The Protector's Temptation.

Sorry that this chapter took so long to get out guys and girls, just been really busy and stuff. Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts/Inner Speech'

"Kido/Zanpakuto release"

"Zanpakuto speech"

XXX

Chapter 9:

Stepping out of his room, Ichigo headed down towards the clinics office, the light indicating that his father was still busy working. Knocking gently on the door, he opened it and shuffled into the room.

"Something wrong Ichigo?" Isshin asked him with his eyebrows raised, surprised that his son was actually coming to him in the middle of the night.

"Maybe, I don't know yet," Ichigo answered with a sigh as he sank into the chair across from Isshin's desk. "There's a girl with strange reiatsu currently in my room sleeping off her fatigue. From what I can tell, she's not an immediate danger to any of us, but she's probably running from someone. I don't know whether it's from the Gotei 13 or someone else, but for now I'm going to keep an eye on her."

"You should probably get Kisuke's opinion on the matter too. Despite his eccentricities, he generally knows what's going on around town," his father said, running a hand over his tired face. "I assume that she's going to be staying with us for a while then?"

"Unfortunately, but then again I don't think she has anywhere in Karakura to go. I'll probably head over to Urahara's now to get him started on some paperwork to get her enlisted at Karakura High. That way I can watch her without having to tail her," Ichigo replied and started to make his way to the door.

"Why did you tell me Ichigo?" Isshin asked quickly before his son disappeared. "You managed to keep Rukia a secret for several weeks when she first stayed here, yet now you're telling me the day that this new girl arrives."

"Are you saying you want me keeping secrets from you Dad?" Ichigo said as he turned around to give the man an incredulous look. "Hiding a girl from you guys was a pain; at least now the girls will be expecting someone new around the house." Leaving his father to get back to his work, Ichigo missed the thoughtful look on his face. Grabbing his jacket and shoes, he headed out towards the Urahara shop.

XXX

Seated at the dining table in his home, Kisuke absentmindedly flipped through one of his old scientific journals, reminiscing slightly about his old inventions and thoughts. Startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door, he slowly made his way over to the shop door and slid it open.

"Kurosaki-san? What a pleasant surprise," he said in a jovial tone as he found the teenager outside his front door. "You've definitely improved your skills since I last saw you. Why I can barely tell you're here, yet you're standing right in front of me."

"Nice to see you too Urahara-san and stop with the pointless flattery please," Ichigo said in a tired voice, running a hand through his hair. "I need your opinion on something."

"Oh? Well come on in then," he said as he stepped back and allowed Ichigo to walk in. "I'm sure I can ask Tessai to make us some tea if you'd like."

"I'm fine thanks Urahara-san," he replied as he walked into the dining room and seated himself at the low table with Kisuke following close behind him. "I don't have much time, so I'll get straight to the point. You've seen the increase in hollow activity these last few days and while I was dispatching one hollow, Nova made an interesting discovery."

"What made it so interesting?" Kisuke asked as he looked at Ichigo with a curious expression on his face.

"He found a girl that has no reiatsu I can detect, but she has a signature that Nova was able to detect," Ichigo explained and watched as Kisuke's features lit up. "She's not a Bount though, but that's about all we know about her."

"She? So you're saying that Nova found a young girl. My, my the little guy is growing up so fast," Kisuke said as he wiped away an imaginary tear. As he looked up at Ichigo again, he yelped and fell back as Ichigo slugged him from across the table.

"This is no time for games Urahara-san," Ichigo growled at him as he leaned back again. "She seems scared and hesitant to be anywhere near people at the moment and all I can think of to do right now, is offer her what shelter I can."

"And you wanted my opinion on what exactly?" Kisuke asked as he sat back up, pinching his nose to stem the blood flow.

"I wanted you to see what you can find out from the Soul Society about any missing persons or wanted criminals that they're looking for," Ichigo said with a sigh. "That might give us some clues as to what she's doing here and who's after her."

"I see," Kisuke replied as they both slipped into a thoughtful silence. "I assume that you're also going to be keeping an eye on her and want some paperwork to allow her to attend your school too?"

"Yeah that too," Ichigo said with a nod. "It'll also make it easier to explain why I'm keeping an eye on her too. Could you make it so that she's a cousin of mine or something?"

"Cousin? Is she that unattractive that you want to have her as someone you cannot fall in love with?" Kisuke teased him, only to find himself flat on his back yet again.

"Bloody pervert. You and Kyoka would get along amazingly with your attitudes," Ichigo grumbled.

"Who's a pervert now Ichigo?" a silky voice murmured as he felt a pair of hands slide over his eyes and a pair of bare breasts pressed up against the back of his head.

"You and Urahara-san," he muttered as he sat there unmoving. "Not that I'm complaining or anything Yoruichi-san, but you're not the first person to do this and honestly…you're not going to get the reaction you want out of me."

"Oh?" Yoruichi said with a surprised expression on her face as she pulled back and took a seat next to Ichigo, watching as he remained completely unfazed by her nude body. "Someone's broken my Ichigo!" she yelled dramatically and pretended to wail as she pounded the table with her fist.

"Oh geez," Ichigo groaned as he watched her display, feeling a slight tug on his heartstrings. "Fine, fine I'll blush and do the whole screaming thing, just please stop," he pleaded, missing the predatory grin that spread across her face.

"Thank you Ichigo," she yelled enthusiastically as she tackled him to the ground, her bare breasts rubbing against his clothed chest. Across from the table, Kisuke promptly fainted again at the sight of Ichigo and Yoruichi in such a compromising position.

"Hmm, you smell nicer than normal, are you wearing a new cologne or something Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked as she purred and nuzzled deeper into his body.

"Uh no…now can you get off please, you've had your fun already," he grumbled as he forcefully extricated himself from her grasp.

"Aww, but I wasn't done yet," she pouted, watching him stand and make his way to the door.

"Done or not…you enjoyed it a little too much," he said with a smirk, confusing her as to what he meant. Feeling a bit of moisture between her legs though, she gasped and looked down at the evidence of her arousal.

"Ichigo, what did you do!" she yelled again, her voice echoing for several blocks and causing a shiver to run down Ichigo's back at what she would do in retaliation.

XXX

Within his inner world, Kyoka Suigetsu watched her master's face apprehensively and felt the storm of emotions raging within his mind.

'It is still too soon for you to know Ichigo,' she thought as the teen made his way home. 'I only hope you can forgive me when the time comes for the truth to be revealed.'

XXX

Reaching his home once again, Ichigo sighed as he heard a muffled stomp coming from his room. Making his way slowly up the stairs, he braced himself for whatever lay behind his door.

"I'm back…" he said as he entered the room and paused as he took in the scene before him.

His duvet and pillows were scattered around the room with several of his books lying around haphazardly. Seated on his desk, Nova watched with a hint of worry as Nozomi repeatedly stomped on the back of Kon's face, all the while listening to the muted squeaks from the little lion doll.

"Okay what happened here?" he asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose and caught everyone's attention.

"I was preventing Kujo-san from leaving and in the process Kon was able to…sneak-a-peek so to speak," Nova explained, while his face turned crimson. Seeing the confused look on Ichigo's face and Nozomi's grumpy expression, he retreated into his shell to escape their gaze.

Raising an eyebrow at what had happened, Ichigo turned to face Nozomi. "Why were you trying to leave?" he asked, watching as the young girl gathered up his blanket and pillow, before crawling back into the corner of his bed.

Sighing he walked over to Kon's immobile body and tossed it out his window, before seating himself on the edge of his bed. "Look I know that you're scared of whoever is after you, but I can't help you stay away from them if you don't give me just a bit of help."

"I never asked for your help," she said quietly, wrapping the blanket even tighter around her body. "Why do you care what happens to me?"

""You didn't ask for it, but that doesn't change the fact that you're running away from something. What that something is, I don't know," Ichigo explained softly. "What I do know is that I'm not about to leave you alone as you are to deal with it right now. You need a friend and right now, I'm your best bet at surviving until we have all this figured out."

"I never asked for you to be my friend," she said as she turned to look at him with a blank look on her face.

"Nope you didn't, but you're just going to have to accept that you have a friend for now, a friend that's taking you to your new school tomorrow," he said with a smirk as she groaned and let her head sink into his pillow.

XXX

Meanwhile in the Seireitei, the current Captains and Lieutenants assembled in the meeting hall in the First Division, their expressions reflecting their confusion at being summoned in the middle of the night. None of them were as nervous as Rukia though, as she tried to keep her head down and her breathing even. Not even a week had passed since she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division and it seemed that the Gotei 13 was already facing its next crisis. Hearing the doors creak open, she and the others watched as Captain Commander Yamamoto and his Lieutenant made their way further inside.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice," Yamamoto said as he finally reached the end of the line and cleared his throat. "It has come to our attention that the seals within Karakura Town are deteriorating at an abnormal rate; as such the number of hollow attacks grows daily." Murmurs broke out amongst the assembled Captains as they all digested the news, their Lieutenants remaining silent on the matter.

"Sorry Captain Commander, but why are we only being told this now?" Ukitake asked as he stepped out of the line. "It was my understanding that we had established several means of monitoring the situation so that it could be dealt with quickly and efficiently."

"The reason for our…lack of knowledge Captain Ukitake is that, whoever is weakening the seals, is also interfering with our sensors in the Living World," Mayuri Kurotsuchi replied, causing even more whispers to break out.

Releasing a bit of his reiatsu to silence them, Yamamoto cleared his throat and continued, "I have called you all here to decide which of you will be reporting to the Living World to deal with this threat. As Head of the Science and Research Division, Captain Kurotsuchi will be sent to the Living World along with his Lieutenant. Assisting him, as well as capturing the perpetrators will be Captains Sui-Feng, Kuchiki, Komamura, Zaraki and Hitsugaya and their Lieutenants. I will also be assigning Lieutenants Kotetsu, Hinamori and Kuchiki to assist you. You leave in twelve hours, prepare yourselves and your divisions. Captain Sui-Feng, stay behind please" he ground out, smashing the end of his cane into the ground and dismissing the meeting.

As the last soul filed out, Captain Sui-Feng spoke up, "What is it you require of me Captain Commander?"

"I have a secondary reason for assigning you this deployment Captain. Reports have come in that while some of the hollows have been dealt with by our representative in town or by the former Ryoka…it seems that an unknown person or persons have been purifying hollows in the area," Yamamoto explained to her, his expression grim.

"What makes you say that sir?" she asked, watching him run a hand through his beard.

"The reiatsu signature is very faint, a fact that is not uncommon considering that both Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin make their home there," he continued, while noting the slight twitch of Sui-Feng's mouth. "However, every spiritually aware human was accounted for at the time the scan was run. As such, you are to investigate this unknown being or beings that are eliminating hollows and determine their threat level. Should they prove…hostile, you are to eliminate them."

"Understood Captain Commander," Sui-Feng said as she bowed her head and headed towards the door, her mind already considering taking several squads from the Punishment Corps with her.

XXX

"Master, the Captain Commander has ordered the Captains of the Second, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Divisions to be sent to the Living World with their Lieutenants. He has also ordered the Fourth, Fifth and Thirteenth Divisions Lieutenants to accompany them," a shadowed figure spoke with his head bowed, his eyes reflecting his mirth at the news.

"I see…very well alert your brothers and sisters to prepare for their arrival," the overlord said as he leaned back in his chair. "You will be leaving for the Living World to assist them. Do not fail me."

"Of course master, right away," the shadowy figure said as he slipped back into the shadows and left to spread the news.

XXX

The following morning, Ichigo woke to the low beep that was his alarm, grumbling slightly as he fumbled to reach it. Yawning as he stood up from his futon on the floor, he glanced over at his bed, watching as Nozomi continued to sleep despite the disturbance. Grabbing his gear for his run with Tatsuki, he crept out of his room and made his way to the bathroom to change. Minutes later and he was stretching outside as he waited for Tatsuki to round the corner.

"Yo Ichigo!" he heard Tatsuki shout at him, causing him to turn and fall into step with her.

"Morning Tatsuki," he muttered as they ran, his mind slipping into its newfound trance-like state so that he could think about the day ahead of him. "We're going to have to cut the route in half today. Something unexpected turned up," he explained, missing the knowing gaze she gave him.

"This wouldn't happen to do with the secret girlfriend you seem to have would it?" she asked innocently as he stumbled. "You know…I never thought that you had it in you to sneak a girl on the side."

"W-What the hell Tatsuki?" he asked incredulously. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"What? You can't blame me for assuming that," she said with a shrug. "I mean the story that you were shopping for a clothes and underwear for a girl has made its way around. So are you going to tell me who the lucky girl is?" she teased him, chuckling as he glared at her.

"I don't even want to know how you found out, but for now I'll say that I'll need your help keeping an eye on her," he said in a low tone, surprising her with its authority.

"Okay now I really need to know what's going on," she said as they rounded a corner and headed towards the river. "I mean the way you talk about her; it's as if you're stalking her."

"I'm not Tatsuki," he said with a sigh as he turned to face her. "She showed up unexpectedly yesterday and something in my gut tells me that she has something to do with the spiritual world. That's why I'm keeping an eye on her, because I don't know what she's doing here, or anything else for that matter," he explained, watching as she shook her head at him.

"Argh you're doing it again Ichigo!" she groaned and held her head in her hands. "You're slipping back into the whole 'I must defend the entire world no matter the cost to myself' mode again."

"Maybe I am," he said as he chuckled at her expression, "but we all know how much people like it when I do," he finished with a whisper, sending chills down Tatsuki's spine. After running in silence for another fifteen minutes, he broke the silence that had settled over them, "Come on I need to head back now so I can get her a uniform and transfer papers for school."

"H-Hang on a second," Tatsuki called out as she ran after him. "So far you've told me that you've clothed her, enrolled her at our school and if I'm correct, she's staying at your place…are you sure you're not thinking of her like another sister or something?" she asked, watching as he stumbled again at her questioning.

"I…I don't know," he said as he scratched the back of his neck in confusion. "I mean it looks that way, but I'm just trying to do for her what I'd do for anyone else in such a crazy position."

"Oh really now?" she asked with a smirk. "So if I wanted to go shopping one weekend you'd happily come with me to help me pick out whatever I want right?"

As he was about to retort that he would never be caught dead shopping with girl, Kyoka spoke up from his inner world.

"She's only baiting you along Ichigo," she said soothingly as she appeared at his shoulder. "But why shouldn't we play along. After all, I'd love to play dress up with some of your friends," she continued, whispering into his ear.

"Well…I could do you one better Tatsuki," he said with a grin, as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "After all, I know everything from your cup size to the size of the shorts you love to wear so much. Knowing that means that I could plan out an entire wardrobe if I wanted to," he said and watched her blush crimson at his words.

"Y-You're bluffing," she whispered out, scowling as he just chuckled again.

"Am I? I'm more than willing to prove it by picking out something for you to wear. Though in order to prove that I was right, maybe I should be there so that you can try it on and show me," he said, causing her blush to deepen. "You mentioned this weekend? By all means let's go then."

"Ichigo…" she hissed out through gritted teeth, "You have exactly five seconds to run before I start pounding you into the ground."

Seeing her roll up her sleeves, Ichigo continued with a subtle hint from Kyoka. "Hmm, exposing even more skin now Tatsuki? That's great since you're going to need to lose those inhibitions of yours sooner or later," he said with a laugh, sprinting off in the direction of his home with an irate martial artist on his tail.

XXX

One mock pummelling and a shower later, Ichigo, Tatsuki and Nozomi were making their way towards the Urahara shop, the former hoping that the exile had managed to procure the necessary paperwork. Tatsuki was still miffed at his earlier teasing and was chatting idly with Nozomi, while the young girl gave short answers to her questions.

"We're here," he said once they reached the shop, killing the conversation between the two. Knocking on the door, he gulped as an angry and very human Yoruichi stood before him in her usual outfit, her glare making the two girls wonder what he had done to deserve it.

"You. Me. Talk. Now!" she growled, poking him with her finger as she said each word.

"Uh, you guys go in and see if Urahara-san has everything sorted. I'll just be a moment," he said as he gulped again and felt himself being dragged away by Yoruichi's firm grip. Dragging him into a secluded room, she proceeded to slam the door behind her.

"Should we be worried about him?" Nozomi asked curiously as she turned to face Tatsuki.

"Um, let's just let him field this one," she said with a sadistic grin. "He's probably use to it after all."

XXX

Poor, poor Ichigo, then again that wasn't his fault…or was it. So let's see, we had more mysterious shadowy figures, a perverted Ichigo and Kyoka Suigetsu and a dash of teasing. Ah what a wonderful way to end a chapter. Now just a reminder, please don't tell me that the characters are OOC, because that is intended and I mentioned that there would be some shifts in personality. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

So what did you like, love or hate? Let me know please.