The Protector's Temptation.
We return once again to a story that leaves me just as giddy as I'm sure it does for some of you. Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter and here's the answers to some questions.
From Bunny153539:
I wouldn't call it a pairing. Isshin is attacking him again since he's got his powers back and he's in a better mood again. The badge will be a wait and see.
From xNamikazeKyuubix:
The Bleach females dancing nude in front of him is more of a reward than a punishment in my eyes.
From gster391:
I never said I was human in the first place.
Anyway read on and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Thoughts/Inner Speech'
"Kido/Zanpakuto release"
"Zanpakuto speech"
XXX
Chapter 5:
Grumbling to himself as he was once again pounding down the pavement, Ichigo winced as Tatsuki swatted him on his arm. Glaring at her, he could see a smirk on her face.
"So what happened to you yesterday that's left you so sensitive?" she asked curiously, watching him slow down and come to a stop outside a small park.
"Just some idiots, both on the way home and waiting inside to ambush me," he lied, stretching his arms above his head to loosen the kinks in it. "You know; the usual deal."
"Tch, you're going soft if they can leave you stiff," she teased him; slugging him again and watching him deftly catch her wrist.
"Still hard enough to put up a fight though Tatsuki," he chuckled, flicking her on her nose and dashing away as she fumed at him. As they continued to run, he had kept his senses extended to search for any hint of Rukia, but was disappointed to find not a trace of her left. Brushing his hurt aside, he left Tatsuki at her place and ran back to his own home.
XXX
A few hours later, Ichigo was listening to his science teacher drone on again about intermolecular forces, when he felt Kyoka run a finger down the back of his neck, sending a shiver of pleasure through his being.
'Stop it!' he yelled at her, hearing her chuckle and walk to sit on his desk, obscuring his book with her form.
"Relax Ichigo," she said with a yawn, stretching her arms above her head. "I just wanted to help you relax a bit, since being so stiff all the time would lead to early wrinkles and such."
'Thanks for the beauty tip, now could you get off my book please?' he mumbled, trying not to stare at her, as her robe slid up her thigh when she leaned back across the desk even more fully.
"But I'm tired," she moaned, tracing circles idly in the air with her finger.
'Then go back to sleep,' he said in frustration as he turned his attention back to his teacher. 'Hang on…it's almost noon, how can you still be tired?'
"Simple silly, I didn't go to sleep when you did," she answered him, sitting up and moving to take a seat on his neighbour's desk.
'And you didn't because?' he asked, playing along with her for now.
"Because I needed to work on restoring your reserves," she replied, giving him a bored look. "It's not a simple matter of, 'oh hey let me restore your reserves'. I need to help your soul refine your power to better match my own."
'Why? I thought that with our acceptance of one another, it would adjust to suit us,' he asked, taking note of the homework that the teacher assigned them for next week, before starting to pack away his things for lunch.
"Yes our bond helps, but your reiatsu used to be raw and heavy," she said idly, walking next to him as he headed towards the roof with the others. "My own reiatsu though is like my silk robe, smooth and gentle. As such I need to re-educate your soul on how to replenish your reserves. Soon I won't have to and it will restore itself much faster."
'Sorry that I can't do anything to help,' he said gently, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Eh it's not your fault," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Anyway, do you have anything to do today?"
'Nothing planned really. I have practice tomorrow and Thursday, but other than that, today and Friday are my free days.'
"Excellent," she crowed happily, startling him when she leapt into the air without any regard for her clothing. "That means we can start your kido training when we get home." Noticing him pale at the mention of kido, she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Trust me; it won't be as bad as you think. You just need to listen and relax. Oh head's up, your friends seem to be calling you."
'What?' Looking around him, he could see Keigo waving his hand frantically in front of his face. "What?" he asked out loud this time.
"Have you been ignoring me this whole time?" Keigo whined pathetically. "I thought we were best friends Ichigo!"
"Who'd want to be best friends with you anyway," Ichigo grumbled at him. "Now what did you want?"
"I was asking if you wanted to swing by the arcade after school. Apparently they just got a few new games delivered to them."
"Can't, I've already got other plans," he replied, turning back to his bento and watching as Keigo comically fell to the floor after being shot down.
XXX
Later that day as Ichigo left the school grounds; Kyoka was surprised when he headed in opposite direction to the normal route he used to get home or to the dojo.
"Where are we going Ichigo?" she asked from within his inner world, watching the world pass by through his eyes.
'We're going to solve the problem of being unable to use my badge Kyoka,' he answered with a grin as he neared the Urahara shop. 'Hat-and-clogs owes me for all the times I've helped him out before.' Feeling her understanding, he continued the rest of the way in silence, smirking when the shop came into view.
Walking up to the front entrance, he could see Jinta bickering with Ururu about something. Feeling slightly sorry for the little girl, who had grown quite a bit since he last saw her, he lifted the red-haired boy up by the back of his shirt.
"You know you're being an awful bully right now," Ichigo chided him, while said boy struggled in his grip.
"Let me go freaking carrot-top!" Jinta yelled, trying to lash out at Ichigo unsuccessfully.
"If you say so," Ichigo smirked in reply, dropping the boy on his ass. "Is Urahara in?" he asked, turning to the door when he saw it slide open. To his utter amazement, he saw Karin walking out of the store, a bag of goods in her hand. "Karin?" he asked, startling her as she looked up at him.
"Ichi-nii, what are you doing here?" Karin asked, hiding the bag behind her and making Ichigo raise his eyebrow at her.
"I could be asking you the same question," he said, gesturing to the bag behind her, "since I don't remember you being big on candy anyway." Seeing her shift uncomfortably, he shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "Look just be careful okay, I don't know what you've gotten into, but I want you to promise me that you'll stay safe, okay?"
"Heh, you're one to talk," she muttered under her breath, but nodded her head at him. "Later Ichi-nii," she yelled, rushing off back home.
Watching her disappear around the corner, Ichigo turned his attention back to the store and entered it. Seeing the shopkeeper seated on a cushion at the front of the shop, he had to guess that he heard everything and was just waiting for Ichigo to ask him about it.
"I don't want to hear about her fighting off hollows anytime soon Urahara-san," he said walking inside, stopping in front of the shopkeeper. "I don't think I'd be able to forgive you for getting her involved in this."
"You wound me Kurosaki-san, if you think that I would draw a young girl into such a world," Kisuke said in mock hurt, while his fan was clutched in his hand. "I'm just a humble shopkeeper providing her with goods that will help keep her life, spirit-free."
"Whatever Urahara, just don't cross that line," Ichigo scoffed, fixing the former Captain with a glare. "I was wondering if you had some supplies on hand I could use."
"Oh and what exactly are you looking for Kurosaki-san?" Kisuke asked, turning serious.
"Nothing that you need to worry about Urahara-san," Ichigo replied, trying to reassure him. "I'm looking for a soul removal glove and I was wondering if Kon was still around."
"Oh is that all?" the shopkeeper asked, hiding behind his fan, while his mind raced through possible explanations for why Ichigo wasn't using his badge. The most likely being that he knew of its purpose and was unwilling to reveal himself just yet.
"Well I think I have a glove in stock, but I'm afraid that I don't know where Kon is," Kisuke said as he got up from his seat and began to rummage around in the cupboard under the counter.
"Are any of the mod souls here then?" Ichigo asked again, noticing Nova's green doll form peek its head from around the corner. "Hey there Nova," he called out, waving at the doll.
"Kurosaki-san," Nova replied, walking over to greet him, while Kisuke finally returned with the glove.
"Am I to assume that you would like to ask for Nova's help then?" Kisuke asked as he handed the glove over to Ichigo.
"If you're willing Nova," Ichigo said, keeping his gaze fixed on the mod soul.
"I thought you lost your powers though?" the mod soul asked, peering up at Ichigo curiously.
"I did, but I've managed to gain them back," Ichigo replied, exchanging a look with Kisuke. "I know this is sudden, but I could really use your help in particular. The idea of Kon, Lirin or Cloud walking around in my body unsettles me."
Turning to look at his creator, he saw Kisuke give him the slightest nod.
"I'm willing to help in any way I can Kurosaki-san," Nova said, bowing to him.
"I'll consider them on loan to you for the moment Kurosaki-san," Kisuke spoke, drawing Ichigo's attention back to him. "Please take good care of them."
"Of course Urahara-san," Ichigo answered, stowing Nova away in his bag. "I'll see you guys some other time then," he called out with a wave of his hand, exiting the store. Once the teen had turned down the corner, Yoruichi slinked over to Kisuke in her feline form.
"Was that really a wise move Kisuke?" she asked, settling herself in his lap. "I don't want him in trouble with Soul Society, but they will think of this as being really suspicious if they find out."
"Better we aid him in any way we can Yoruichi-san, than risk alienating him any further," Kisuke replied, idly running his fingers along her back. "I'm hoping that if it comes to it, he will at least listen to reason when we speak to him."
XXX
Finally arriving home, Ichigo dodged his father's attack and walked upstairs to his room, intent on finishing his homework before dinner so that his evening would be free to spend practicing kido. Entering his room, he saw that his substitute badge was still in the same place on the floor.
"Hey Nova, could you do me a quick favour?" he asked, helping the mod soul out of his bag.
"What is it Kurosaki-san?" Nova asked as he peered up at him.
"For starters, please try and call me Ichigo. You're going to be in my body sometimes, so we could at least be on a first name basis with one another?" Seeing the mod soul nod his head in agreement, he then turned and pointed to his badge on the floor. "And lastly can you move that away to say…the top of my cupboard?" he asked, gesturing to the open space above the area Rukia used to sleep in.
"Of course, but why not just pick it up yourself?" Nova asked, opening a wormhole and depositing the badge away.
"Long story, I'll explain it later," Ichigo replied, sinking into his desk chair. "I don't know what you normally do to amuse yourself, but my feel free to use my laptop if you want. I know you won't do something like search for free porn sites or stuff like that," he finished, watching as Nova's head turned a vibrant red as he hastily shook his head in the negative.
XXX
A few hours later, Ichigo was done with both his work and dinner and entered his room to hear Nova chuckling to himself. Glancing over the mod souls shoulder, he had to supress a chuckle himself as an old cartoon with Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote played out, with Wile E. bragging to Bugs about how he was going to catch the elusive rabbit.
Leaving before he got too caught up in the pair's antics, he sunk into his familiar meditative pose and slipped into his inner world. Landing with a soft thump in a seat, he blinked and looked around to find himself in a replica of his classroom with him seated in the front row. Hearing the door open, he felt his face rapidly turn crimson, as Kyoka walked in, clad in a tight white button-up shirt with the top two buttons left undone, revealing enough of her cleavage for perverts like Keigo and Kon to be lying on the floor in a bleeding mess had they been there, a green skirt with a matching jacket and black high heels. Stopping in front of the board, she smirked at him and began to scribble across the board.
"Welcome to Kido 101," she said with a smile, gesturing to where she had written the course name down. "Now you know the basics of reiatsu control and how it can be used to augment your physical abilities," she explained, pointing to the familiar outline of a human body with a store of reiatsu in its centre and currents of it flowing to other parts of the body.
"We're going to take this a step further now, as each of these conduits can act as a channel for kido," she continued, pointing to his hands and her sealed form. "The difficulty arises from the fact that you are trying to control your reiatsu once it is outside of your body, a task that is difficult to all but the greatest of kido masters. Thankfully you have me," she finished with a smile, placing her hand on her bosom.
"Before we begin, I want to show you several illustrations of how your reiatsu is moulded to cast a spell." As her hand reached into her cleavage, Ichigo had to pinch his nose shut, in an attempt to stem the nosebleed he felt coming. Pulling out a remote, she took a seat next to him and activated a projector above them. Appearing on the white screen, he could see Rukia flowing through the motions of the first spell he ever felt, namely Bakudo no. 1, Sai.
"Here we can see that the reiatsu is being channelled through her fingers, before being focused on the area just outside the appendage," she explained, as she stopped the demonstration and pointed towards Rukia's fingertips. "Several other spells manipulate your reiatsu in a similar fashion. They are Bakudo's 4, 9, 10, 61 and Hado's 1, 4 and 90 to name but a few."
As she continued, she pointed out how Hado 31, 32, 33, 63, 73 and Bakudo 63, amongst others required his reiatsu to be channelled into his palm, while others like Hado 54, required it to be channelled through his zanpakuto. That piece of information intrigued him, as his style of fighting with Zangetsu, allowed him to unleash close range Getsuga Tensho for devastating effect.
"I see that you're already thinking of the possibilities Ichigo, that's good. Innovation in battle is key to defeating your enemy," she lectured him, bringing up the final slide that showed Bakudo 81. "These spells are incredibly difficult, since it requires the manipulation of reiatsu in the area in front of you, rather than from your blade or hands."
"What are we going to start with then?" he asked, his mind acting like a sponge as he tried to absorb all the details before him.
"I have a feeling that Bakudo no. 61, Rikujokoro will be most appropriate for you, since it has a simple incantation and only needs your reiatsu to simply flow through your fingertips." Snapping her fingers, the walls of the classroom disappeared, leaving them at the front of a large kido range, similar in appearance to the ones used by the academy students. Looking out at the end of the range, he could see several wooden dummies arranged as targets.
"Listen carefully now Ichigo," she said as she walked up to him again and dragged him to the middle and manipulated his arms and legs into position. Blushing at the contact, he tried to keep his mind focused while she continued. "The incantation is simple; Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Now repeat it, while channelling your reiatsu into your fingertips and into the space just in front of them."
Nodding in understanding, he took a deep breath and visualised the dam in his body, opening the sluice gate to his hands and feeling his reiatsu flow into his fingertips. Opening his eyes, he began to force his reiatsu out through his fingertips, his brow furrowing as he tried to control the energy.
"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo no. 61, Rikujokoro!" he chanted, only to recoil as the energy arced back into him, shocking him and sending him to his knees. Recovering from the backlash, he could see Kyoka looking down at him with a stern expression on her face.
"When during my explanation did I tell you to force the kido to obey you?" she asked, pulling him to his feet and bringing his face down to her level. "When did I tell you to use all your reiatsu to fuel the spell?"
Understanding that he had messed up and forgotten her lesson about rationing his reiatsu, he hung his head in shame. Feeling her hand cup his cheek, he looked up at her, his eyes widening as they took in his mother's caring smile.
"Don't force it and don't overdo it Ichigo," she said soothingly, placing her hand on his chest. "When you want the power, allow a little bit of it to flow through you and shut it off when you know it's enough. Then when you feel it in your fingertips, let it flow away from you, acting only as a guide for it," she explained, tracing a path from his chest, up through his shoulder and down his arm, until she finally reached his fingertips. "Now try again."
Feeling his body relax at her presence, Ichigo took a deep breath and tried her suggestions. Allowing a small stream to flow through the gate, he let it flow through his being, merely guiding it on its way. When he began to struggle to control it, he shut off the flow and concentrated solely on the task of guiding it.
"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo no. 61, Rikujokoro!" he whispered this time, feeling the reiatsu flow away from him. Seeing several bolts of light shoot towards the target, he watched as they slammed into its torso, pinning it in place. A minute later though, the kido dissipated in a flash, leaving him confused as to what happened. Turning back to Kyoka, he could see her back in her true form smiling at him.
"Your concentration slipped and the spell came undone," she explained, watching his brow furrow again. "In time you will be able to keep the spell in place without thinking about it, but for now you need to remember that you are still feeding and controlling it. Think of it like an outpost that a country starts. Without proper governance and resources, it will fall into ruin."
"That's a strange way of putting it," he said as he clenched and unclenched his hand repeatedly. "Guess all I can do is practice then."
Nodding in agreement, Kyoka stood back again and allowed him to practice, interfering only when she wanted him to learn to unconsciously control the kido. After two hours though, Ichigo felt his body drained off energy and a quick look at his reserves, showed that he had drained himself of energy.
"You did well today Ichigo, I look forward to seeing how you progress once we start with more destructive spells," she said, bringing his attention back to her.
"I'm almost dreading the consequences already," he said softly, willing himself out of his inner world. Reappearing in the Living World, he could see his laptop off and Nova sleeping across it on his desk. Glancing at the watch on his wrist, his eyes widened at seeing it was already 23:00. Changing into his sleepwear, he could feel Kyoka's presence working on refining his soul. Sending her his thanks, he slipped into a peaceful sleep, missing the wave of affection she sent back.
XXX
Wednesday came and went in pretty much the same way for Ichigo, except that it was his first day meeting the guy's karate team. Entering the gymnasium with Tatsuki and Tetsuo, he wasn't surprised that everyone zeroed in on his presence, freezing in their own practice rituals. Ignoring them, he headed off to change into his karate gi.
When he finally returned, stretching his arms and legs to warm up the muscles, it was to see Tetsuo talking to the other members of the team, their faces showing their apprehension. Joining them, he caught the last bit of the conversation where Tetsuo outlined that they were each going to go against him for five minutes each before swapping out.
'Tch, not like they're going to be anywhere near as good as Tatsuki,' he thought, watching as Tetsuo led him over to some padded mats with a circle drawn in the middle of it.
"I suppose this will be more of an endurance exercise than skill training," Kyoka remarked from his mind. "Even if I 'helped' them, I doubt you would even flinch now."
Keeping his face blank, Ichigo had to admit that she had a point. Other than when she spawned that illusion of Kenpachi and Yamamoto, he had been fairly competent at remaining calm in the face of what she threw at him, a fact reinforced since he had managed to strip away her illusion of Grimmjow doing cartwheels and pirouettes that morning during class with his will, an act that pleased her far more than he could imagine.
Two hours later and he was smirking down at the bruised and battered forms of the other team members. True to his word, he had not held back, although he had only retaliated when they had left him an opening to exploit, while dodging their blows the majority of the time. Off to the side, the coach was looking on in amusement and Ichigo wondered why he hadn't called the practice to a halt earlier to suggest an alternative to them. He guessed that it was simply because the man wanted to see him in action.
"Oi Ichigo!" Tatsuki called out to him, causing him to look around to find her. Looking off to the side of the stands he could see her waving her hand in the air in an attempt to get his attention.
"What Tatsuki?" he shouted back, walking over to her.
"You need to stop making it look so easy when you take on those guys. It's hard enough without you destroying what little confidence they have already," she said with a smirk. "Not to mention it served as a major distraction for the girls since they watched your every movement rather than my fists."
"They must be really desperate if they're looking my way," he chuckled, not missing her raising an eyebrow at him.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that Ichigo," she murmured, picking up her bag as he grabbed his own. "You were scary before and that kept them away. Seeing you as a high school athlete though, they're going to flock to you eventually."
"Oh really now?" he asked with a hint of amusement. "And what about you Tatsuki, are you going to be one of my admirers?" he teased her, wincing when she slugged him.
"Last time I checked, I was the last one to make you cry in a fight. So tell me why I would go after a cry-baby like you?" she shot back with a grin.
"Now that's low Tatsuki," he muttered. "Then again, you were the last one to cry between the two of us," he whispered, making her freeze in her step.
Looking back at him now, she remembered the time just after Orihime's kidnapping when she had punched him hard enough to send his head through a window and her breakdown after it.
"Yeah well you were a bit of a jerk when that happened," she muttered under her breath, drawing level with him again.
"Only because I needed to be," he replied softly. "But that's the past now."
As they continued on their way home though, they saw Uryu rushing across the rooftops above them. Ichigo was slightly surprised when the Quincy hadn't looked his way, but took it as a sign that his suppression training was paying off early dividends. Not one to rest on his laurels though, he quickly clamped down on any and all traces of reiatsu he was leaking.
Seeing him looking after the Quincy, Tatsuki nudged him to get him moving again, knowing it wasn't healthy for him to dwell on such things when he was finally getting his life back on track.
Looking back at her, Ichigo smirked and continued with her, knowing that he wasn't needed at the moment anyway. Besides he had kido practice to dread this evening, especially so since Kyoka was starting him on Hado no.33 tonight.
XXX
As the hollow he had been tracking dissolved into thin air, Uryu dismissed his bow and looked back to the strange reiatsu he had felt near the school. When he had passed it earlier, it was barely a blip on his radar, making him assume that it was a human with more reiatsu than normal. Now as he tried to search for it though, it seemed to have vanished, almost as if the owner had noticed him and worked to supress it even more. Memorising the strange texture of it, he made his way back home, making a note to watch for it more closely.
XXX
Another chapter comes to an end and I didn't get through everything I wanted to address.
The visit to Urahara and his Kido training took up most of my attention this chapter, so forgive me if it is a bit dull. Nevertheless, we are seeing that he isn't perfect at kido, but under a very special teacher, he should make rapid progress.
Now then, how did Ichigo spend his weekends before getting his powers anyway? This is something that just makes me think…how could I possibly torture him now?
Anyway, what did you like, love or hate? Let me know please.