eyebrow as dust was kicked up and danced around the two.

Chad shifted his arm back into its offensive form while pulling to the side, twisting his body to dodge the slash while bringing his left fist around for a heavy hook to Ichigo's ribs.

That was not quick enough though as Ichigo vanished with a Shunpo, reappearing behind him with Zangetsu already aimed at his back and Chad ducked low to block the attack.

Swinging his leg back and catching Ichigo's heel, Ichigo stumbled and twisted midair, rolling away as Chad spun around and missed his jab.

Both grinned as they stood up before rushing at each other, their strikes blurring as Chad's strength and endurance kept pace with Ichigo's strength and speed.

Ichigo brought Zangetsu across in a wide arc, but Chad dipped low and used the Brazo Izquierda del Diablo to parry it upwards. The Brazo Derecha el Gigante followed with a powerful uppercut that barely missed as Ichigo used Shunpo to get away and onto one of the nearby pillars.

“You're a lot faster than before,” Ichigo spoke as he stood on the pillar, holding Zangetsu's blunt side to his shoulder as Chad responded by smirking and pulling his right fist back.

Spiritual energy flowed into his fist as Ichigo narrowed his eyes, his own spiritual covering Zangetsu's blade before they shot forward.

“El…”

“Getsuga…”

“Directo!/ Tensho!”, Chad punched forward as Ichigo swung down, scarlet energy clashing with brilliant blue as a shockwave rippled outwards.

The explosion of the two attacks clashing made the arena, dust and broken stone flying in every direction as both Chad and Ichigo were launched backwards.

Flipping himself over, Chad dug his feet into the ground, crouching down and dragging his clawed fingers to help before looking upwards to see Ichigo crouched on the ground as well.

“Damn, you've really been holding out, huh?”, Ichigo spoke as he took out Zangetsu from the ground, to which Chad just shrugged as he stood up while feeling a bit tired.

Looking at Ichigo, though, he was not surprised to see his friend looking as fresh as a daisy, shaking his head as he lifted his right hand to his face before bringing his fingers down in a claw-like slash.

“Oh, we're taking him seriously?”, Diablo asked as Chad's spiritual energy, to which the teen just nodded as he saw Ichigo grin and hold his Zanpakuto's tip towards him.

“Ban…Kai!”, The teen exclaimed, sending out a shockwave of reiatsu in all directions as Ichigo's black cloak of spiritual energy enveloped him, Zangetsu now in its sleek, slim Tensa Zangetsu form.

“You want to go all-out now?”, Ichigo asked, taking a slow step forward as both the Brazo Derecha el Gigante and the Brazo Izquierda del Diablo flared before he did the same.

“Ooh~ Show me what I have to look forward to for our battle,” Diablo spoke and Chad was barely able to nod as Ichigo took another step and vanished.

This time, Chad was ready as he twisted when Ichigo appeared to his left, his enhanced Hollow senses helping him react as his right arm shifted into his defensive form.

Parrying the horizontal slash to the side, the impact boomed like thunder as Chad slid back, steadying his feet as Ichigo ducked low before bringing his leg up in a rising kick that Chad slapped to the side with his left fist.

The strength behind it still rattled up his arm, but it was manageable as he swung the Brazo Derecha el Gigante down with a heavy strike, Ichigo holding Tensa Zangetsu with both hands before parrying the blow away.

Aiming a left hook that Ichigo dodged, he rushed in as his friend got to his feet before feinting a high kick that he tried to block. Stopping his kick midway, Chad aimed a left backhand that Ichigo pushed to the side only to bring his glowing right fist around with a smirk.

“El Directo!”, A point-black blast of black-red energy shot from his right fist, blasting Ichigo through a rock pillar while Urahara blinked as he saw Ichigo's form flying through two more pillars.

Ichigo however was quick to catch himself and flipped around, a grin on his face as blood trailed from his lip while Chad grimaced as he looked at his right hand and stared at the bruising on his knuckles.

“That all you got?!”, Ichigo shouted, crouching with the tip of his blade aimed at Chad as Chad tensed and cracked his neck.

“No, you said go all-out, right?”, Chad asked before his spiritual energy flared, his reiatsu making the area quake as he steadied himself before lifting his fists up, Ichigo bringing his sword back and shooting forward.

The first slash came quick and for his neck, Chad ducking and slapping it upwards with his right palm while swinging his left fist forward.

Ichigo, however, used the force of the upwards parry to lean back, hopping and lashing out with a kick that Chad blocked only for Ichigo to wrap his leg around the arm and pull it down.

“Getsug-!”, Ichigo went to swing down only to be surprised as the arm that his leg was around grabbed his thigh, Chad rolling to the side and pulling Ichigo down with him before landing a heavy backhand to his friend's chest.

The teen found himself gasping as the Brazo Izquierda del Dibalo sent out a shockwave through his chest, but he forced himself to move as he blocked Chad's next slam before kicking at his friend's side.

Using enough force to send them both in opposite directly, both rolled over to their feet and grinned at each other before Chad narrowed his eyes as he saw Ichigo's gaze wavering.

It was not long before he saw Ichigo's breathing getting heavier and signs of white markings slowly appearing on the right side of his face, frowning as he caught the flashes of gold in Ichigo's eyes.

“Everything okay, Ichigo?”, Chad asked, watching as his friend just nodded slowly while taking deep breaths.

“Y-Yeah, it's just…he's been clawing at my mind ever since our discussion and now that I'm…now that I'm going all-out, he wants to get in too.”

“Do you want to stop?”, Chad asked as he took a step forward, stopping when Ichigo looked up with a lopsided grin and sweat on his brow.

“And let you win by default? Hell no,” The teen spoke before gritting his teeth and Chad's eyes sharpened as he heard the familiar growling laughter of a Hollow coming from his friend.

“He's close to slipping. If he does that, this won't be a spar anymore,” Diablo murmured and Chad nodded as he saw the white mask beginning to form around Ichigo's right eye, which was now a fully black sclera with a golden yellow iris.

“…Then let's push ourself to the edge, Ichgo, like always!”, Chad called out, his hands already up as Ichigo took a long, shaky breath before shooting forward in the blink of an eye.

Chad's right arm shook as it absorbed the blow, the two looking at each other as they began to fight in earnest. With every blow, Chad could feel flickers of Hollow reiatsu mixing in with Ichigo's and he responded in kind.

Finally, a heavy blow from Ichigo sent Chad crashing through a boulder, the teen rolling to his feet before coughing as he stood up to see Ichigo hunched over and trembling.

Tensa Zangetsu lied on the floor as Ichigo clawed at his face, gripping the mask and trying to rip it of.

“D-Damn it! Not now!”, Ichigo hissed, Chad going to step forward only for a scarlet flash of energy to slash off chunks of the mask and allow Ichigo to rip it free with a gas.

“Alright, that's enough for one day,” Urahara spoke coolly as he appeared in-between them, Chad taking a deep breath as he dismissed the abilities around his arms and his Hollow mask while walking closer.

“Are you okay?”, He asked and Ichigo looked at him before giving a shaky smile and a nod.

“Yeah, but…I guess I'm not as synced with my Hollow as you are with yours.”

“Which is quite confusing for me considering you only got your Hollow a few days after you entered the Soul Society, yes?”

“That…is somewhat right. I did get it at that point, but it has been awake inside of my soul for a few months before that ever since I awakened my powers.”

“Ah, that would make sense, then. Your capability to use it was always there, but it has been lying dormant and waiting in your soul until you were able to use it without any drawback to your body whereas Mr. Kurosaki here had a tight deadline to obtain all of this power.”

“Precisely. I think what he needs to do right now is focus less on power and more on control,” Chad spoke and Ichigo grimaced as he shrugged.

“I'm all for it, but the only issue is that my Hollow wants to take over my body and be in charge.”

“Then fight it. You have the time now,” Chad said with a shrug and Ichigo blinked before looking to Urahara who shrugged.

“It's better late than never, I suppose.”

“…Fine, I guess we're doing this.”

“Oh, no. I don't mean here. Someone will approach you soon with an offer. I suggest you take it,” Urahara spoke cryptically, to which Ichigo just raised an eyebrow as they watched the man leave before shaking his head.

“Yeah, figured that would be the case. Well, what are you going to do, then?”, He asked as he looked to Chad, who hummed as he looked around at the area and shook his head.

“For now, I think I'm going to do a bit of solo training here.”

“Cool. I'll catch you tomorrow, then,” Ichigo said as he waved over his shoulder, which Chad returned before slowly lowering his hand as he watched Ichigo climb up the stairs.

“Diablo?”

“Yes?”

“If I never fight you, how strong would I be compared to how strong I can be if I do defeat you?”

“Let me put it this way. Every time you fight, a quarter of your energy is forced to keep my energy in check because you've never fought me for control over the mask or my energy. While that may seem small if you look at it in terms of 100 being the full and 75 being what you have, you need to look at it in terms of 100 000 being what you have in full and 75 000 being what you can use.”

“Yeah, that doesn't sound so good when we put it like that,” Chad grimaced, shaking his head at Diablo's eerie laughter.

“Precisely. Therefore, if you want to have full control over your powers, you need to beat me in single combat. No outside help and no breaks. Winner takes the body.”

“…That sounds fine to me. I've been looking to max out the last of my skills,” Chad spoke with a smirk and Diablo cackled at that as Chad felt the Hollow's excitement flowing through him.

“Good! Then, do you feel ready to face me?”

“Sure, let's do it.”

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The skies were dark as the clouds above rumbled, Chad and Diablo standing a few meters opposite of each other while their spiritual energy writhed and coiled around them.

“You're absolutely sure you're ready to hand that body over to me?”, Diablo asked with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles and Chad just smirked as he rolled his neck.

“It sounds like you're feeling a bit hesitant about this, Diablo.”

“Of course. Who else is going to make me torment them like you do?”, The Hollow asked and Chad shook his head as the Brazo Derecha el Gigante and the Brazo Izquierda del Diablo formed around his arms, watching as Diablo's arms bulged out.

Both fighters brought their right hand to their faces before clawing down, their Reiatsu flaring as his signature devil Hollow mask formed on his face while Diablo's horns and teeth grew out.

Neither said anything as they simply shifted into the same stance, Chad readying himself as they both crouched before Diablo shot forward and lashed out with a right hook.

Blocking it, the ground behind him cratered as he steadied himself, lashing out with his own left hook to Diablo's chest that cracked the ground below them.

The blow sent Diablo staggering back as Chad stood up straight, his eyes narrowing as he watched the Hollow laugh while wiping the slight bit of blood from his lip.

“You hit hard. That's good. Show me more~!!”, The Hollow hissed as Chad shot forward, twisting sideways and letting the punch go past his ribs before countering with an elbow to Chad's jaw.

Feeling his head snap back from it, High-Speed Regeneration was quick to activate as he spun with the strike, using the Brazo Derecha el Gigante to block the follow-up punch while delivering his own punch with the Brazo Izquierda del Diablo.

However, Diablo caught his fist while countering with his own La Muerte, the combined spiritual pressure creating a powerful explosion that sent them both flying in opposite directions.

Chad grunted with every impact as he skidded across the ground, rolling to his feet and stopping himself with a stumble before looking back to see Diablo already charging towards him.

Chad gritted his teeth and shifted his backfoot right as the two clashed, sending out a deafening shockwave across the battlefield before they pushed off each other.

Soon, the air rumbled as they traded punches, Chad's Brazo Izquierda del Diablo smashing down and Diablo's clawed right hand parrying it upwards before swinging a powerful knee to Chad's left.

The teen quickly brought his right arm over and shifted it into its defensive form, absorbing and redirecting the impact right as Diablo leapt up and brought his other leg for an overhead kick.

However, Chad pushed him away while grunting as his shoulder was grazed by the kick, blood spurting from the wound before it sealed shut as he swung an uppercut and launched Diablo backwards.

Unfortunately, the Hollow flipped over midair and landed in a crouch, dragging his claws in the ground to stop him while licking his maw with a grin as his bones shifted and snapped back into place.

Chad didn't wait for him to start as he charged in this time, faking a high kick and making Diablo go to block only to twist at the last second and deliver an El Directo directly to the Hollow's skull.

The blow snapped Diablo's head back even as he grabbed at Chad's arm, pulling the teenager back in before Chad felt a splitting headache when Diablo smashed their heads together and cracked the mask.

Staggering backwards as the Hollow leapt back, Chad quickly raised the Brazo Derecha el Gigante as Diablo raised both hands, a crackling orb of red and black spiritual energy forming in front of his hands before he grinned.

“Cero Oscuras,” The blast was like a concentrated torrent of corrosive energy as it slammed into Chad, flaring his own Reiatsu and fuelling it towards both his arm and regeneration right as the blast slammed into him.

He could feel the armour being torn off as the Cero Oscuras did its best to try and bring him down, but Diablo's grin widened when he saw Chad stomping down, pulling his left arm back when he saw the teen do the same.

With gritted teeth and a roar, Chad pushed right through the blast while pushing it to the side, his right arm a mess as he used High-Speed Regeneration to keep it together while his left hand was glowing with energy.

“Come on! Show me what you got!”, Diablo roared as he hopped into the air, using the momentum of his drop to boost his strength even more as both men's Brazo Izquierda del Diablo burned with power.

“La…MUERTE!”, They roared in unison as they swung forward, but Diablo's eyes widened as he felt the air shifting and freezing his arm in place for a brief moment before Chad's fist slammed into his chest.

The explosion was deafening as the battlefield shattered, Diablo's eyes bulging out before the energy exploded outwards and sent the Hollow blasting through the air.

Watching as the Hollow was sent ragdolling across the landscape, Chad stood hunched over in the crater that was formed from the impact, his right arm still trying to stitch itself together while his left was a mangled mess.

Half of his mask was shattered and crumbling off, revealing his tired eyes and the blood trickling from his mouth while the other half was cracked all over.

“Hehehe~ Th-That…that was fun,” Diablo's voice came from where he was lying on his back, his chest having a large deep purple bruise on it while his own Hollow face was gone, revealing the twisted visage of his Chad form grinning widely.

“I told you…I'm not losing this,” Chad spoke as he hobbled over to the Hollow, who gave a weak laugh as he could feel the strength fading from his body.

“Tch, yeah, you did. I suppose my strength is now your strength, huh?”, Diablo asked as Chad stood over him, the teen staring at him before surprising the Hollow as he fell to a knee and placed a hand on his chest.

“No, your strength is our strength,” Chad spoke, fuelling his spiritual energy into Diablo to help close some of his wounds while Diablo blinked at the generosity.

“You do realize that if you do this, I'm going to try and take your body, right?”

“Then, take it,” Chad said with a shrug as he sat down, wincing with every movement while staring at his arms as they slowly cracked and shifted back into place.

Silence hung in the air as Chad looked at his arms, Diablo looking at the teenager before letting out a soft chuckle as he slowly sat up. The two sat next to each other when Diablo raised a hand, making Chad raise an eyebrow as the Hollow scoffed.

“You seriously not going to kill me?”

“Sounds like you want to be killed.”

“Not particularly, but if you're not, I may as well be a good loser and help you win.”

“Does that mean…?”, Chad asked, smirking as Diablo raised a hand before a screen popped up in between them.

Inner Hollow has offered Synchronisation(LvL: MAXED). Do you accept?

“You're serious about this?”

“Hey, I lost. You deserve the win,” Diablo spoke with a smirk and Chad looked at the hand once more before letting out a soft sigh as he nodded and shook the hand firmly.

“Accept.”

Offer has been accepted. Please stand by for final update!

A/N: And we now have an actual partnership between Diablo and Chad. The reason I did this now is because I wanted to do the Grimmjow v Ichigo first fight off-screen and this gave me the opportunity.

Anyway, final update for the system and next chapter, a showcase of the new Chad.

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

Ba-Bye~!!