The Protector's Temptation.

Welcome back once again, one and all. Sorry for my absence, but life goes on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts/Inner Speech'

"Kido/Zanpakuto release"

"Zanpakuto speech"

XXX

Chapter 11:

As moon rose high into the sky, a light breeze blew through the clearing Ichigo and his clone were in, the leaves rustling softly in the background. "We were wondering why the hollows sent after you were killed," the clone began, a smirk on his face as he spoke, "but I can't say that I thought that it was you killing them all along."

"Yeah well I'm just full of surprises aren't I?" Ichigo quipped, placing a hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto, the action drawing the curious gaze of his clone.

"So who gave you your powers?" he asked, pointing towards the sealed zanpakuto that was shrouded by his overcoat.

"That shouldn't matter to a dead man," Ichigo replied with a growl, sliding a foot back and drawing his blade. Hearing his clone growl back at him, he tensed slightly as it held Zangetsu at the ready. Staring each other down, Ichigo's body was soon covered in a light purple glow, while his clone was shrouded in a familiar light blue glow. Unheeded by the battle of wills before it, a solitary leaf began its slow descent between the pair of them, floating this way and that under the influence of the breeze. As it landed on the lush grass, the pair charged forward at one another, swinging their blades in large cleaving arcs and triggering an apocalyptic shockwave on contact.

XXX

All around Karakura Town, the heads of both spiritually aware humans and soul reapers alike swung in the direction of the clash, their senses pushed to the limit as they tried to discern the new presence. Whilst the soul reapers were drawn back to their conflicts and the majority of the humans knew better than to interfere, Michiru couldn't help but shiver as she felt the continued brawl happening minutes away from her home. Breaking into a light jog, the groceries in her hands clinking together in their paper bag, she shivered and came to a halt as a particularly intense wave of pressure hit her, causing her to gasp in fear from the amount of killing intent laced within it.

XXX

Glaring at the smirk on his clone's face, Ichigo parried his blade to the side, bringing his knee up to connect with his ribs. With a sickening crunch, his clone doubled over, gasping for breath, before being sent flying into a tree from a vicious backhand. Destroying several young trees with the force of his body, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and glared back at Ichigo as he approached.

"That's for Rukia's ribs," he said in a cold tone, his eyes boring into his opponent unblinkingly.

"Bastard!" his clone growled at him, charging his reiatsu into his zanpakuto. "GETSUGA…TENSHO!" he roared, sending the blue crescent tearing across the ground at Ichigo.

Holding Kyoka Suigetsu out in front of him, he caught the energy wave on the blade, holding it back as it continued to press down on him. Glimpsing his clone charging at him from the corner of his eye, he swung his blade upwards, forcing the wave to dissipate in the sky above them and locking blades with his former shikai yet again. Seeing his clone smirk at him, he tensed as he saw the blade covered in his blue reiatsu.

"Getsuga…Tensho," his clone whispered, engulfing him in radiant blue light, scorching the ground underneath them. Leaping into the air to escape the smoke cloud, the clone grinned in triumph as it stared down at the smouldering area.

"Behind you," Ichigo whispered in his ear, causing him to turn around in shock, his zanpakuto speeding to block the blow that he knew was coming. With barely a second to spare, Zangetsu blocked the potential deathblow, but was sent hurtling to the ground below, creating a human-sized crater on impact. Not giving him a moment to recover, he held his hand, palm outward, gathering his reiatsu to it. "Hado no.33, Sokatsui!" he chanted, firing off a wall of blue flame at his opponent, fuelling the raging inferno around them as the blast exploded against his clone. Peering into the smoke and flame, Ichigo's eyes narrowed as a pillar of blue reiatsu burst through the haze, speeding towards the heavens.

"Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu," his clone whispered, slashing through the smoke with his blade and causing it to disperse. Standing there in his ragged over coat, his face slightly burned from the intense flames he had been trapped in. Vanishing from view, he reappeared in front of Ichigo, bringing his blade down with earth-shattering force and sending Ichigo skidding backwards through the air. Following after him, the pair of them continued to exchange blows, sparks grating off their blades and gusts of wind being thrown around from the force. Smiling sadistically, Ichigo's clone disappeared yet again, slamming his heel into his back.

Grunting in pain as he twisted in the air and ripped his hand through the air to slow himself, Ichigo quickly brought up his blade to block the barrage of blows from his clone's afterimages. 'There's no way I was this fast or strong in my Bankai alone,' he thought with a grimace, wincing as he was cut across his cheek, but retaliated with a deep cut across the clone's ribs.

"Don't forget what we heard Rukia say Ichigo," Kyoka spoke up from within his inner world, her eyes narrowed in anger at the imposter in front of them. "They are faster and stronger than their counterparts, not to mention the fact that Zangetsu amplified your strength and speed beyond others of your level." Wincing as Ichigo received another cut, this time to his thigh, Kyoka's anger bubbled within her. "Would you stop holding back and release me already! This is no time to be holding back. This jackass not only looks like you, but he tried to fucking kill one of your friends! Are you seriously telling me that you're not going to do everything in your power to crush this bastard?!"

Not bothering to respond to her outburst, Ichigo grimaced and dodged another attack from his clone. 'I wasn't holding back on purpose,' he mumbled, raising his zanpakuto to catch Tensa Zangetsu. "Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu," he murmured, noting how the clone's eyes widened in shock. Feeling Kyoka's power flowing through him, he released his hold on his reiatsu, allowing it to empower him completely. Throwing his clone back with ease, Ichigo stared on dispassionately, his eyes having acquired a bright purple glow to them

"What did you just call your zanpakuto," his clone hissed at him through gritted teeth, his hand clenching tighter around Tensa Zangetsu's hilt until blood began to drip from the bottom of it.

"I told you before," Ichigo whispered, vanishing from sight and appearing behind him, "dead men don't need to know." Lashing out with a one-handed stroke, his increased strength flung the imposter back through the air, his feet unable to gain any traction at all. Looking around with wary eyes, the Ichigo-clone grunted as he felt the blade dig into his shoulder, spinning out of the way to avoid the blow going completely through him and lashing out with his own in retaliation.

Catching the pitch black blade inches from his face, Ichigo kept up his emotionless mask while his clone scowled back at him, neither of them noticed that they had left the sprawling forest and had entered the outskirts of Karakura Town. Growing sick of looking into his clone's face, he placed his palm to its chest. "Hado no. 63, Raikoho," he muttered, igniting a yellow spark in his palm that went on to envelop them both in a blinding yellow light, illuminating the suburb below them for several streets.

XXX

As Michiru continued to take on agonizing step after another, she sighed in relief as she turned the corner to enter her street. For the last few minutes she had felt near constant waves of pressure crashing down on her, making her world spin as she struggled to breathe. 'Just a few hundred feet and I'll be home,' she thought, glancing back over her shoulder at the flashes of light from the conflict that was raging above the town. Before her stunned eyes though, the area was suddenly illuminated by a blinding yellow flash, forcing her to shield her eyes.

As the light finally died down, she heard an earth-shattering crunch, accompanied by a grunt of pain. Cracking her eyes open and blinking at the spots before her eyes, she could just make out a figure in a black coat with vivid orange hair. "Ichigo-san?" she asked timidly, seeing the black blur turn to face her.

"You're Michiru Ogawa," the blur stated, causing her to nod her head dumbly. Surely he could at least remember her name after everything that had happened to them the last few weeks. Hearing a dull buzz in her ears, she turned to see another blackish, green blur with vivid orange hair, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. Rubbing her eyes vigorously to clear them, she blinked as her vision cleared and allowed her to take in the sight before her.

The Ichigo on the ground wielded a pitch black blade in his right hand, with a ripped black overcoat over his shoulders, while the Ichigo in the air above them stood in his forest green overcoat with a gleaming silver blade. Each of them was bruised and bleeding heavily, the one on the ground even showing several serious burns to his face, arms and chest. Remembering that the one that she had seen the night of the movie was dressed in green, she shuffled backwards as the one in black approached her.

"Looks like she figured out which one of us was the real one," the clone smirked as he stared at the shivering brown-haired girl. "Tell me Ichigo, you still have that 'protect everyone' thing right?" he asked in sadistic glee, while the original's eyes widened in fear.

Feeling her fear intensify as both of them vanished, she gasped when she felt herself suddenly hovering in the air. Looking to her left, she screamed as Ichigo held her under his right arm, his left gripped around the blade impaled in his gut.

"Michiru…" Ichigo gritted out through clenched teeth, "shut your eyes and don't open them until I tell you too." Not even bothering to see if she had complied, he charged his reiatsu into his hand once again. "I haven't had a lot of time to practice this one," he muttered as blood leaked from his mouth, "but I don't think there's a better time than now to try. Hado no. 88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!" he roared sending point-blank blast of lightning at his clone, sending blade and body barrelling backwards into the air. Feeling some of the backlash struggling to overwhelm him, he wrapped his arms around Michiru's quivering form, shielding her with his own body.

Once the blast had dissipated, Ichigo tried to look over his shoulder, but stopped as his back flared in agonising pain. Taking in the devastation to the area though, he was simply glad that he had aimed towards the forest and not the residential area behind him. The paved ground itself was nothing but smoking slag from the intense heat, while the grass and moisture had been burned away, leaving nothing but dry, cracked ground behind. Not finding a hint of his clone's presence anywhere near him, he turned back to the petite form his arms were wrapped around.

Seeing minor burns to her arms and legs he sheathed Kyoka with a sigh and scooped her up into his arms, causing her to let out a muffled squeak. "We need to get those injuries healed," he explained as she looked at him questioningly, pointing out her burns. Feeling two very familiar signatures appear behind him, he turned to see a battered Renji carrying Rukia.

"Ichi…go," Renji spoke haltingly, his eyes wide in surprise. "When did…" he tried to say, only to fall silent as Ichigo flash stepped over to him.

"Later Renji," he said as he stared back at the red-headed soul reaper emotionlessly. "For now…we all need medical attention." Heading off in the direction of the Urahara Shop, he registered Renji following close behind him.

XXX

Meanwhile at the Urahara Shop, the various members of the deployment trickled into the Shop and down into the underground training area, their injuries mostly minor cuts and bruises from their fight. While they were still unsure of the battle that had raged near Rukia and Renji's position, they had no doubt that its conclusion had been what signalled the retreat of the clones. Feeling overwhelmed at the sheer amount of injured in his shop, Kisuke had put calls in to Orihime and Isshin to assist Tessai and Yoruichi in dealing with them all, while he worked to gather any information possible for them.

Hearing the crunch of dirt at the base of the ladder, everyone's heads swivelled towards the newcomers, the expressions of shock really beginning to frustrate Ichigo as they gaped at him.

"We could use some help here," he growled at them, gesturing to his arms and the two behind him. Moving to closer to the group, he tried to set Michiru down on one of the rickety beds, but found his gi in a death grip as she took in everyone around them. Then again he couldn't really blame her, especially with Komamura, Mayuri and Kenpachi staring at them so intently, the former out of surprise, while the latter two radiated insanity. Giving up on freeing himself, he fell back onto the bed, watching as Isane went to tend to Rukia and Renji, while Orihime approached the two of them.

Hearing Orihime gasp out loud, several of the treated soul reapers made their way over to check on Ichigo's condition, wincing as they took in his injured back. While Ichigo was fully aware of the cuts to his face and thigh, he was woefully ignorant to the charred and blackened skin across his back, evidence of a poorly controlled kido.

"You've regained your powers Kurosaki," Byakuya stated in his emotionless tone, moving in front of the former substitute as Orihime's shield enveloped the two of them.

Giving the stoic Captain of the Sixth Division a look that said, 'And your next observation would be water is wet?' Ichigo grabbed Michiru's outstretched fingers as they were reaching to touch the glowing orange shield. "You don't want to do that," he said in a gentle tone. "From experience I can tell you that while it may be healing you, it will hurt you to keep you in here."

"How did you regain your powers Ichigo Kurosaki?" Sui-Feng asked brusquely, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. Frowning as he contemplated telling them about his bond with Kyoka Suigetsu, he was spared the ordeal as Kisuke popped down the ladder and rushed over to them.

"We have a problem," he said quietly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Whoever sent those…people after you, they've somehow managed to seal off all access to the Precipice World from the Living World."

"Impossible, only the technicians at the SRI (Soul Reaper Research Institute) have the knowledge and technology to control the Precipice World," Mayuri hissed at the shopkeeper.

"Then someone within your Division is working against you," Ichigo said quietly, drawing everyone's attention yet again. "It's either that or the technology is not as exclusive as you thought it was."

"Yes well…" Kisuke continued, giving the former substitute a knowing smile, "you're all stranded here until Mayuri and I can figure out a way around this barrier."

Speaking of barriers, Ichigo was relieved when the barrier disappeared from around the two of them. "Thanks for that Inoue, despite how much I appreciate the healing, I do not like sitting in the bubble," he said with a smile and was relieved when Michiru made to stand on her own two feet. She still stayed very much attached to his arm though and hid behind his body from their prying eyes.

"So you've gone and gotten yourself a girlfriend eh Ichigo?" Kenpachi said with a smirk, causing some of the others to chuckle, while Rukia, Orihime and Rangiku frowned.

Seeing Michiru blush and bury her face in his overcoat, Ichigo growled and focussed a bit of his reiatsu in front of him, silencing their chuckles. "Enough Kenpachi, she's a friend that almost lost her life tonight. She doesn't need any more stress piled on top of her."

Whilst the reiatsu Ichigo was giving off was potent and filled the majority of the Lieutenants with fear and the Captains with curiosity, the battle loving Captain of the Eleventh Division merely grinned and raised his reiatsu to match and overwhelm Ichigo.

Gritting his teeth as the situation escalated, Ichigo began to raise his own even higher, fighting to shroud Michiru from the overwhelming blood thirst that Kenpachi radiated. Stepping in between then, Kisuke whipped out his fan and rapped them both on their skulls.

"Now, now Ichigo, don't forget that your girlfriend is still here," he said chidingly, earning himself a jarring fist to his nose, breaking the appendage.

"Shut it Urahara," he ground out, leading Michiru towards the exit. Before he was out of ear-shot though, Rangiku's voice rang out through the air.

"Would it be alright if I stayed at your place while we're here Ichigo?" she asked, sending a seductive wink at the boy.

"Sorry Rangiku-san, but I'm afraid that we're already full up," he replied, stopping at the ladder to look back at her.

"Aww really?" she purred at him, her breasts jiggling slightly as she leaned forward, causing Omaeda, Renji and Tetsuzaemon to blush and pinch the bridge of their noses to suppress the blood flow.

Smirking at her antics, he gave her a roguish grin that sent shivers down her spine. "Strip completely if you want Rangiku-san…it's not like you have something that I haven't already seen before," he said with a smile, completely unfazed by her reaction. Seeing the women blush crimson at his words while Omaeda, Renji and Tetsuzaemon fell over in shock, Ichigo waved back to them and disappeared after scooping Michiru up.

Feeling the temperature fall rapidly, the dazed soul reapers turned to the pint-sized Tenth Division Captain, his reiatsu billowing about him as he gritted his teeth. "Rangiku…" he ground out, turning to glare at her. "What exactly have you been doing?!"

XXX

Speeding through the air after getting Michiru's address from her, Ichigo glanced down at the young girl who clutched tightly to his overcoat with her eyes closed. "Shutting your eyes makes the trip even more disorientating," he said quietly, noticing her glance up at him with wide eyes. Seeing that she was at least looking around a bit, he slowed down slightly so that she could take in the scenery. Stopping above her home, he slowly descended to her window, carrying her inside.

Setting her down on her bed, he glanced around briefly, inwardly chuckling at the chibi-penguin headboard. Feeling her push past him, he blushed and looked away as she hurried to put away her unmentionables.

"Sorry that you got dragged into that tonight," he said softly, causing her to still in her frantic clean-up. "It was careless of me to not realise that we had moved into a residential area and because of that, you almost lost your life. I promise that if there is anything I can do to make it up to you, I'll gladly do it." Making his way towards the window to leave, he stopped when she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"W-Would you…" she started to say, falling silent as she began to hyper-ventilate, worrying him. Hearing Kyoka squeal in delight from within his inner world, his face morphed from worried to confused. "I-I mean if y-you're not b-busy this Saturday, w-would you l-like to go out with m-me?" she asked timidly, her face completely crimson.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Kyoka shouted within his inner world, jumping up and down with reckless abandon, while he stood there gaping like a fish. "Stop acting like a fish and say yes! She's actually managed to pluck up the courage to ask you out, the least you could do is accept," she told him, appearing in the real world and looking at him with pleading eyes.

'I shouldn't,' he replied, closing his mouth and slipping on a thoughtful mask. 'She almost died today from being an innocent bystander. Getting any closer to me will just place her in even greater danger.'

"And if you turn her down now, probably the first boy that has shown any interest in helping her, she'll be hurt even more," she replied in a sad tone, her eyes mirroring Michiru's own as they gazed at him in hope. "She knows what she's getting into after today Ichigo and Kami knows that you'll tear the heavens apart to protect her if needed. You did your part for the soul reapers today, let them handle whatever mess they've ended up in."

Thinking it over, he had to admit that she had made some valid points. Yes he would probably tear through heaven or hell just to protect the girl in front of him, even if he hadn't known her at all. Yes, he had already helped the Gotei 13 out by defeating his clone, but no, he would not leave this mess in their hands, not when it was his town they were fighting in. Conscious of the young woman still in front of him, he smiled at her, causing her heart beat to rise rapidly.

"Sure Michiru, I'd love to, but I have plans on Saturday already. How about Sunday?" he asked gently as he wrapped her in a light hug. Feeling her nod her head, he loosened his grip on her and stared down into her wide brown eyes. "I'll pick you up here at say one? We'll grab something to eat and then figure out what we want to do." Seeing her nod her head again, he placed a tender kiss to her cheek, before heading out the window with Kyoka following after him.

"My little Ichigo has a date," she squealed, skipping around him in glee and making him chuckle. "Oh I am going to have so much fun with this." Hearing the last part, he stumbled and looked over to her, his expression filled with fear at what she had planned for him. "Not to mention how crazy the school's going to be when they hear this. Then again she is an awfully private person. Hmm…"

Seeing the gears in her mind turning, he groaned and buried his head in his hands, praying that his sanity was still intact after Sunday.

XXX

Back in the Seireitei, within Kageroza's secret laboratory, the scientist grimaced as his clone army shuffled into the room. While the majority of them had only minor injuries to their person, his supposed pinnacle of technology was breathing shallowly, its skin charred and blistered.

"What happened?" he growled, watching as Rukia's clone stepped forward and bowed.

"We ran into the individual that was defeating the hollows sent after Ichigo Kurosaki," she explained, seeing him nod in understanding. "The problem is…it was Ichigo Kurosaki himself."

"And he did this?" Kageroza growled in anger, indicating the prone form that was being attended to.

"Yes."

Growling at this new obstacle in his path, Kageroza fumed and retreated into his private chambers. 'If the substitute was able to defeat him at this level, I merely need to alter the mix again. The danger will come in introducing that much more hollow reiatsu into his system. Regardless of the consequences, I cannot, I will not fail now!' he thought, sinking into his computer chair and beginning to work, the room filling with nothing but the sound of his keystrokes.

XXX

A short and sweet chapter, I think it's a nice way to get back into the swing of things. I know some readers were concerned that this would not be a fair fight, but let's consider a few things.

1 – The copy will not fight fair.

2 – Ichigo is not one to resort to trickery and needs to be eased into that role.

3 – In canon, they fought over Karakura Town several times…where was the collateral damage?!

4 – What level is Ichigo's clone really at? And really what are Zangetsu's weaknesses? His greatest ability, in my view, was simply making his wielder a stronger and faster fighter.

Anyway that's enough of the fight. As for the pairing and all the ship-teasing (Is that even a term, informal or otherwise?) I've been doing. How often does someone actually end up with the first person they dated? Can't say that, that holds true for me personally, but I have seen it once or twice in real life. Still most stories deal with falling in love with that one person, or persons in a harem. Why not have it as a complete unknown with several healthy or unhealthy relationships until I reveal the final pairing.

Or it could be that I just like torturing my readers. DON'T HIT ME! *Cringes away.*

Till next time, hope you enjoy the chapter and let me know what you liked, loved or what you would like to see improved.