The Protector's Temptation.

Thanks for the continued support guys and girls. Questions asked from the last chapter will be answered below, but there is one thing I want to make clear. This is not an IchiRuki story. There are over 10k IchiRuki stories, please look for that elsewhere, since this is more focussed around Ichigo and Kyoka Suigetsu (Not going into the exact detail about their relationship yet, trust me when I say you won't see what I have planned coming). Now without further ado, read on.

PS. I do agree that while the other students are minor characters people often brush aside, that simply means that they are more open to interpretation.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts/Inner Speech'

"Kido/Zanpakuto release"

"Zanpakuto speech"

XXX

Chapter 7:

As time flew by for Ichigo, he soon found himself slipping into a routine with regard to his new life. Every morning, except for Saturday and Sunday, he would go for a four mile run with Tatsuki, before getting ready for school. Formal training at the dojo took place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, while practice with the school team took place on Wednesday and Thursday. And no matter which day it was, Kyoka would train him late into the evening in his inner world.

True to her word, as soon as his soul was replenishing his reserves on its own, she had kicked the training into a higher gear, pummelling and implanting the knowledge into his mind.

Her style of zanjutsu, hakuda and hoho left him utterly floored as she showed him a level of grace and flexibility that he knew that he would probably never achieve. From allowing the wooden practice blade to ghost along her skin, to the times she used her 'feminine charms' to demolish his defences. Despite his grumbling at the immodesty of it though, he learnt to shut away that gentlemanly side of him and use his strokes as efficiently as possible. When he parried her attack, he was already dancing in with a stab aimed at her torso. When she brought her blade down in a two-handed strike, he allowed her momentum to flow past him, coming down hard on her now unprotected back. She had teased him even further, remarking that with his new levels of stamina, she'd be jealous of the girl that managed to land him in bed. Her comment left him sputtering incomprehensibly at her, much to her amusement.

As expected, she taught him kido, hoho and zanjutsu, but she surprised him when she further educated him in the relevant history and laws of Soul Society, as well as drilling his mind through various hypothetical scenarios. These ranged from how to react to specific tactics employed by his opponent, to some of Aizen's personal views on warfare.

Despite his reluctance to learn anything from Aizen's memories, he had to admit that the man was a tactical genius and that such simple insight into him, changed his own perspective on his combat style. One such change was his newfound fondness for kido.

While he knew that it was a dangerous ability, seeing the creative process that Aizen used to devise his own personal barriers intrigued him, especially since such barriers repelled not only his attacks, but that of several other powerful soul reapers.

Under her tutelage, he soon found himself favouring Hado's 33, 63, 73 and 79* and Bakudo's 61 and 63. Despite this success though, he endeavoured to at least be able to cast Hado 90 and Bakudo 81 without harming himself, especially since he remembered his last conversation with her.

Flashback:

"Kyoka," Ichigo spoke, pausing in his chain casting of Hado 33. "How close would you say I am to a Captain right now?"

"At the moment?" she repeated with her eyebrow raised. "I don't know, but we can find out. Just take a seat with me and we can see." Puzzled at her instruction, he complied nevertheless. "I've told you how to visualise your power countless times already and while it may bore you, it has had the desired effect. Now close your eyes and let me guide you."

Listening to her, he relaxed into his familiar meditative state and allowed his mind to drift in the direction she wanted to lead him to. Hearing a faint roaring in his ears, he felt her lead him closer to the sound, pausing once they were mere feet away from it.

"Open your eyes and look for yourself," she commanded him, stepping back.

Looking out at the sight before him, he felt his breath hitch at the sight before him. He found his feet inches away from the edge of a hundred foot drop into the brilliant purple waters below. Drawing back from the edge, he realised that this was the dam that he had first visualised as the store for his power. Unlike the last time though, the water level was close to the three quarter mark and the energy itself was a tranquil pool.

"This is only a theory," Kyoka began as she walked over to join him, watching as he continued to be amazed at the sight before him, "but when you acquired the Final Getsuga Tensho; Zangetsu and your inner hollowadded their own reserves of power to your own, leaving you with this ever bottomless abyss."

"Wait bottomless?!" he shouted at her. "This quite clearly had a bottom when I created it."

"Yes it did," she answered with a nod of her head. "That technique was designed just to create the framework for your control, not as the true reflection of your power. Even now, I feel your own energy flowing through me, increasing what power I had before, just as I change yours. It has a strange feel though, a consequence of your hollow taint."

"My hollow taint?" he asked in confusion. "I thought that he would disappear with Zangetsu?"

"Indeed he did Ichigo, but like Zangetsu he left behind his own influence on you."

"So I know about my reiryoku now," he spoke slowly. "What of my actual reiatsu?"

Smiling at him, she gestured for him to follow her to the edge again. Copying her as she peered over the edge, he looked down to see the sluice gate he used to control the output of his reiatsu.

"Before your training, these gates would fluctuate greatly on how much reiatsu you released. Now though, you are in control of this flow. Do you understand Ichigo? Coupled with your near limitless pool and control over it, you can reach levels of power similar to, if not greater than the greatest Captains that Soul Society has ever seen," she explained, watching him nod his head in understanding.

"And when do you think I will be ready for your bankai?" he asked, seeing her smile at him.

"When we're a bit closer to one another, then we can speak about it," she replied, while he nodded in acceptance. There was no need to rush it this time, so why rush to that confrontation.

End Flashback:

Now after a week of rigorous mental and physical conditioning, they moved onto learning more of her shikai.

Being immune to her own illusions, the only way for him to understand her power of complete hypnosis, was to spar with him under the effects of it. As he fought against her and her illusion, she watched as he managed to feint out of the way of her strike and score a critical hit to her illusion. Expecting it to fade away just like Aizen's illusions did when defeated, she felt her eyes widen in horror when it acted completely unexpectedly. As the illusion shattered into several glass-like fragments, they lingered momentarily before rushing forward and slicing into his body.

Gritting his teeth in agony, he hardened his reiatsu around him as much as possible, hoping to minimise the damage he took.

When the barrage of glass finally ended, he lowered his arms to his sides and collapsed on his knees, blood pouring from his body in small streams.

Rushing to him, she grimaced at the wounds inflicted to him by the illusion, wondering how it was able to do that in the first place. Deciding to worry about that later, she helped him out of his inner world. Appearing bloody and beaten in front of Nova, he watched the mod soul jump from his spot on the desk.

"Do you think you can get me to the clinic through one of your portals Nova?" he choked out, struggling to stay standing.

As the mod soul nodded his head and placed him into the hidden dimension, he was thankful that his sisters were out for the day and wouldn't know about him or the mod soul. When he was teleported into the clinic, his father was quick to not ask questions and simply half-carried, half-dragged him into a room.

As he lay on the hospital bed, he was conscious of one of Kyoka's hands in his hair, while her other curled around his hand.

"I'm so, so sorry Ichigo," she whispered into his ear. "I knew that I was changing due to our bond, but I never imagined that my powers would be changed to such an extent."

'You couldn't have known Kyoka,' he whispered back, trying to reassure her. 'Neither of us really knew the full extent of the changes to our souls, so there was no way to prepare for this. What we can do is take further precautions in the future, so that this doesn't happen again.'

Feeling her nod her head in agreement, he turned his attention to his father's questioning look.

"What happened to you Ichigo?" he asked in a quiet, serious voice.

"Training accident, I merely overextended myself," he replied nonchalantly, feeling his wounds throb slightly.

"Was this her idea?" Isshin asked, a slight bite to his tone, making Kyoka wince and Ichigo scowl.

"The training yes, but she had no idea that this would happen to me," Ichigo snapped back, his eyes narrowing at his father. "I'm thankful that you've fixed me up, but don't go jumping to such conclusions. I belong to her, just as she belongs to me and neither of us would willingly inflict such pain on the other."

Watching as his father digested his words, he had to admit that they weren't entirely true. After all, they would fight one day for him to earn her bankai, but that was unavoidable.

Swinging his feet off the bed, he gingerly made his way back to his room, thankful that he was more durable than most soul reapers or humans and collapsed into his bed.

'Thank god that I only have practice tomorrow,' he sighed in relief. 'After it I can just relax for a bit after this non-stop race that was training.' Feeling Kyoka settle down next to his pillow, he felt himself drift off to sleep, her hands stroking his cheek and hair again.

XXX

"Shit what the hell happened to you?" Tatsuki asked as she stared down at Ichigo's torso, her eyes wide in shock.

Following her gaze, he could see that his gi had opened slightly when Tatsuki grabbed him, revealing the layers of bandages beneath.

"It's nothing Tatsuki," he replied, tightening his belt so it wouldn't come undone so easily again. Seeing her determined look though, he sighed and scowled at her. "Look we both know that I've dealt with worse before, so just trust me okay."

"Yeah right," she scoffed, dropping into her stance again. "You're doing the same thing that you did back then Ichigo. You're shutting out those close to you and I don't like it!" she yelled, charging in with a fist aimed right at his injured torso.

""I'm not hiding it because I want to," he growled back, dodging her blow and retaliating with a fist of his own. "But you need to stay in the dark a little bit longer, because this time…I don't even know what's going on."

Hearing that, Tatsuki faltered in her step, allowing him the chance to pin her.

"What do you mean Ichigo?" she asked as he held his hand out to her, helping her to her feet.

"Exactly what I said Tatsuki," he muttered, heading back towards the change rooms since practice was over.

Minutes later as they walked home, Ichigo noticed Tatsuki fidgeting and stealing glances at him. Already annoyed at the looks he got at school, with some brave souls even going so far as to grope him as he walked through the crowded hallways, he gave her a look of annoyance.

"What's on your mind Tatsuki?" he asked, seeing her look away from him.

"I…I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies tonight?" she asked, seeing him halt mid-step. "Not as a couple or anything," she hastily amended, "but I know Orihime's been wanting to go, so why not tonight?"

"Um…yeah I guess it could be fun," he said, scratching the back of his head as he thought it over. "I'll give Chad and the others a call and meet you guys there, say about 18:30?"

"Yeah sounds great, see ya Ichigo!" she called out to him, jogging in the direction of Orihime's apartment.

"Yeah, see ya," he muttered, waving his hand in her direction.

"He shoots…HE MISSES!" Kyoka cheered from within his inner world. "Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you, the most clueless boy ever!"

'Oh shut it you,' he grumbled at her. 'God I hope Orihime and the others don't have plans.'

XXX

Hours later, Ichigo was dressed in a dark brown jacket and dark green shirt with a pair of blue jeans, black sneakers and a black backpack. He had stowed Nova and the soul removal glove in case of an emergency. Not to mention the fact that the mod soul would appreciate a good movie.

As he had feared though, Chad was busy working late tonight, Keigo was being held prisoner by his sister and Mizuiro had plans of his own already. Hell he had even called Uryu in desperation, only for the Quincy to brush him off since he had some sewing to do.

'I can't tell if he's a genius or not, for maintaining the image of a nerdy, sewing enthusiast,' he thought as a pair of girls snickered and pointed in his direction. 'At least he doesn't have them molesting him.'

"Oi Ichigo!" he heard Tatsuki call out to him, making him sigh in relief as he heard her arrive. Hopefully she had brought Orihime and this evening wouldn't get more awkward than it was already. Looking over his shoulder at her though, he felt his eyes widen at the sight before him.

Tatsuki was walking towards him with Orihime skipping along with her. She wasn't the only one though, as Ryo, Mahana, Michiru and Chizuru, trailed along behind the pair, talking animatedly with one another. Suppressing the blush that was rushing to his face, he took in their various outfits.

Tatsuki wore a red jacket over a plain black shirt, a pair of maroon shorts over black leggings and black sneakers, typical attire considering her tomboyish attitude. Orihime was not much of a surprise either in her long pink striped skirt, cream coloured sweater and a pair of light brown sandals. Timid little Michiru wore a long blue dress with a white floral pattern that trailed around her waist that came down to her knees, a black cardigan and silver sandals.

Ryo wore a pair of skinny blue jeans, light, frilly purple blouse and black sandals, the ensemble complimenting the track star's slim figure. Being one of the more outspoken members of the group, Mahana wore a simple yellow blouse with a bow on her lower back that left many a male mind heading for the gutter at her cleavage, brown skirt and brown sandals. And finally, Chizuru wore a pink sweater and cream coloured skit, obviously in an attempt to match Orihime and gold sandals.

Seeing the looks that the girls were getting, he released a low growl from his throat, while Kyoka laughed at him.

"You know, people can either assume two things from this situation. You are either gay, or you are playboy to have all these girls to yourself this evening. Personally I'm hoping for the latter," she chuckled as the girls finally reached him.

"Where are Chad and the others?" Tatsuki asked, looking around for them.

"They couldn't make it," he grumbled, watching as they all, with the exception of Chizuru, acquired a light blush on their faces. Seeing it, he just wanted to scream and let out his frustrations at this situation. "Come on; let's just get the tickets already."

To his dismay, the cinema was already quite packed and the only seats available for them all to sit together, had two of those 'love-birds' seats in it. Praying that he wouldn't be forced into it, he was proven wrong yet again as Tatsuki shoved Chizuru away from Orihime and her goal, placing him in it with a timid Michiru. The one thing he was grateful for was the fact that at least she wasn't intimidated by him that much anymore.

As 'Prometheus' started to play, he carefully placed his open bag next to him so that Nova could peer out of the opening. Wondering why on earth they were watching a horror movie in the first place, he simply ignored it when Michiru would unconsciously latch onto his arm during a particularly scary scene. When the movie finally finished, he coughed politely and tugged on his arm, watching as she quickly let go of him and looked away, her face red in embarrassment.

Hearing their stomachs grumble, they made their way towards a nearby diner for a bite. Finally getting to the front of the line, Ichigo, Chizuru and Mahana ordered the crispy beef and rice, while Ryo, Tatsuki and Michiru ordered sweet and sour chicken with noodles. They all felt their eyes twitch when Orihime asked for a custom creation of pineapple, tuna, wasabi, other vegetables and finally red bean paste. To the girl's disappointment, the teller informed them that they didn't have red bean paste.

Taking a seat while they waited for their order, the conversation slipped into how they felt about the movie and what they planned to do tomorrow until finally their food arrived. As they munched on their respective meals though, Ichigo felt two Adjuchas-class hollows appear near them. Looking up as the two creatures howled, he heard the girls drop their chopsticks and look around in fear.

'I hadn't realised that they had found out about hollows as well,' he thought as Ryo, Mahana, Chizuru and Michiru huddled together. Orihime had pursed her lips and quickly excused herself. Watching her disappear, he turned to see a worried look on Tatsuki's face.

"I'll make sure she stays safe," he whispered to them, getting to his feet and grabbing his backpack.

"Wait Ichigo!" Tatsuki called out, grabbing his wrist. "What can you do to help?"

Seeing the look of confusion and fear on her face, he sighed and shook her off. "I'll explain later Tatsuki, I promise," he muttered and ran off.

Watching him disappear in shock, Tatsuki gave him only a minute before she disappeared after him. Left alone at the table, the four girls exchanged uneasy looks with one another, before nodding and heading off after them.

XXX

Within an alleyway not far from the diner, Orihime grunted slightly as the one hollow struck her shield with its fist, reeling back in pain when it felt its attack reflected at it. Panting slightly, she looked up at the large humanoid, noting the pig-like skull it sported. Summoning Tsubaki, she aimed at the off-balance hollow. Despite the injury though, it easily dodged the attack.

Seeing a hint of movement behind her, she summoned her shield again to block the snapping jaws of the dog-like hollow, its powerful limbs forcing the shield back slightly. Soon though, she found herself tiring and knew that they were slowly wearing her down by attrition.

'I just need to hold them off until Sado-kun or Ishida-kun can get here,' she thought as she leapt away from a speeding fist. 'Then we'll be able to take care of them. I wonder what they're doing here though.'

Unfortunately in her daze, she landed near a slick oil spill, losing her footing and falling to the ground. Sensing their opening, the dog-like Adjuchas charged in, fangs gleaming in the moonlight, while Orihime sat frozen in shock. As a low hiss echoed through the area, Orihime pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

Standing before her and holding the hollow immobile with a single hand, Ichigo stood in a forest green overcoat and black top, both with a high collar, a black hakama with a green sash and a pair of black sandals with white socks. Sheathed at his waist, she saw a katana with a hexagonal guard and green hilt. What puzzled her though, was the sense of foreboding she got from the blade, a sense as if she should remember and be afraid of it. Feeling herself falling back, she yelped and found herself over twenty feet away from where she was before. Looking back, she found herself faced with another Ichigo, this one with a grim look on his face.

"Kurosaki-kun?" she whispered, watching the Ichigo closest to her turn and face her.

"I'm afraid not Inoue-san," Nova replied, "It's actually Nova."

"Nova-san? But then that means…" she trailed off, fully accepting that Ichigo was indeed back again. How she didn't know, but right now, she really didn't care.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki yelled, causing the girl to turn and face her fully. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Tatsuki-chan," she replied with a smile. "Thanks to Kurosaki-kun."

Seeing everyone turn their head towards him, Nova shook his head and nodded in the direction that Ichigo was in. Following his gesture, the girls like Orihime, felt surprised that Ichigo was standing before them with a sword at his hip. Remembering Orihime and Chad's explanation though, they grouped together and watched.

Meanwhile with Ichigo, he stood his ground and watched with a blank look on his face as the dog-like hollow struggled against his vice-like grip, howling and whining to be let go.

"It's strange for two Menos to be all the way out here," he said dispassionately, watching as the hollows froze in their actions. "I know you can talk, so tell me what you're doing here."

"NEVER!" the pig-like hollow squealed, charging Ichigo with its fist pulled back.

Wincing at what he was about to do, Ichigo tossed the dog into his partner and released his reiatsu, infusing it with his anger as Kyoka had taught him. As the others watched, the wind picked up around Ichigo, while his body acquired a light purple glow, much to Orihime's surprise. Since he was controlling it, he brought the full force of his power down on the hollows, sending them to their knees before him.

"I will ask you one more time," he said in an emotionless voice. "Tell me what you hoped to achieve here?" Seeing that neither of them was about to answer him, he kept the pressure on and walked over to them, drawing Kyoka from her sheath. "You know, I was expecting it to be harder than this," he muttered, raising his blade above him. "Here's to hoping you enjoy Soul Society," he finished and brought it down, cleaving through their heads with ease. Watching as the hollows dissolved into thin air, he sheathed his zanpakuto and started to walk back towards Nova and the others.

Stopping in front of them, he saw the looks of awe and slight fear in their eyes. Ignoring it for the moment, he donned the glove and popped Nova's pill out of his body and phased back into it. Popping the pill back into the doll and removing the glove, he turned to face them again.

"So…you can see that I have my powers again. I need to ask that you keep this to yourselves though. It would cause me no small amount of agony if it was to get out before I could explain myself," he explained, watching as they nodded their heads dumbly. "Good, now I'll walk you guys home, just in case something else decides to come out tonight."

As the group walked home, Ichigo's thoughts couldn't have been happier. He was able to protect those around him again and he was powerful enough to face down any threat at the moment, all thanks to Kyoka Suigetsu.

XXX

Within his inner sanctum, the mastermind behind the hollow attack, grit his teeth in frustration. Honestly how hard was it to kill a powerless seventeen year old. Although, with those that still guarded him, he supposed that he shouldn't be too surprised by this news.

"What are your new orders, master?" his servant asked, seeing his master sigh in annoyance.

"Tell the others to begin a mass weakening of the seal in Karakura Town," the master muttered. "I have waited long enough to begin my plan and with your new 'brother' among us; we will brush the Gotei 13 aside like the wind does to the leaves.

XXX

You know what, I hate costume design. I mean just thinking of what outfits the girls should wear annoyed the hell out of me. Then again, it was worth it to see Ichigo's return, even if it was only a short slaughter.

Hado no. 79 – Kugeki Hari (Void Beam), is a personal creation of mine from my other story 'Red Sun Sets'. It is twice the size of a Byakurai and is a pale purple beam of energy. It is similar to Hado 88, but sacrifices damage in order to be able to bend around obstacles.

So what did you like, love or hate? Let me know please.