How about a deal? - A teaser/spoiler for Victim's of Fate

Shirou stood calmly, letting Zaraki's blade stop just a hair from his nose, the wind from the strike blasting all around him, buffeting against him. Still, he didn't make a single move to defend himself.

The first time he had heard of Kenpachi he had felt disgust. A violent man who only sought to fight, bringing discord wherever he went. From what he had heard, the only reason he got his position was because he killed his predecessor... How could Shirou approve of such a man? Yet after seeing Nozarashi - after seeing his past - he felt like he understood him, the man who chose the name of Kenpachi of Zaraki District. A man who lived by the sword more than any other person Shirou had ever met before.

He might not ever actually like the man, but he understood him.

Kenpachi Zaraki was one who had lived his whole life fighting, to the point that it was simply part of living. Growing up, to stop fighting meant that he would die. And just as it was important to live well, Kenpachi found it equally important to fight well.

In his own way, he had a firm moral code -  To fight a weak opponent was pointless. But to kill a strong opponent was worse than pointless, it was a waste.

Kenpachi wanted to fight Shirou... But if Shirou never raised a blade to defend himself, never showed any sign of doing so, then Kenpachi would never complete a swing. It wouldn't be a fight, and if Shirou died then Kenpachi would never be able to fight him again.

The larger man looked in surprise before scowling furiously, "Well? Watcha waiting for?!" He swung again, stopping a hair from piercing Shirou's side, to the point that Shirou could feel the fabric of his shirt being cut by the blade. "Defend yourself!"

Shirou gave a tired sigh before turning around and walking away. "I already told you, I have no intention of fighting you." He stated resolutely. "There's no point to it."

"No point?!" Kenpachi's incredulous voice came from behind him as he followed angrily. "You were holding back earlier! I didn't win, YOU LET YOURSELF LOSE!"

He looked over his shoulder and lifted a questioning brow, "How does that change anything?" He asked, "I need to be at the 32nd District by noon tomorrow, and I won't be able to do that if I fight."

He'd be lucky if he could make it to the neighboring District after that kind of fight.

Just the thought of it made Shirou shudder. The thought of fighting that man was daunting - he really was a monster. Even worse, he could already tell that Nozarashi, or rather, 'Yachiru', was just waiting to teleport to the copy of Kenpachi's Zanpakuto in Shirou's Inner World in order to join the fight.

With him fighting Kenpachi and his spirits fighting Yachiru... Yeah, that was a fight he'd rather avoid. Kenpachi's sword was practically vibrating at the chance to fight with her 'Ken-chan' in a way that she actually could, since the man refused to try to connect to the sword.

She was... Odd. He'd leave it at that.

Kenpachi looked pensive for a moment, frowning furiously in thought. "Well there's gotta be something you want." he growled to himself.

Shirou just shook his head. "I'm afraid that you don't have anything worth it to me." He said plainly.

The large man glared at the ground for several seconds with furrowed brow, looking more and more aggravated as time went on, and Shirou was wondering if he'd be able to slip away when suddenly the man's gaze shot up with an eager grin.

"Soi-Fon." He declared, his grin growing ever wider.

Shirou blinked in confusion, "What about Soi-Fon?" He asked, baffled.

"Heh, she was talking about you a bit ago. Wasn't really listenin' to be honest, but I remember she made mention of you. Said something about a girl." He leaned forward, looming over Shirou, "You're looking for somebody, ain't ya?"

He narrowed his eyes, giving Kenpachi his entire focus.

The man chuckled some more at that, his blade bouncing on his shoulder in anticipation. "How about a deal?" he said slyly, "I'm the Captain of the 11th Division, the largest of the Gotei 13. My boys are more spread out throughout the Rukongai and the Living World than anybody else. I might be able to... Convince them to keep an eye out. That is, if I had some... incentive."

Shirou stared at the man, feeling more shocked than he had in a long time. Kenpachi could actually be clever when he wanted to. "Two fights." He offered. "One fight now, and one if you find her."

Kenpachi's grin turned into a frown, "I don't think so." He growled, "Just because we'll look doesn't mean that we'll be able to find her. I ain't making that kind of open deal only for it to turn out that she's in some Hollow's belly. One fight every month."

His heart tightened at the thought of that happening to Arturia before he steeled his emotions. "One fight every six months, and no more." he stated firmly.

The other man stared at him for a few seconds before grinning wildly, "Sounds good. Now how about we seal the deal right now in true 11th Division fashion? In blood!" He swung his sword, and this time Shirou blocked with Bakuya, launching himself back. In his head, he could hear a warcry as 'Yachiru' barreled her way into Shirou's Inner World, only to be blocked by Tora-Shinai and Naegling.

Well, it looks like he'd be late to the 32nd District.

Author's Notes:
I just want to say thank you to those who are supporting me here on Patreon. I really appreciate it. I think I've been doing alright with posting something at least once per month, and I hope that these Teasers/Spoilers are enjoyable rewards for you guys.

It helps me to write out future chapters as well, so I have an idea of where I want to go, so we both win.

I'm focusing really hard on Victim's of Fate right now - I want to post the next couple chapters in it so that I can get to Arturia's section before I go to another story.

I hope that you guys have a good rest of your days!

-Shdowstep