The Protector's Temptation.
Welcome back again guys and girls. This chapter is a bit delayed since I wrote it and then scrapped it due to the original not fitting the pacing I'm looking for. Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. Now before you read on, there's something that I have been dancing around and haven't really addressed, the pairing.
Honestly, I have no answer for this. There was no planned pairing at the start, since I can't see how I could convincingly bring a zanpakuto into the real world and have them function as a couple. There is still no pairing planned now or even in the future.
However, I will say that there may be occasional romantic moments in the future. Again this not a guarantee, but I like to leave my options open.
Rant over, read on and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Thoughts/Inner Speech'
"Kido/Zanpakuto release"
"Zanpakuto speech"
XXX
Chapter 8:
The rest of the evening passed in an uneventful fashion for Ichigo and the girls had mercifully not asked him anything about what he was doing with his powers again. This of course wasn't meant to last as Tatsuki happened to be the last one he escorted home.
"When were you planning on telling us Ichigo?" she asked bluntly, fixing him with a stern look.
"Like I said before Tatsuki, when I was ready to," he said with a sigh. "When I regained my powers…I was ecstatic about them. Then when I thought about how the Soul Society would react…I knew that I needed to keep it a secret for as long as possible."
"Why though?" she asked in confusion. "I thought that they considered you an ally?"
"Maybe back then Tatsuki, but things will be different this time," he muttered darkly, scaring her slightly. "I just don't want to risk having to fight against them again."
"Just don't get too wrapped up in the affairs of the dead okay," she told him with a concerned look on her face. "It's been nice having the old Ichigo back for a bit." Hearing him chuckling, she looked up in confusion. "What'd I say?"
"Nothing Tatsuki, I'm just wondering what old Ichigo you're talking about?" he chuckled. "I'm the Ichigo that has to deal with being groped and ogled by girls older and younger than me," he said in exasperation as he rubbed his rear absentmindedly. "My left cheek's still recovering from today."
"Too much information!" she groaned, clutching her head with both hands. Hearing him chuckle again, she growled at him.
"Fine, fine I'll stop," he said, holding his hands up in surrender as they stopped outside her gate. "I'll see you at practice tomorrow."
"You know it's not exactly fair, having to go up against a spiritually enhanced super soldier," she pouted.
"Hey think of it this way, you're more likely to improve sparring against me than with anyone else."
"True, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," she grumbled. Feeling her hair being ruffled, she lashed out at him, watching as he smirked and avoided the blow with ease.
"Night Tatsuki!" he called out as he headed down the road.
"Night Strawberry!" she called out after him, watching as he stopped and gave her a half-hearted glare.
XXX
Sunday and Monday passed relatively quietly for Ichigo, with there being a significant increase in the amount of hollows appearing. Thankfully Nova proved himself an apt replacement for Ichigo, whether it was during training or class. While he didn't have the raw power that Ichigo possessed, he made up for it in being a bit more skilled, a fact that Tatsuki confirmed.
Deciding that he could let one more person in on his secret, he pulled Chad over during Monday's lunch and explained the situation to him. As expected of the silent giant, he have a grunt of understanding, assuring Ichigo that he had his support regardless of the consequences. When asked when he would tell Uryu though, Ichigo smirked and said he'd wait until the Quincy figured it out on his own.
Now as they sat in their last period for the day, they were quite surprised that they had a project sprung on them unexpectedly. What made them groan even further was that their partners for the project were already chosen. Listening for his name, he inwardly hoped that he wasn't getting paired with one of his newfound fans.
"Ichigo Kurosaki and Mahana Natsui," their teacher called out, causing both teens to look over at one another.
'Well this could've gone worse,' he thought as he exchanged a nod with her and heard the bell ring signalling the end of day. Packing up his things, he could see her approaching his desk.
"Hey, so when do you think we could get together to start on this thing?" she asked him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tatsuki and Michiru walking over to them too.
"Um…I've got a small karate tournament tomorrow, but we could probably get at least the basics sorted out after it," he replied, seeing her nod her head in agreement.
"Why don't you come along to it?" Tatsuki asked. "Michiru's going to wait for me there so we can get started after it, so she could use some company."
"Sure why not," Mahana answered her, ruffling Michiru's hair slightly. "Now we get to scout out a boyfriend for you Michiru-chan," the buxom brunette teased her, watching as the petite girl sputtered. "Unless of course you have someone in mind already," she finished with a wink, while Ichigo and Tatsuki sighed at her teasing.
"Leave the poor girl alone," Tatsuki chided her as she led the way to the door. "She's shy enough as it is."
XXX
Come Tuesday afternoon and Mahana was definitely glad that they had come after all. "Geez there's quite a few hot guys here," Mahana whistled appreciatively, while Michiru stood close to her. "Any of them look interesting to you?"
"N-No Mahana-chan. C-Can we just go find some s-seats now please?" she asked, disliking some of the looks she was receiving.
"Eh I guess so, besides Tatsuki and Ichigo's matches should be soon anyway," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders.
As they walked away, they found their path blocked by an arm. Looking up at the owner, they found themselves faced with a burly thug that stood at least a foot taller than them. Seeing him leering at them, Mahana sent a glare back at him.
"I've never seen you girls here before," he droned out in a husky tone. "Seen anything you like here today?"
"We have, sadly you're not on that list," Mahana snapped back as Michiru huddled behind her. "Now move!"
"Aww don't be like that," the unknown thug said. "I'd be more than willing to treat you both to dinner after the tournament today and afterwards…maybe we could have some fun with together."
"Only a pig like you would think that he could get what he wanted like that," she said as she scowled at him. Looking under his arm, her scowl quickly became a smirk. "I'd suggest that you move out of our way now."
"Oh really now, why's that?" he asked with a glare, fuming at her comments to him.
"Because if you don't move, you're going to lose that arm," Ichigo growled from behind him.
Looking over his shoulder, the would-be thug found himself faced with an irate Ichigo and Tatsuki, the two of them cracking their knuckles menacingly. Smirking at them, he pushed himself of the wall and turned to face them.
"Been a while since I've seen you here Kurosaki," he sneered. "I didn't think that a pansy like you would be seen around here ever again."
"Well it seems like arrogant assholes like you need someone to show them their place, so why not me," Ichigo growled back. "Now let them pass, you and I are up next anyway."
"Are we now?" the thug asked, looking over his shoulder at the two girls behind him. "Tell you what Kurosaki, let's make this interesting and say that the winner gets a kiss from the two behind me."
Gritting his teeth in anger and revulsion at the idiot in front of him, Ichigo was about to reply until Mahana beat him to it.
"Deal!" she said smugly as she pushed past him, Michiru and Tatsuki staring at her in shock. "Have fun in the ring Ichigo."
Staring after the girls in shock, he barely paid any attention to when the thug walked away and left him there with Tatsuki.
"Now's not the time to space out Ichigo," Tatsuki said as she slapped him lightly on his cheeks. "You've got nothing to worry about…but Kami help you if you don't win this next match," she threatened him as she headed after the two girls.
Hearing his own name and his opponents called out, he snapped out of his daze and walked towards the mat. 'May as well get this over with,' he grumbled.
"Oh stop sulking Ichigo," Kyoka called out from his inner world. "You get to beat up a thug and get two kisses as a reward, life is good."
Ignoring her teasing, he stared at his opponent and his confident smirk. Not taking his eyes of him as he bowed, he waited with baited breath as the referee started the match. Seeing the thug charge at him, he nimbly sidestepped and sent him tripping over his own two feet. Dimly hearing the crowd laughing, he grinned at his opponent as he got up again. Dodging another reckless charge, he retaliated with a vicious roundhouse kick to his head, knocking his opponent out. The crowd of spectators and athletes stared in shock at the display before them, not uttering a sound as the dazed referee walked up to Ichigo and raised his hand in the air, before rushing over with the other trainers to attend to his unconscious opponent.
"W-Winner Kurosaki!" the announcer called out while Ichigo walked away from the mat, splitting the other athletes as he walked past. Waiting for him in by an empty part of the benches, he could see Tatsuki and Mahana smirking at him, while Michiru gave him a timid smile.
"And you just singlehandedly scared the daylights out of everyone that still has to go up against you," Tatsuki teased him, poking him in his ribs as he sat on the level above her. "I can't say that I'm surprised that you went all out on him like that."
"The bastard needed to be taken down a peg anyway," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders and leaned back with his eyes closed. Feeling two pairs of lips brush against his cheek, his eyes shot open and he stared at a blushing Michiru and Mahana as they sat behind him.
"We promised the winner a kiss after all," Mahana replied. "We're just making good on our promise."
"T-Thanks…" he muttered, hiding the faint blush on his cheeks while Tatsuki stared at him, her expression a mix of bemusement and irritation.
XXX
Several hours later and Ichigo was leaving Mahana's home after working on the outline for their project. Initially the plan had been to go to a nearby library, but since the tournament had ran later than either of them expected, he simply followed her lead back to her place. Needless to say, they weren't given much privacy considering her mother and her near constant questions and her baby sister Kaya, who found the utmost delight in his vivid hair colour.
"Sorry about everything today Ichigo," Mahana apologised as she held the gurgling toddler in her arms. "She's just a giant bundle of energy."
"No worries Mahana," he replied as he teased Kaya with his finger, "Babies will be babies after all. I'll see you tomorrow at school so that we can sort out a timeline for our work."
"Yeah, see ya Ichigo!" she said as she waved at him, chuckling as her younger sister tried to do the same.
Walking down the road to his home, his thoughts strayed back to the medal in his bag for taking the top spot at today's meet. 'None of them could even hold a candle to me, not even the guy for the finals,' he thought with a sigh. 'If anything I'm in more danger of losing my skills if I fight against them.'
"Oh chin up Ichigo," Kyoka said as she appeared next to him. "None of them have your raw strength and speed to assist them. Besides if you keep crushing them like this, your reputation will get the attention of the big league players and then the real fun will begin."
'Let me guess…you want me to crush them too?' he asked, feeling her attach herself to his arm.
"Of course, because no one gets to harm one hair on my Strawberry's head," she cooed, making him blush and scowl at her.
Before he could utter a retort though, he felt another hollow appear. 'There's got to be something wrong for them to be popping up like this,' he thought as he reached for Nova's pill.
"Hold it!" a voice screamed as he was about to swallow it, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.
"Kon?" he said in shock, watching the mod soul practically barrel out of the bushes he was walking past. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing about to swallow that?!" Kon asked in outrage. "I thought I was your mod soul, now I see you replacing me? How could you Ichigo? Especially since I hear that you've got the girls practically falling at your feet now. Just please take me back!"
"You just want to use my body to get a little action…so why the hell would I give it to you then!" Ichigo shouted back at him, kicking the mod soul off his leg. "I don't have time to deal with you now," he said as he popped the pill in his mouth and separated his soul from his body. "And don't give Nova any problems!" he shouted back at them as he disappeared with a rustle, leaving Kon to stare up at the quiet mod soul in Ichigo's body.
"And just what do you have to say for yourself!" he shouted at Nova, watching him look down at him.
"Ichigo-san required a hard-working mod soul, naturally he came to me," he replied watching Kon collapse face first.
"But you're not even doing anything with his body while he's away," the perverted mod soul whined. "This would be the perfect opportunity to score with some hot chick."
"Ichigo-san wouldn't take advantage of a girl like that and neither will I," Nova said firmly continuing on his way home. "Follow me if you like, but…" he trailed off, looking off in the distance in surprise. Breaking into a run, Kon followed after him as quickly as his tiny body could.
"H-Hey wait up!" he panted as he kept running after Nova, crashing into his leg when he stopped unexpectedly. "Just what the hell are you doing…now?" he asked, feeling his body freeze at the sight before them.
"This is not going to end well," Nova stated, wondering what Ichigo would do in this situation.
XXX
Half an hour later in Ichigo's room, the former substitute was standing in his soul form staring at Kon, Nova and a surprise guest curled under the covers of his bed.
"Explain to me again why there's a girl in my bed?" he asked as he rubbed his temples and focused on the girl in question. Looking at her as she slept, he could tell that she was slightly taller than Rukia and possibly more developed if the curves of the blanket were anything to go by. The strangest thing about her was her dark green chin-length hair and the fact that she had no discernible reiatsu.
"I found her a few blocks away after you left to go dispatch the hollow that appeared," Nova began with an almost militaristic style of precision. "She was unconscious and covered in a ragged cloth. Due to her strange reiatsu, I felt it was safer to bring her here than to take her to the clinic."
"Ragged cloth?" Ichigo asked, watching as the mod souls acquired a heavy blush to their faces. Reaching for the top of the blanket, he watched their expressions morph into horror.
"Don't!" they both yelled, but shrank away with their eyes covered as he pulled the blanket down, revealing the naked body that lay underneath it.
"So…she's naked and in my bed," Ichigo said slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose and covering the girl up again. "Okay then, let's just take a deep breath here," he muttered.
"Now hold on a second!" Kon screamed in outrage. "If I'd been the one to do this, you would have blown up on me and asked what the hell I'd done!"
"Yes, but this isn't your doing," Ichigo answered him. "Nova's explained why he did it and I know that he's not a pervert to do something like this."
"What!" Kon yelled again, only to be silenced as Nova clamped a hand over his mouth.
"You're going to wake her up," he whispered, pointing to her as she shifted under the covers.
"Please can we keep her Ichigo?!" Kyoka squealed, appearing at his bedside and running a hand through the girl's dark green hair. "She's got nowhere else to go that we know of and she'll need someone to take care of her. Pretty please Ichigo?" she asked again, shifting to Yuzu's form and giving him her signature puppy dog eyes.
Staring long and hard at her, he sighed and gave in. 'Fine we'll take care of her for now, but please don't do anything I'll regret.'
"Yay! Thank you Ichigo!" she yelled, leaping at him and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. "You're the best master a zanpakuto could ever ask for."
'This is going to be a long day,' he thought, turning back to face Nova. Retrieving the pill from his body, he placed it back into his doll form and phased back into his body. "I need to go pick up some things for her, make sure she stays in here," he ordered the two of them. "And don't even think of getting into bed with her Kon!"
"Why are you telling me that?! She's not even my type!" Kon yelled again, only to find himself teleported into the closet.
"You're being too loud again," Nova whispered to him as he started up Ichigo's laptop and watched the sleeping girl.
XXX
Walking into the nearby mall, Ichigo was glad that it was a weekday meaning most stores were still open at this hour.
'Kyoka, you would know what her measurements are after seeing her right?' Ichigo asked as he neared one of the clothing stores.
"What makes you think I know what her sizes are?" Kyoka asked him innocently, watching him scowl slightly at her question.
'Considering that your illusions have been a little too…accurate, I assumed that your powers give you enough information to accurately replicate their 'features',' he replied.
"Well you're correct, now follow me over there for her underwear and then we'll go over there to find something for her to wear," Kyoka said, acting like a kid in a candy store as she perused the clothing on offer.
Grumbling to himself, Ichigo tried to ignore the various looks he was getting from the women around him while Kyoka pointed out her picks for the unknown girl. At the cashier, he had to supress a glare as she gave him an odd look for his purchases. Kyoka had chosen a thigh length red dress, cream cardigan and knee-high black stockings for her, citing that the colours would go wonderfully with her hair and fair skin. She had also chosen a long purple nightgown for her to wear while she slept. After finding out that her feet were the same size as Yuzu's, he resolved to simply 'borrow' a pair of hers to tide her over until they knew more. Unknown to him though, several girls from Karakura High spotted him and his purchases and quickly began spreading the message amongst their friends.
XXX
"Thank god that's over," he said with a sigh several hours later. While he would've been content to just leave her new clothes next to her for her to find, Kyoka had overruled him, saying that they couldn't possibly leave a girl in such a state in his bed. Thus began the awkward job that was putting on the underwear and nightgown they had bought.
"Did I mention that I'll be really jealous of whatever girl ends up marrying you? Because I will be," she mumbled, making him chuckle slightly. "Then again…so long as she stays I'll be fine," she said with a smirk as her fingers ghosted across the girl's cheek.
'Could you get any more perverted?' he asked, knowing the answer already.
"Yes," she said with a grin. "Besides I thought all guys liked a bit of girl-on-girl action every now and then."
'Apart from the fact that she looks like a minor, I've told you a million times that I'm not like that,' he shot back at her.
"Oh really…so this doesn't appeal to you?" she asked as she conjured an illusion showing Rukia with her hands tangled in Orihime's hair, giving her a sensual lick across her cheek, while the healer squeezed and rubbed her petite derriere.
'No it doesn't!' he yelled at her, shattering the illusion. "I'm going to get dinner and I'll be back with something for her if she's up," he explained to the mod souls, leaving his room again.
XXX
"Thanks for dinner Yuzu," he said with a smile as he joined his sisters at the table. "It smells great."
"I made it since you won your first tournament in a long time Onii-chan," she explained. "Please enjoy it."
As dinner progressed though, a sudden banging from upstairs caught everyone's attention.
"Did you guys hear that too?" Karin asked while she stared at the roof with her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Uh must just be something the wind knocked over," Ichigo answered hesitantly while sweat beaded on his forehead. "Thanks for dinner Yuzu, but I think I'll finish it in my room since I have a lot of work to do," he said as he hurriedly piled a bit more food on his plate and rushed upstairs.
"You don't think he's…well you know?" Yuzu asked quietly.
"Doing what Yuzu?" Karin asked her twin, seeing her cheeks turn red. "Oh you think he has a girl upstairs. Eh he's growing up so why not," she said nonchalantly. "I just don't want to be an aunt before high school."
"Karin-chan!" Yuzu half-shouted at her, swatting her twin on her arm. "Onii-chan would never do something like that."
"Believe what you want Yuzu, but you've seen the signs just as much as I have," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, returning to her food. "More please."
XXX
Entering his room, Ichigo found his covers on the floor with the irate girl standing on them. Looking down at her feet, he could see her crushing Kon's head in.
"Okay that's enough," he said as he set the plate down and pulled the girl of, of the doll. Wincing as she nailed him in his gut with a palm strike, he grabbed her hands and pinned them to her back. "Listen to me, I said calm down."
"Get off of me you pervert!" she screamed, head-butting Ichigo's chest. Unfortunately for her though, she felt like her head struck a steel plate. Dazed and confused, she swayed on her feet and felt her body dragged down into a sitting position on the bed.
"Right…now that we're all calmed down, my names Ichigo and yours is?" he asked, staring directly into her eyes.
"Light purple eyes and dark green hair…oh she is absolutely perfect!" Kyoka squealed again.
Ignoring his zanpakuto, he waited for her to speak up. "I'm not letting you go until you say something," he said after waiting for a few minutes. Seeing that she wasn't going to answer, he changed his approach.
"What are you doing in the Living World?" Feeling her stiffen against him, he knew that he struck home. After minutes spent in silence again, he let go of her arms and watched her crawl into the corner of his bed. "Here, eat this," he said as he offered her the plate of food.
"Why are you doing this for me?" she asked hesitantly, reaching out for the plate and taking a tentative bite.
"Right now you need help," he answered her. "And none of us would turn away someone that needed help without at least hearing them out first."
Watching as she looked around the room, he could see that she was puzzled by the 'us' part, until her gaze landed on Kon. "You and that pervert are friends?"
"Him? Well he's more like a tolerated acquaintance. Nova on the other hand is a friend. He's the one that found you in the first place," he said as he gestured to the turtle doll.
"Pleased to meet you," he said with a slight bow, while she stared between him and Kon.
"They're mod souls," she said, surprising them that she was able to pick up on that.
"Yes…how did you know that?" Watching as she turned away from him, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay look, you've had a rough day so far, so just get some rest and we can talk about this tomorrow." Rising from his bed, he took the empty plate from her and walked towards the door.
"Nozomi Kujo," she said as he placed his hand on the handle. "My name is Nozomi Kujo."
"A pleasure to meet you Nozomi," he said with a smile as he headed out of the door.
XXX
So now you guys can guess where I'm going with this. Just to set some of your concerns to rest, there is a reason that I'm using this particular arc and some of my readers will know how I twist arcs to suit my purposes, so don't worry about the details just yet. Also there will be major changes to the plot etc.
So what did you like, love or hate? Let me know please.