Bodyguard

Summary: An AU one-shot story for the IchiRuki Fan Club at Bleach Asylum. The theme given was "The Us That's Not Us; Knight and Princess". I do not own Bleach nor profit from it. Warning for Violence.

Ichigo inspected his men, looking them over with a critical eye as he walked down the line.

"Nice sweater Aramaki."

"I knitted it myself, sir."

He stopped to yank on the next man's knit cap. "Ikkaku, nice tassels."

"A real man always has tassels on his hat, sir." He boasted.

Ichigo stopped to lean back for a second to take in the spectacle of the last man.

"Yumichika, you're so pretty it hurts."

"Naturally." He said as he flipped his silky hair.

Ichigo suppressed a smile. They looked odd in skating clothes, unlike Ichigo's own carefully tailored suit, but you couldn't see the throat mikes or the clear plastic earpieces. They were ready to deploy.

"You all know your call signs, Renji is Backdoor and Ishida is Base. Space yourselves out when you do your sweep and try to make it look like you're not together. Move out."

They grinned as they headed towards the skating rink, splitting up to enter from different directions and at different times. Clearing and securing public areas was routine for them, but an ice rink was different from the usual job. Ichigo waited patiently as they got into position and checked in.

Ikkaku called in first. "Knight One to White Knight, in position, all clear."

Ichigo keyed his throat mike. "Copy that Knight One."

"Knight Two, to White Knight, all clear." That was Yumichika.

"Copy Knight Two." Ichigo acknowledged.

The rough voice of Aramaki completed the check. "Knight Three to White Knight, all clear my sector."

Ichigo grunted in satisfaction. "Copy Knight Three. White Knight to Base, you copy?"

"Loud and clear White Knight." Ishida acknowledged.

"What's your visual up there Base?"

"Visibility is perfect, all in order."

Ichigo nodded to himself. They were all set.

"OK, princess." He said. "You're clear to enter the rink."

Princess Kuchiki Rukia had been standing impatiently the whole time with her arms crossed, scowling.

"Finally. Is all this really necessary? And I keep telling you, just call me Rukia."

"I don't think your brother would like that, Princess." He said. "Now remember, if there is any trouble I want you to exit out this way…"

"It's the exit to the garage, I remember." She huffed. "Honestly, it's almost too much bother just to get some exercise around here."

"Just doing my job, Your Highness." He said as he led the way to the rink's entrance.

"We're in one of the finest hotels in Switzerland Ichigo, I'm sure we're perfectly safe." She said as she stomped past him.

He didn't bother responding to that. "You've got one hour." He said as he held open the door for her.

It was an uncertain world. The only way he'd believe she was perfectly safe was by protecting her himself. She'd probably appreciate that someday. Seeing her stick her tongue out at him as he closed the door, he figured it wasn't going to be today. He headed towards the back stairs to the control booth. He keyed his throat mike.

"White Knight to Base, the Snow Chrystal is flying."

"Copy that White Knight. She's bit of a handful isn't she?"

"Keep it professional Base." Ichigo warned. He switched off his mike as he started to climb the stairs.

"Besides," He muttered to himself. "she's not that bad."

As countries go, Seireitai was pretty small. A constitutional monarchy that allowed the royal family broad powers, it was so obscure, most people had never heard of it until recently. King Byakuya the First, upon assuming the throne, changed all that. Seeking to bring his country into the modern age, he was key to introducing legislation that put the tiny country in the headlines. Under his leadership, they updated and expanded the national infrastructure. Roadways, airports and most importantly telecommunication networks were upgraded to world class standards. The ease of travel and communication this brought was the first step. Next, he restructured the tax code. Under the new laws, Seireitai became very attractive to investors for tourism, film making, IT support and most importantly, banking. King Byakuya quickly made his country a major player in the world of finance and brought unprecedented prosperity to his people. It was why he had come to Switzerland, looking to make deals with their many bank and investment firms.

None of this interested Ichigo. His only concern was keeping the king's sister, Princes Rukia, safe. For the most part, that wasn't too hard. There were many pre-planned photo-ops, balls and social gatherings she was had to attend to help her brother persuade various factions to look on his proposals favorably. These were carefully screened and in tightly controlled secure areas. She attended them all with unwavering charm and poise, gaining the kingdom much goodwill even though Ichigo knew she hated every second of it. The only time she gave him any problems was her insistence on indulging in her passion. Ice skating.

Rukia loved to skate. More than that, she was good. Good enough to be in the Olympics if it weren't for the fact that the King expressly forbid it. Whenever possible, she would spend hours every day on the ice perfecting her form. At home, this was no big deal. She had a rink at the palace just for her. Here, it wasn't so easy. There did not have access to a private rink. It was either allow her to skate in public at a nearby hotel or keep her cooped up in the embassy until they came home. Even her brother recognized a battle he couldn't win. All Ichigo could do was keep his mouth shut and grind his teeth until she was finished and back in a more secure location.

Without looking away from the rink, Ishida spotted Ichigo emerging from the stairwell from the corner of his eye, giving him a nod as he entered the control room. Crammed next to the employees who ran the lights and played music for the skaters, he wore a headset that would allow him to communicate with all parties and had a telephone close to hand. The plexiglass windows gave an unobstructed view over the entire rink.

"You see her?" Ichigo asked as he went to get some coffee from the pot in the corner.

Ishida nodded again. "She's lacing up."

After putting a lid on his coffee cup, Ichigo walked up to look over the rink. Ikkaku and Aramaki moved around well enough, skating with the clockwise flow of the crowd, keeping an eye out of trouble. While competent skaters, they didn't look too comfortable on the ice. Yumichika, on the other hand, was the picture of style and grace, swooping and gliding around the oval rink, giving every impression of enjoying himself. Ichigo was tempted to call him up to make sure he was focused, but he knew from long experience with his team that he was hard at work. He just liked making it look stylish.

"There she goes." Ishida said while pointing.

Ichigo could hardly miss her as she burst out onto the ice in her colorful outfit. Legs pumping, she quickly built up speed, skirt flapping over her legging as she headed towards the middle of the rink where there were fewer people. Finding a long clear stretch, she spread her arms and balanced on her left foot, lifting the right high into the air. She held that pose as she followed the curve of the rink, seeming to be on the edge of flight. As far away as he was, Ichigo could still see the joyous expression on her face. That's what made his job satisfying, knowing that his protection allowed her to forget her duty as a member of the royal family and just enjoy her hobby. He smiled as he watched her go through her routine. Glancing around, he could see he wasn't the only one impressed with her moves. Many of the other guests were watching, some coming to a full stop as Rukia leapt and pirouetted. He checked to make sure none of his team were among them. As expected, all of them were still moving, still keeping an eye out for trouble. He relaxed and took a sip of coffee.

It had been forty five minutes without incident. Rukia had gone through her fundamentals and was cooling down, skating with the crowd around the rink. Some people had recognized her and approached her for autographs. That made him tense, but the people had been polite, leaving her alone after she signed and said a few words to them. Something was bugging him about the latest autograph hound. A large, muscular man in a red sweater, he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. He skated up to Rukia, pen and paper in hand, much like the others. What was it about this guy that was bugging him?

"Knight Three to White Knight, over."

Ichigo frowned. "Go ahead Knight Three."

"My gut tells me something weird is going on. The last few guys to enter the rink have been skating funny, over."

"Define 'funny' Knight Three, over."

"I've observed at least three men enter just now, late twenties to early thirties, athletic build, and they are not moving around. They keep skating in small circles near the exits, over."

This really kicked off Ichigo's warning bells. Old Maki-Maki may not be his best agent, but he had instincts like a hound dog. If he spotted something, it was probably bad. Now alerted to the problem, Ichigo could see the men in question, skating slowly back and forth.

"Knight One and Two, are you seeing this, over?"

"Affirmative." Ikkaku replied.

"Affirmative. All four exits appear to be covered now, over." Yumichika confirmed.

"All units, I want Snow Chrystal out of there now!" Ichigo ordered.

Looking at Rukia, he saw it was too late. The guy she had been talking to had seized her roughly by the arm. Big mistake. Reacting as she had been trained, she brought her skate savagely down on his instep. He screamed as the razor sharp blade sliced through the leather upper on his skate. A pool of red spread out on the ice as he fell clutching his wound. Rukia took off like a shot, trying to lose herself in the crowd. People stopped skating and started moving towards the injured man for a better look. Ichigo headed towards the stairs.

"Ishida, I'm heading down there! Contact the authorities and take over coordination."

"Like I need you to tell me that!" He yelled back.

Ichigo made a mental note to chew him out later. Though he could be pretty snarky, Ishida was good at his job, keeping up a running commentary on his headset as Ichigo rushed down the stairs.

"Attempting to contact hotel security. Police are also being notified. All Knight units are engaged by bandits at this time. First bandit is still down. One is homing in on Snow Chrystal."

Pulling his Sig Sauer P290 out of his holster, Ichigo entered the rink scanning for targets. The team on the ice were equipped with tasers and folding batons only. He saw all three of them struggling to subdue the people he could only assume were kidnappers. Alarmed by the fighting, everyone else was rushing this way and that in panic. That made spotting the last one easy. He was moving like a wolf, staking towards the part of the crowd where Rukia had gone to hide. Ichigo raised his pistol.

"Freeze!"

To his dismay, the man whipped a gun from a holster concealed at his back and fired. It was incredibly loud in the confined space. Ichigo also heard the impact it made in the wall behind him. He ducked down as best he could and tried to get a good shot. It wasn't possible because of the panicking skaters getting in the way. The bad guy had no problem in that area, not caring if anybody got hit as he fired away. As he was being driven back, Ichigo spotted a blur of color moving towards the gunman. His blood ran cold.

"Rukia! No!"

The perp must have spotted her as well. Ichigo thought his heart stopped when he saw the gunman point his weapon right at her. Coming to a hard stop, she used her skates to shower his face with ice chips. As he tried to wipe his eyes clear, Ikkaku rocketed into him, sending him hard into the wall and knocking him down. Ichigo waved Rukia to him as Ikkaku dealt with her assailant.

"This way!" He shouted. "We're getting out of here!"

As she glided up to him, he wrapped his left arm around her and picked her up. She didn't seem to weigh anything as he ran towards the exit.

"Put me down!" She squawked. "I'm not a football!"

"You can't run in skates your majesty." He replied.

"Well I can't take them off like this!"

"In a second."

Coming to the door, he put her down as carefully as he could without letting go of his pistol. She landed with an "umph" on her butt. She glared at him for a second before quickly removing her skates.

"White Knight to Base, is the backdoor clear, over?"

Ishida's cool, machine-like voice answered almost immediately. "Base to White Knight, Backdoor reports all clear, over."

"What's the ETA on the police and where the hell is hotel security, over?"

"No one is picking up the phone in the security office. The police should be there in five mike, over."

"Tell Backdoor we're coming out. We're going for the limo, over."

"Copy that."

Ichigo leaned down to give Rukia a hand up. "You catch that Pincess? We're going to the limo and try to get you back to the embassy."

"Wouldn't it be safer to wait here until the police arrive?" She asked as she got to her feet.

Ichigo shook his head. "It's too dangerous here. Hotel security had to have been compromised somehow. If the police get here in time, good. If not, then they can talk to you once you are safe in the embassy compound. In any case, the limo's a tank. They can't get us out without high explosives. Now stay close and keep behind me."

He keyed his mike again. "White Knight to Base, tell Backdoor we're heading out, over."

"Copy that, he's ready, over."

Holding Rukia's hand in his left, Ichigo kicked open the door. Checking left and right, he saw nothing. He pulled her behind him as they ran down the hall, her stocking feet slapping on the concrete. Ichigo was careful to clear the door again as they entered the parking garage. Renji had his back to them as he scanned for threats, shotgun at the ready. He glanced backwards as he heard them enter.

"What the hell happened back there?" He demanded.

"No time for that," Ichigo replied. "let's get to the limo."

Before they could take more than a few steps, a Mercedes SUV crashed through the traffic barrier, cutting off the main exit. Two men in ski masks got out carrying rifles. Renji didn't give them time to fire, pumping round after round in their direction, forcing them to take cover behind their vehicle. Ichigo dragged Ruki behind a pillar while Renji took cover behind a sedan. Ichigo laid down cover fire with his pistol as Renji quickly reloaded, shoving shells into the chamber with his thumb. After he finished, he took his pistol out of its holster and set it on the ground next to him.

"All set." He said lifting his shotgun. "I'll hold them off. You make for the car."

Ichigo reached into his jacket and took his spare magazine from his holster. "Renji, catch!"

With a smile, he caught the extra ammo and put it down next to the pistol.

"Be careful Renji." Rukia said.

"Don't worry about me, Princess, I'll be fine." Taking a kneeling position he fired at the kidnappers. "Move out!" He shouted.

Staying low and pushing Rukia in front of him, Ichigo took off up the ramp. The limo was on the second floor. Rounding the corner and out of sight from the combatants below, Ichigo was able to run upright and faster. He tried contacting Ishida as they sped between the rows of cars. It would help out a lot if the rest of the guys backed up Renji.

"White Knight to Base. White Knight to Base. Come in Base, over."

He got an earful of static. All the concrete and metal surrounding them must be interfering. He gave up and concentrated on making to to the limo.

"Just a few more feet and you'll be out of harm's way, princess." He gasped, his breathing becoming labored from the action and the run.

His heart sank down to his knees as he saw two men running straight for them. They were definitely bad guys going by their ski masks and drawn pistols. Ichigo fired first, taking down one of the assailants. The second man hid behind a car. Pulling Rukia behind him, he ducked down behind a van. He checked the number of rounds he had left and cursed.

"I shouldn't have given Renji my spare. I'm almost out of ammo."

Rukia gasped. "You're almost out of ammo!"

Ichigo scowled. "Could you say that a little louder Princess, I don't think the kidnapper's heard you."

As if in response, the kidnapper fired a couple of rounds at their position. They ducked lower.

"Well what are we going to do?" she asked.

"We split up." He gestured with his hands to show her where he wanted her to go. "I'll go this way and lead him off. You stay where he can't see you. Get in the car and lock it. Use the phone inside to call Ishida when you're safe."

"And what about you?"

He handed her the keys. "Don't worry about me. This is what I get paid to do. Now go!"

Bursting from cover, Ichigo fired his last few rounds towards the kidnapper, the slide locking to the rear as he ran dry. To Rukia's horror, the man fired back, double-tapping Ichigo square in the chest. He flew backwards landing bonelessly on the rough concrete like a puppet with its strings cut. She fought the urge to scream.

Coming out from behind the car, the gunman slowly, cautiously approached Ichigo's body. Rukia was nowhere to be seen. As he drew near, he slowed his pace and aimed carefully at Ichigo's head. One last shot to make sure and then he could look for his prey.

Rukia totally surprised him when she jumped out from behind the van. With a high pitched shout, she swung the traffic cone she had found down on the gunman's wrist with all of her might. The pistol went sliding off under a car as she used the backswing to strike the man in his face. Striving to keep him off balance, she jabbed her improvised weapon repeatedly at his head. He seized it and jerked it out of her hands.

Rukia wasn't finished yet. If she ran for it, he might find his gun again and finish off Ichigo. She wasn't going to let that happen. She snapped her foot forward in a kick to the man's groin. He blocked it easily, as Rukia expected. Following up, she executed a roundhouse to his stomach. It was like kicking a tree. If it hurt him in any way, he didn't show it as he grabbed her ankle. Picking her up bodily, he swung her by her leg and smashed her into the back of the van. She landed hard.

Rukia groaned as she clutched at her head. Already, a sizable lump was forming on her forehead.

"I need you in one piece." The man said. "It ain't gotta be a pretty piece."

She glared at him in defiance as she lay on the ground. He reached to a pouch on his belt and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. From what she could see of his eyes behind the ski mask, he was enjoying himself.

Suddenly, the man's eyes opened wide. His mouth gaped open too as he tried to scream. Rukia could smell burning cloth and flesh as she heard a high pitched buzzing sound. Looking down, she saw Ichigo, teeth bared, pressing a taser into the man's leg. He held the trigger down until the kidnapper passed out and fell down.

"Ichgio!" Rukia exclaimed. "You're alive!"

"Obviously." He grunted as he grabbed the handcuffs the man had dropped. Moved slowly and painfully, he forced the assailant's hands behind his back and cuffed them into place.

"No ratchet lock for you, jackass." He mumbled.

"I thought you dying. He shot you twice." She said.

"The vest stopped it." He said as he got to his feet.

"So you're all right?"

He looked at her as if she were crazy. "Hell no, I'm not all right! There's such a thing as hydrostatic shock your majesty. I'm pretty sure my ribs are broken at the very least. Now it you don't mind, let's get to the car."

Rukia watched him take exactly one step forward before he began to crumble.

"Ichigo!" she cried out as she caught him. Though he was twice her size, she carefully guided his body down resting his head on her lap.

"OK, so I'm worse off than I thought." He said through gritted teeth. "You'll have to go on without me."

"No." She said shaking her head. "I'm not leaving. They could kill you."

"Dying's a part of the job, Princess." He said. "If you're not safe, I didn't earn my paycheck."

She scowled in anger as tears formed in her eyes. "All this time and that's all I've ever been to you? A paycheck? You only want me safe because it's your job?"

"No dammit, I want you safe because I care about you!" He blurted out. The shocked look on her face was mirrored by his own. He hadn't really planned on saying something like that. It surprised him to hear his mouth keep making words.

"Sure it's my job to protect people, but you're someone I really like to protect. It's like you're special. Like the world would be worse off if you weren't in it. That's why I like being assigned to you."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah." He said. "Even though you're a pain in the butt sometimes."

She slapped him on the shoulder. He went stiff with the pain shooting through his body and tried not to scream.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she said stroking his hair. "I forgot you were hurt."

As he recovered from the shock, she leaned closer to his face. "Say Ichigo, can I ask you a favor?

"If it will get you to the car, yes." He grunted

She sighed, but pressed on. "Seriously now. We've been through a lot together. Do you think you can unbend enough to call me Rukia instead of 'Princess' or "Your Highness'. It would really mean a lot to me?"

Looking at her face, he could tell she meant it.

"Well, if it means that much to you." He said. "But only in private. And only If we don't get killed in the next few minutes."

She smiled. "Thank you, Ichigo"

"Don't thank me, get me that guy's gun and then get out of here!"

Before she could do what he demanded, voices called up from the lower level.

"Ichigo! Princess! Are you all right?"

It was Renji. Carefully setting Ichigo's head on the ground, she ran towards the voices until she could see them.

"Here!" She called out. "We're over here!"

"Ichigo!"She shouted running back to him. "It's Renji and the rest of the team. They're all right. The police are with them."

She saw the look of relief on his face as she knelt down beside him.

"So we won?" He asked. "That's great. I guess that means my job is done. If nobody minds, I think I'm going to take a little rest."

With that, his eyes rolled back and his head went limp as he lost consciousness. Rukia moved closer, concerned. Checking his pulse, his heartbeat was strong. He was breathing steadily. He would probably be all right, but she would make sure he got the finest medical care as soon as possible. She stroked his hair.

"Yes, you go ahead and rest." She murmured. "You earned it. You kept me safe. My knight in shining armor."

The End