Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It's property of Tite Kubo.

Summary: Thank you for the positive feedback I received last chapter! Honestly, I had never written anything about spies, so I'm glad I nailed it. Now it's time for another setting I'm unfamiliar with as a writer: superheroes. I'm not really a fan of comic books, but I have watched movies from both DC and Marvel and watched Sailor Moon as a child, so I hope that helps. I was also inspired by Miraculous Ladybug, another series that will be the death of me. If you're unfamiliar with it, don't worry, although I put some references in this story about it, it doesn't change anything. I hope you like it!

Until tomorrow!

Reviews:

Bleach power: Thank you very much! No, I've never written anything about spies, but I'm glad you liked it. Maybe I'll write more crime stories in the future.

Unmasked

Prompt: Superheroes

Summary: Ichigo is not your average high school student. He's Protector, the beloved hero of Karakura Town. However, he has an ongoing rivalry with Ice Queen, a renowned heroine. What will he do when he discovers her secret identity and realizes not only that he has known her all along, but that she's his crush?

Ichigo yawned rather loudly in class, making all his classmates turn to look at him.

"Is my class boring you, Kurosaki?" Ochi-sensei said, glaring at the boy.

"No, sorry, I'm just tired." Ichigo excused himself, making all of his classmates laugh at him.

"Hmp. It better not happen again." The teacher threatened him, and then continued on with the lesson.

It wasn't Ichigo's fault he was so sleepy. It's not like he had gotten to bed late playing videogames or browsing the internet. He had more important things to do, for example protecting the citizens of Karakura from villains at night was one of them. Kurosaki Ichigo was no ordinary high school student, you see, he was actually Protector, the teen superhero in charge of defending Karakura from the massive attacks of Chou, a villain who wore a white butterfly suit, and had his minions wreak havoc around town for no apparent reason. More often than not, the attacks were in the middle of the night, so he had to get up and fight, only to return home and have a few hours of sleep.

God, I wish Chou got a hobby or something. Ichigo thought as he tried to pay attention during class. Lately, the super villain had attacked Karakura daily. Although Ichigo had tried to minimize damages when fighting, it had been to no use, streets and buildings needed repairs. Luckily, no citizens were hurt so badly they needed to go to the hospital. Still, Ichigo wished he could do more for them. More than anything, he wanted to stop Chou once and for all, but he rarely showed himself, using his minions instead.

The boy was so deep in thought that he missed the chime ringing, signaling it was lunch break already. He stayed in his seat, and eventually fell asleep, having a dreamless nap. He woke up when he felt something poking his arm. He opened his eyes and saw a girl with short black hair, and indigo eyes, smiling at him and offering a cup of coffee. Her name was Kuchiki Rukia, one of his classmates.

"Here you go." She said, giving him the cup of coffee.

"Ah, thank you." Ichigo said, his cheeks turning red.

"You looked like you needed it. You gotta take care of yourself more, Ichigo." Saying that, she left him alone.

The seventeen year old boy sighed. It was probably no secret to anyone, but he had had a massive crush on Rukia ever since she had been kind enough to tutor him on a subject he was flunking due to his hero activities. It had been almost two years since that day, and he still hadn't had the courage to confess, mainly because Rukia was not your average student, she was the Kuchiki Rukia, younger sister to the Kuchiki Byakuya, owner of many companies in Karakura Town. She was super rich, and everybody wanted to be her friend or date her. Ichigo had a lot of competition. He too didn't want to scare her away. Their friendship was enough for him, or so he told himself.

Suddenly, deafening screams were heard just outside the school. A man with blue hair and a white tight suit was destroying the street, trees, and buildings surrounding Karakura High School. Ichigo frowned. That had to be one of Chou's minions. He couldn't lose time, he had to go outside and stop him.

"Everyone, calm down! We have to go to the auditorium! We'll be safe there!" Ochi-sensei shouted to their students.

Ichigo didn't heed her words. He ran past his classmates and locked himself in the restroom. There, he took out a badge he had, and used it to transform into his superhero persona. His uniform changed into black robes, and a black mask covered his eyes. His hair also turned black. This way, no one would be able to recognize him. Ichigo looked around, and found a window, which he used as an exit. Then, he landed right at the front of the school, glaring at the villain.

"Ah, Protector, I'm glad you could come!" The guy said. "I was dying to fight you!"

Ichigo tensed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Pantera! And I'll show you I'm King of the Jungle!" The villain exclaimed, and proceeded to throw at Ichigo the blue rays he was using earlier to destroy the streets and buildings.

The young hero easily dodged the attack, and retaliated with an attack of his own. Then, he jumped to the street, so that the school wouldn't be affected. There, they kept fighting, throwing rays at each other, as well as punches. Pantera kept throwing insults here and there, but Ichigo just rolled his eyes. Why did villains always want to talk in the middle of fights? They kept brawling, but then Pantera threw a car at Ichigo, who was too late to crush. However, before the car could reach him, it froze midair, and then broke in a thousand pieces.

"Thought you could use some help." A voice said behind him.

Ichigo turned around and gazed at a girl standing there. She had short white hair, and was wearing a dress and mask as white as her hair. She was Ice Queen, another hero in Karakura, who usually fought beside him.

"So the princess came out of the castle to play." Pantera taunted her, making the girl frown.

"It's Ice Queen." She hissed, narrowing her eyes. "Is this clown giving you a hard time?" She then turned to the hero.

"Go home, Ice Queen, I can handle it." Ichigo said instead.

The young heroine rolled her eyes. "I want to fight too, Protector. You're not the only hero in this city."

"The little girl is right. There's room in this party for one more. Now, let's dance!" Pantera interrupted them, and started attacking both at the same time. The heroes dodged, and starting fighting back.

"I'll admit you have style, but your moves need practice!" Ice Queen said, and then froze the floor, so that Pantera could fall. He leapt instead and stood on top of a building. "Well, you really have the reflexes of a cat." She added.

Ichigo rolled. "Could you stop with your puns? We're in the middle of a fight!" He yelled at her.

Ice Queen merely smirk. "Am I getting on your nerves, Pro-tec-tor?" She said in an unusually sweet voice, which made Ichigo cringe.

"Whatever, just pay attention! We're in the middle of a fight!" He yelled at her.

"Glad you two lovebirds are finally focusing on our fight!" Pantera exclaimed from above them.

"We're not lovebirds!" Ichigo yelled back, his cheeks turning red.

"Watch out!" Ice Queen screamed, pushing Ichigo out of the way of Pantera's attack, receiving the full force of the attack instead.

"Ice Queen!" Ichigo screamed, and reached her, grabbing her in his arms.

"I'm fine." She said, clutching her abdomen.

"No, you're not!" Ichigo yelled, infuriated. Then he glared at Pantera. "You're gonna pay for this!"

"Yes! That's what I wanted to see! Avenge your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ichigo shouted, and attacked Pantera.

The two men fought throwing punches as well as rays. Ichigo tried to keep the fight on top of the rooftop to minimize the damages, but Pantera kept leaping around. Since Pantera also moved a lot, it was difficult for Ichigo to pinpoint the exact location of the man's weak point. All of Chou's minions had a thing in common: they had a very small hole on their bodies, which, when pressed, made them explode in a puff of air. That is how they defeated all of their opponents. However, this guy was making it impossible for Ichigo to localize the hole. He was also worried about Ice Queen, who had taken a pretty hard blow.

"Very good, Protector, but I'm tougher than you!" Pantera suddenly exclaimed and tried to use his arm to claw at Ichigo's chest. Once again, the villain was stopped by ice covering his body. "The fuck?"

"You might be tougher than Protector, but you're not tougher than me!" Ice Queen exclaimed as she used her ice powers to freeze Pantera into place.

"Bitch!" Pantera exclaimed and broke free, only for his feet to freeze. "What?!"

"Protector, now!" Ice Queen yelled at him, and Ichigo nodded.

The hero used Pantera's distraction to look for the hole. Got it! As it were, it was almost in plain sight, right in the center of his stomach. "ARGH!" He shouted, preparing himself to use massive amounts of energy, and then threw his attack, making Pantera poof. The citizens who had watched the whole fight, clapped and cheered for the two heroes.

"Great job, Protector. Saving the day as always." Ice Queen approached him, moving her hips as she sauntered towards him.

"I didn't need your help." Ichigo said grumpily. Ice Queen only smirked.

"That might be true, but you can't deny we work better as a team." She said flintily, moving her index finger up his chest.

Ichigo gulped. "Thanks, anyway. For your help, I mean."

"Whenever you want, Protector." The heroine said, and then jumped off the building, and out of Ichigo's view.

The superhero sighed. His relationship with Ice Queen was complex to say the least. She appeared on scene at the same time as he had. Almost two years ago, Chou had started attacking the city, and there was no one to stop him. Ichigo had found a badge on his bed one day, and upon touching it, it had given him the powers he had now. He had been scared at first, but a man wearing green robes and a stripped hat, presented himself to Ichigo and explained him he had become a superhero, destined to fight and defeat Chou. He had thought the strange man was joking at first, and ignored him. Then, he reluctantly used his powers to fight when he noticed two of his classmates had been targeted by one of Chou's minions. He fought clumsily and had almost been knocked out, when something froze the villain's arm. Ice Queen had entered the scene, and helped him defeat the villain. Ever since, they often fought together, but weren't partners. Ichigo had asked her once a long time ago to fight crime together, but she had answered with a negative. "I fly solo." After that, a rivalry had developed between them. Both competed to see who arrived at the scene first and got to defeat the villain. In the end, they always fought together and came out victorious.

Ichigo had become annoyed at her. He didn't understand why she always got involved in his fights. He arrived first, and when she appeared, she went into the fray as if they were partners or something, when it was she who had refused to be his partner in the first place! It got worse when Ice Queen started protecting him. He was Protector, damnit, he didn't want anyone else getting hurt when he could fight and protect them all. Ice Queen got hurt often too, trying to help him. It was frustrating. His fights were none of her business, and yet, she was there every time. She also liked to flirt with him for no reason. Ichigo thought it was another way to annoy him. He couldn't believe she actually liked him or anything. Not that it mattered, he was in love with Rukia, after all.

Figuring his teacher and classmates were probably looking for him, Ichigo jumped off the building, and headed to the school, trying to remain unseen. He jumped to the window where he had exited and detransformed. He went out of the restroom, and walked towards the auditorium. He passed by the gym and noticed a white light coming out the hall. He stopped dead on his tracks, and gaped as he saw Kuchiki Rukia standing there, grasping a white ribbon in her hand. Ichigo acted quickly and hid himself in one of the bushes nearby, and watched the girl walk away.

He couldn't believe it! Rukia, his crush, was Ice Queen, his rival?! What had the world come to?! No, it couldn't be! Rukia was serious and kind, while Ice Queen was sarcastic and kinda bitchy. His mind couldn't reconcile the possibility that the two could be the same person. In a dazed, he walked to the auditorium and joined his classmates, his eyes sometimes straying to look at Rukia.

Once he got home, Ichigo started analyzing his current situation. It seemed Rukia had powers just like himself, but could she be Ice Queen, or was she someone else? As far as he knew, the only hero other than himself was Ice Queen. The other people with powers in the city were Chou's minions. Ichigo figured he could ask the strange man who had given him his powers his questions, but decided against it. Hat and Clogs, as he called him, never told him anything useful, and his help was disguised with riddles. He was insufferable.

The only possibility was that Kuchiki Rukia was Ice Queen. Ichigo searched for a picture of Ice Queen online and compared it to one he had managed to take of Rukia when she was distracted (and no, he wasn't a stalker, just an admirer). Both had short hair, which reached a bit below their necks. Rukia's, though, was black, while Ice Queen's was the complete opposite. That in itself didn't mean anything, for Ichigo's powers changed his hair to black, so it was possible it did the same to Ice Queen's. Now, they both had the same body type, being short and thin. Ichigo tried to think hard to remember if they were of the same height. He realized they were of the same height or close enough. Next, he compared other features that weren't covered by the mask, and he got startled when he noticed Ice Queen's eyes. He hadn't truly noticed before, but they were of the same indigo color as Rukia's own eyes. He flushed. Rukia was definitely his fellow heroine. God! He had insulted Rukia! And what was way worse, Rukia had flirted with him while being Ice Queen! Fuck! He would never be able to meet her eyes again whether as Rukia or Ice Queen.

After the initial shock had subsided, Ichigo paced around his room thinking about what was the best course of action he should take. Should he pretend he hadn't seen anything? For their well-being, that probably was for the best. He'd take the secret to the grave, and Rukia would be in no harm of being found out. However, perhaps it'd be helpful if they could contact each other, and keep the other inform when there was an attack. It could improve their safety too. Maybe this time, she would agree to be his partner. The thought made Ichigo blush.

"This is impossible!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing his head and pulling his head. "I'll never be able to tell her!"

"Ichigo, stop making so much noise or I'll kick you!"

The next day was a nightmare for Ichigo. Every time Rukia smiled or so much as looked his way, Ichigo blushed remembering all the times she had touched him as Ice Queen, or all the times he had held her in his arms. He had been so obvious, that his friends started asking him if something had happened between them. If his crush wasn't noticeable before, now he was sure the whole classroom knew about his feelings.

Feelings? Did he still like Rukia? Did that mean he had feelings for Ice Queen? He was confused. Ichigo knew that Ice Queen was still Ice Queen no matter who she was without the mask. She was brave, smart, tough, flirty, and bossy. That didn't mean Rukia wasn't any of those things. Perhaps Ice Queen showed the qualities Rukia kept to herself, just like Protector encased everything Ichigo couldn't be as a normal student. Protector was strong, bold, and openly caring, while Ichigo was shy and reclusive normally. Those were still parts of his personality. Now, could he learn to love that other side of Rukia? He turned to look at her, using his History book to cover himself. She was currently speaking with her friends, when one of them said something funny which made her laugh. Ichigo smiled. No, it didn't change anything. Rukia would always be Rukia, no matter what. If anything, now he knew another facet of her. Ice Queen was important to him too.

Later that same day, another villain who called herself Tiburón attacked Karakura, this time it was near the mall. Ichigo found he had a hard time concentrating on the fight the moment Ice Queen stepped in the scene. As always, she was reckless in her attacks and got hurt. Ichigo's heart wrenched painfully inside his chest as he saw her fall.

"Ice Queen!" He shouted at her, and was immediately by her side.

"Damn, she's tough." Ice Queen complained as she stood up.

"Are you alright?" The hero asked her anxiously.

"I'm fine, focused on the fight!" She barked at him, and threw ice to Tiburón, who side stepped.

"Is that the best you can do? You two are a disappointment." Tiburón said, making Ice Queen growl.

"The only disappointing thing will be when we defeat you!" She exclaimed, and attacked again.

Ichigo watched her mesmerized. Ice Queen was extremely graceful and strong. Her powers were magnificent. She could freeze objects and break them. She could use ice to trap her opponents. Sometimes, she used her ice as a shield or made ice take the form of blades to pierce her enemies. She was simply breathtaking.

"Protector! I found the whole!" Ice Queen called him, snapping him out of his daze.

Ichigo focused his eyes on Tiburón's body, and realized the hole was on her lower abdomen. "Yosh!" He exclaimed, and attacked, piercing her hole, and making Tiburón poof.

As the crowd cheered, the heroine turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Protector, are you alright? You seemed distracted just now."

Ichigo sweated. "No, it's nothing."

"Oh? I thought you had finally fallen in love with me." She said, smiling seductively at him. Ichigo flushed. "It doesn't matter! I'll definitely get you next time!" Saying that, she went away, leaving a flustered hero behind.

Ichigo gulped and went on his way. Ice Queen had no idea that he was already madly in love with her, but with her civilian identity. He'd never hear the end of it if she found out his secret identity. Distracted, he hid himself in an alley, and detransformed. After the black light that appeared each time he transformed and detransformed vanished, he realized he had an audience. There, standing wide eyed was none other than Kuchiki Rukia, aka his long time crush, aka Ice Queen. Ichigo gasped and stuttered trying to come up with an explanation, but no sound left his mouth. Rukia, however, soon started giggling, and then ran to him until she was only a few centimeters away from him.

"Found you." She blurted out, and then she hugged him tight, making Ichigo gasp.

"Yeah, you did." The hero finally rasped out, and then he put his arms around the girl, returning the hug.

From afar, a figure cladded in green watched them with a smile. "And so the plot thickens."

A/N: Sorry for any mistakes. I didn't edit before submitting.

Chou, meaning butterfly, was Aizen, haha. It was a nod to Le Papillon, just Aizen actually has a butterfly suit.

Pantera was Grimmjow and Tiburón Harribel.

I'm sorry if the superhero names were lame, but it was the best I could come up with. Ichigo was almost named "Karakura Man", s I guess "Protector" is an improvement. And the damn love square got resolved in this one-shot! So yay for that! Also, if you didn't notice, Rukia was always in love with Protector and was glad he happened to be her classmate and friend Ichigo.