Hi everyone!

Now that I'm back I finally had time to write another very long chappy =).

As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this story to your faves/alerts.

Notice: There's some make-out scenes ahead ;)


Chapter 9

After the fight with Renji the day had been a long one for Ichigo. He kept thinking back on the eerie voice he heard during the fight but thankfully none of the princesses brought the subject up afterwards.

He looked out the carriage window and stared at the setting sun, the orange and yellow hues soothed his troubled mind. Momo stared at the handsome young man and a smile formed on her face. She was always the last one to be dropped off which meant she got to spend a few minutes alone with her young protector.

The carriage finally arrived. Ichigo got down and extended his arm to help the small princess and they walked inside the mansion with their arms linked.

A small blush made its way to Momo's face when she thought about how easy these types of interactions came with Ichigo. She never thought things would play out like this or that she'd develop a crush on a guy like him so free spirited and intense. She used to have the biggest crush on Toshiro, the youngest taichou in the Gotei13. They got along great but he was too focused on his work and was usually very reserved, not to mention her father Aizen wasn't too fond of the silver haired boy and made it known several times. Momo would never defy her father so with a heavy heart kept her ties with the young taichou on the superficial side.

"Good night hime-sama" Ichigo said in a tone softer than usual bringing her back from her thoughts. He avoided eye contact as he slowly started to let go of her arm.

"Kurosaki-san" Momo said somewhat hesitant and gripped his arm gently. He looked down to meet her gaze which was full of concern.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"I..." She suddenly felt like a fool for being so impulsive. She didn't know how to continue without overstepping her boundaries.

"Kurosaki-san!" Aizen called as he waived and walked to the pair from the other side of the mansion, "I'm glad to finally see you again. Have you encountered any problems so far? How is my little Momo behaving?"

"There have been no problems so far and I'm proud to be able to protect a young lady such as your daughter" Ichigo said.

"Well I'm glad to hear that" He said with a warm smile but his eyes lingered on the bodyguard, "you look a bit drained..."

"I'm sorry it was a bit of a long day today" He said honestly.

"I can imagine, you have your hands full with three princesses to take care of. By the way, are you still living in Rukongai?"

"Yes" Ichigo said wondering where this was going.

"I'd like to propose that you stay with us, this mansion can certainly fit one more guest." Aizen said.

"I appreciate your kindness but that would be too much and I wouldn't want to impose." Ichigo said nervously.

"You wouldn't!" Momo chirped and both men turned their eyes to her, "what I meant to say is that I...that we'd love to have you in our home, not to mention that it would be less draining for you since you wouldn't have to go back and forth everyday" She said firmly looking into Ichigo's eyes.

Ichigo didn't know what to say. He wasn't too comfortable with the idea since he preferred to have his own place but it would be rude to say no.

"I accept…thank you very much for your kindness." He finally said and bowed to the brown haired man.

"Perfect" Aizen said with a wide smile. He then ordered a servant to prepare a hot bath for Ichigo as well as to lead him to one of the guest rooms.

"Thank you father" Momo said to Aizen and gave him a hug.

"It's no problem at all my little Momo. Kurosaki-san is a dear and instrumental person to me." He said patting her on the head before walking to his chambers.

Momo wanted to make sure everything was perfect in the room Ichigo would be staying in so after Ichigo left for his bath she went to look it over. After inspecting it several times she became anxious and fidgety. 'The room looks fine but I'm sure he's hungry since he had such a long day...but maybe he just wants some tea?' She wondered as she walked in circles. She walked out and headed to the kitchen.


Ichigo waited outside the bath still feeling rather awkward about the whole situation when the servant let him know his bath was ready. Ichigo thanked her and entered the room. When he turned around he noticed the exquisite setting. The servant had made sure the water was at the perfect temperature, she had mixed in fragrant oils in the water which were now overtaking his senses, and she had also lit up incense. The lighting was dim with only a few candles providing just the right amount of light. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and then proceeded to take off his clothing. He then went in the bath and sunk in to allow the hot water to ease his tired muscles.

'A guy could get used to this! But you should stop stressin', it would make my experience much better, ya know?'

Ichigo heard the disturbing voice from earlier and jumped up causing the water to splash around. He anxiously looked around in the shadows of the room.

"W-w-where are you? Show yourself!" He demanded with clenched fists and stood up. There had to be someone spying on him. He refused to believe he was going crazy…

'Show my self? If ya say so...'

Still shocked, Ichigo noticed a white blur manifesting itself in the darkness. He took a step back when he noticed the blur was taking the shape of a man. The man was wearing an all white outfit that matched his skin and contrasted boldly with the darkness of the room.

Ichigo's face paled when he noticed the man's features and a pair or predator-like golden orbs staring at him with pure malice.

'What's with the face? Didn't ya say ya wanted to see me?' The eerie man said as he walked closer to Ichigo.

'Crap!' Ichigo thought when he remembered he left Zangetsu in the bedroom. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" Ichigo demanded and got in a fighting stance still in the tub.

'Who am I? The hell if I know' He said and walked closer to Ichigo, 'now if ya wanna know what I want with ya the answer is simple. I want this' He said pointing a dark fingernail to his chest. 'It's pointless for a dumb kid like you to have the type of power that we have, look at ya! One look at me and you're shaking in fear!'

The man cackled loudly but was stopped abruptly when Ichigo punched his jaw. He now wore a cocky grin as he rubbed his chin,

'Ya think ya can take me? Not a chance' He said and hit Ichigo back. Ichigo slipped and in the process hit his head and fell unconscious.

'Figures...what a wimp!' The man said staring at Ichigo's body with a smirk plastered on his face before dissipating in the air.


Ichigo woke up to the sound of loud knocking on the door.

"Kurosaki-sama, is everything ok?" A servant asked from outside.

"Y-y-yeah, everything's fine thanks" Ichigo said.

He looked around feeling disoriented and rubbed the back of his head. He figured he must have fallen asleep during his bath. He got out of the bath and put on a white robe that had been provided to him by the servants. Such a fancy bath should have been a very calming experience but for some reason he was feeling worse than before. He opened the bathroom door and headed to his room.

The night breeze cooled off his heated skin calming his thoughts slightly. When he got there he absentmindedly opened and closed the door. His eyes widened when he saw Momo sitting on a cushion by a wooden table along with an array of food and desserts.

"H-h-hime-sama…" He said nervously with a surprised expression on his face.

"I figured you were hungry after such a long day but I'm sorry for intruding, I wasn't trying to be meddlesome" Momo said shyly and started to stand up, she didn't want to overwhelm him.

"No, you're not!" He said and walked to the now standing Momo, "Please stay…I was just not expecting anyone to be here and I'm not feeling well." He said with tired eyes.

Momo looked into his expressive brown eyes and nodded. Ichigo sat on one of the cushions and Momo walked to a pair of sliding doors that led to a garden and opened it to let the moonlight in. She then walked back to the table and sat on the other cushion.

"Do you like the food? I asked the chef to make a little bit of everything since I didn't know what you liked" Momo said.

"Yes thank you, it's more than what I could have asked for. Usually I just make myself a quick soup or buy something from the village." Ichigo said with a small smile.

"Good" She said happily, she liked taking care of him.

As their dinner continued Ichigo focused on his food and ate quietly. Momo knew he wasn't being his usual self,

"Kurosaki-san" She said breaking the silence, "I know I might not understand or be able to relate to many of the things that you have experienced in life, and I know we haven't known each other for that long either but I want you to know that I want to be there for you and help you in anything you might need…and I'm not the only one, you should know by now Yoruichi-san and Nemu-san feel the same way" She finished with a serious expression on her face.

Ichigo was caught off guard by her deep words. A small smile appeared on his face. He might be going through an odd situation, but he was also meeting new people to fight for.

"You wanna go for a walk?" He asked.

She nodded and he helped her up. They stepped out to the garden that was at the center of the house. It was dark and mysterious looking. There were large trees everywhere, perfectly trimmed bushes, and other flowers.

"So you're friends with that guy Renji and Kuchiki-san?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah he's a really nice guy once you get to know him. He's just very protective of Kuchiki-san…and Kuchiki-san is a very nice girl but I don't think she has a lot of friends and to be honest I don't really know her that well." Momo said.

"I guess with her history I could see why she doesn't have many friends, but I'm still not sure about the red-head…and why does he have to be so protective of her? It's not like they're together or anything" He said as he thought back on the way Renji acted towards Rukia. He kind of liked the feisty girl but her friend always seemed to be butting in on everything.

"So it seems that you and Nemu-san have gotten closer these past few days…she calls you by your name now." Momo said with a forced smile trying to suppress her frown after remembering their interactions.

"I…" Ichigo didn't know what to say. He was embarrassed because he had forgotten about the different turn his relationship with Nemu had taken.

"There's no need to explain. She's always been like that…" Momo said and started walking faster. She didn't want to but it was really bothering her now that Ichigo confirmed it. It happened with Toshiro and it had to happen again with him, that Nemu simply couldn't keep her hands to herself.

"Hime-sama I'm sorry…" Ichigo said as he walked faster to go by her side.

"Just stop!" Momo said with glistening eyes and looked up to meet Ichigo's guilty brown ones.

"I'm sorry it's just that …" Momo didn't know what to say as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, my behavior was very unprofessional and thoughtless" He said looking away unable to look at the crying girl.

"You didn't do anything wrong" She said as she wiped her eyes with her long sleeve, "Nemu-san simply takes what she wants regardless of how she might make others feel but…this…this will be the last time." She said and suddenly reached for his face. She caressed his strong jaw and then brought it down to press her lips on his.

Ichigo couldn't believe this was happening again, now he felt even guiltier than before. The way these princesses were acting had to be his entire fault. He grabbed her shoulders gently and pushed her away,

"Hime-sama, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I don't think we should be doing this, especially after Nemu and I-"

"I already know!" She cut him off, "there's no need to spell it out for me, I already know and I don't care. I'm just tired of being treated like a child…and I want to be closer to you as well." She ended with a small blush.

Ichigo was flabbergasted. He never imagined Momo felt like that towards him as well. He wasn't sure what to do. She was definitely a pretty girl but wasn't this wrong? He didn't have time to think things twice because Momo was once again pressing her lips on his.

He returned her innocent kiss but it was odd because he could feel her uncertainty.

"You seem tense…maybe I should walk you to your room." He said after breaking their kiss.

She turned a deep shade of red and avoided his gaze before speaking,

"I've never really done anything like this before… that was my first kiss." She said softly.

Ichigo's cheeks heated up. Now he felt like a senseless idiot even more. He lifted her chin up so that she would stare into his eyes and then he lowered himself until his lips were grazing hers. He started coaxing her and kissing her slowly. He wasn't an expert in this department by any means but he had more experience than her and he would make up for his brashness. He put his hands on her hips and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

After noticing she was starting to relax Ichigo decided to take it a step further. His lips parted and asked for permission to explore hers. A small gasp escaped her but she willingly agreed. As Ichigo explored and tasted Momo, he did so in the most delicate of ways. Knowing that this was all new to her made him want to make sure she enjoyed his attention, he wanted to please her.

Being with Momo was proving to be a new experience for him. With her, he was leading and was the one in control. He was really enjoying the feeling...

'So ya like being the one in control do ya?' Ichigo heard the creepy voice and quickly pulled away from Momo.

'Wh-wh-what the hell?' He thought and started rubbing his eyes. His vision was getting blurry…

"Kurosaki-san? Are you ok?" Momo said worried. They stood like that for a few seconds until he finally spoke again,

"I'm fine hime-chan, I thought I had something in my eye" Ichigo said in a slightly different tone, "How about we continue where we left off?" Ichigo said confidently and gave Momo a sudden passionate kiss.

Momo could feel there was something different about Ichigo but the feelings he was making her feel overtook her better judgment.

This Ichigo was different than before. He wasn't holding back. His kisses were deep and without restraints. One of his hands started roaming around her body while the other went up and tangled in her messy bun.

"You're so tasty, hime-chan" Ichigo said and broke their kiss. Momo's face was flushed and her eyes were closed as she tried to catch her breath.

Ichigo didn't waste any time and he moved on to her neck. A small moan escaped her lips as he started sucking on it. Ichigo now had a big smirk on his face after hearing her moan. He decided sucking and licking wasn't enough and bit her to get a better taste. Momo moaned some more and her hands shot up to tangle in his messy hair.

"Kurosaki-san…" She called out. She couldn't believe this was happening and that he was making her feel this way. His hard body couldn't get any closer to hers and his heat felt perfect in the cool night.

Ichigo couldn't hold back any longer, he pushed Momo on the grass and hovered over her without saying a word. It was then that Momo noticed the golden hues that made up Ichigo's eyes. He looked away from her and buried his face in her neck as he continued to run his hands through her body. She wanted to say something but she was feeling too much pleasure to say anything.

"K-k-kurosaki-san…" She called out to him when she noticed he was trying to part her kimono. When he ignored her and successfully got a hand inside she gasped and tried to stop him.

"Didn't you want to get closer? Be a nice girl hime-chan" He said looking into her eyes with hungry golden eyes.

Momo panicked when she realized what was going on. Ichigo would never take things further than she would allow. It pained her but she did the only thing she could,

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-san…Bakudo number 1: sai" Momo said and Ichigo's arms flew to his back.

"You sneaky little-"

"Stop!" She yelled with tears in her eyes, "Stop!...I know you're there Ichigo. Please come back…" She cried and started hitting his chest.

Ichigo's eyes flashed brown and golden until he was back to normal. He looked down to the ground unable to face Momo. He was fully aware of what had happened.

When Momo noticed he was back she undid the spell and threw her arms over him.

"I'm glad you're back" She cried into his chest.

"Hime-sama, I'm so sorry" Ichigo said looking away with saddened eyes, "I don't think it's safe to be around me anymore and I should have told you"

"I said it before and I'll say it again, I know who you are inside and I will help you in everything I can so there's no need for you to feel like you're alone. Please accept my help and trust in me." She said and cupped his face so that he would look into her eyes. He nodded and she blushed deeply before giving him a small kiss.


Inside the mansion….

"Ahhh looks like everything is falling in place. I wonder, what will you do when you find out the truth, Ichigo?" The brown haired taichou said with a small but satisfied smile. He took a sip of his drink before continuing to read his book.


Hellooo again!

Hope you guys liked the chappy, Hichigo was getting rather feisty hehe. I have a question for you guys, since Ichigo has quite a few lady friends I was wondering if you guys would like some lemons in this story or if I should keep it as is? I've never written lemons but I'm willing to give them a try if you guys want. Please let me know in a review or a message =p

Also, Momo was never a shinigami but she was taught that binding spell for protection purposes ;).