The Protector's Temptation.

And we're back. Wait…what am I doing here?! Oh well, going to have to write this chapter out before I can escape again. Did you know that this is now my story with the most Favourites? Four ahead of 'The Red Sun Sets' at the time of writing this. Yet it's just over half its length. My personal guess is that one, this idea is far more entertaining than it and two, my writing has improved, however minuscule the improvement is. So read on and enjoy as always.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts/Inner Speech'

"Kido/Zanpakuto release"

"Zanpakuto speech"

XXX

Chapter 12:

Finally arriving home in the early hours of the morning, Ichigo slipped in through his window, landing silently on his bedroom floor. Looking around it, he smiled as he saw Nozomi curled under the covers, the blanket rising gently with each breath she took. Over on his desk, Nova slumbered away soundlessly with his shell rocking ever so slightly now and then. Entering his body as quietly as possible, he slipped under the covers to try and get as much sleep as possible. Despite his hopes though, he felt the ground give way underneath him, feeling the familiar drop into his inner world. Sighing and righting himself as he fell, he was unprepared for the gut-wrenching kick that landed on his ribs. Crashing into the ground and sending a spray of water flying upwards, he groaned and cracked his eyes open a fraction. Walking towards him with a blank expression on her face was his own zanpakuto. Watching as she vanished from view, his eyes widened in surprise as she reappeared next to him, her foot aimed to crush his sternum.

"What the hell Kyoka!" he yelled, catching her foot a few inches above his chest, his arms shaking as he tried to hold her back. Reeling as she wrenched her foot back, he was unable to block her second kick that sent him skidding back across the floor with a shower of water following after him.

"I gave you the power to fight again Ichigo," she said emotionlessly as she tried to crush him under her foot again. "I offered you the chance to protect those close to you," she continued, slamming her foot into the ground as he dodged out of the way. "So why didn't you even use me until after I begged you?"

"I fought with you though!" he yelled back at her, struggling to a seated position and shaking his head to clear it.

"WRONG!" she yelled at him, charging at him again and catching him across his jaw with a right cross. "You relied on your strength and speed. You supplemented your attacks with kido, similar to how you would have, if you used a Getsuga Tensho. YOU TREATED ME LIKE ZANGETSU!" Wincing at her shouts, he could see the distinct hurt and anger in her eyes now. "He was at the mercy of my illusions…a single opponent not requiring much thought on how to trap and destroy him and yet you didn't use me to do even that. Even if I remained sealed, a simple bakudo would have rendered this an easy win, yet you still reverted back to your old fighting style."

Hanging his head in shame at her words, he stayed on the ground, unable to meet her eye. Feeling her slender fingers cup his chin, he looked up into her startling green eyes, seeing tears pooled in the corner of them.

"I don't want you to get hurt Ichigo," she said gently, resting her forehead against his own. "So please…don't make me sit here and watch you get hurt. Don't make me sit here and watch you fight like a fool. Don't make me sit here and think that I wasn't good enough for you." Seeing her tears begin to flow freely down her cheeks, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

"I was an idiot today Kyoka," he began slowly, hearing her choked laughter at his words. "But I promise you…this is the last time that I'll be a fool like that again." As they sat there in silence, lost in the simple embrace, Ichigo began chuckling softly, prompting Kyoka to look up at him in confusion. "It's just weird," he said offhandedly at her look, "but Zangetsu had to drive a similar point home. Your methods are quite similar too," he said with a grimace, rubbing his bruised ribs.

"Well you needed a harsh lesson," she said without a hint of remorse and escaping his arms. "Now you need to get some rest, it's been a trying day for both of us." With a last lingering smile, she disappeared from in front of him and reappeared in front of the little cottage she called home, while he felt himself falling backwards again.

XXX

Scant hours later, the shrill tones of his alarm clock rang out in the peaceful morning, shattering his rest and causing him to grumble. Slamming his hand down on it, he glanced over at Nozomi, finding the violet-eyed enigma staring back at him curiously.

"You made it back," she said softly, her eyes roaming his body as if to see if he was injured at all.

"Yeah, but I would've liked to have known what I would be facing before I left last night," he grumbled, getting out of his futon and grabbing his jogging gear. "I know you don't want to explain yourself just yet," he said, noticing her flinch and turn away from him, "but sooner or later you're going to have to let someone in and tell them what you're running from." Leaving the room, he quickly headed to the bathroom to change, before heading outside and going for his hour long run with Tatsuki.

XXX

An hour and a half later, Ichigo, Nozomi and Tatsuki were making their way to Karakura High, the two girls trailing behind the substitute as they walked. Rounding the corner to the entrance though, they found Michiru surrounded by three upperclassmen, her face a mixture of reluctance and revulsion. Seeing Tatsuki picking up her pace, he moved with her just in case things got too out of hand.

"Wait Ichigo," Kyoka called out to him, causing him to slow down slightly. "I'm all for violence when it's needed, but I'm sure you can find a more permanent solution without having to resort to violence," she finished with a chuckle.

'What exactly do you want me to do?' he asked her, noting that the upperclassmen were becoming slightly more insistent.

"Well…" she trailed off with a smirk on her face, quickly running through her plan with him.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he held out his hand to stop Tatsuki and gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head, before walking towards Michiru again.

"Aww come on Michiru-chan, can't you at least think it over," one of the idiots with brown hair pleaded, his fellow idiots nodding in agreement.

"Sorry, but I have plans for the day already," she said in a voice just above a whisper. Looking past the three of them, she sighed inwardly in relief as she saw Ichigo approaching.

"These idiots aren't bothering you are they Michiru," he said in a condescending tone, pushing past the three of them and slipping his arm around the surprised girl's waist and pulling her closer to him.

"N-No Ichigo-kun," she squeaked out, her mind in disbelief while almost everyone in the area, including Tatsuki, had their jaws on the ground in shock at Ichigo's actions.

"Hmm, if you say so," he said, giving her a tender look, before turning and glaring at the three guys and sending them scurrying away in fear. "See you in class," he said softly, releasing her from his grip and placing a kiss to the back of her hand. Blushing crimson at his affectionate actions, she mumbled a hasty goodbye and headed onto the school grounds, ignoring the jealous looks from most of the female population and the looks of surprise from the males.

Meanwhile Ichigo was smirking at the look on Tatsuki's face, Nozomi keeping her blank expression as she didn't understand the significance of his actions. "Something wrong Tatsuki?" he asked nonchalantly, brushing past the martial artist onto the school grounds.

"Something…wrong…" she choked out, her face quickly growing flustered at his attitude. "Just what in the hell was that Ichigo!" she hissed, making him chuckle again.

"What? Can't a guy defend his date without being interrogated?" he said with a smirk and starting to walk off again.

As he got closer and closer to the school building, his words finally registered with his long-time friend. "Wait…date? What are you…ICHIGO!" she shouted sending the nearby birds flying away in panic, while the students winced and covered their ears.

XXX

As the day wore on, the Karakura High rumour mill worked overtime and soon the entire school had it somewhere in their minds that the Ichigo Kurosaki and Michiru Ogawa were indeed seeing each other. For most it was simply unfathomable that the former delinquent, turned martial arts prodigy would be together with the girl some considered to even be scared of her own shadow. In fact the only thing that spared her any form of questioning from the majority of the student population was the death glare that Ichigo would send in their direction if Michiru seemed too overwhelmed. Of course this didn't stop her closest friends from dragging her off at lunch, intent on getting the full story from her.

"Sooo…you and Ichigo," Mahana asked, in her ever so blunt way once they were all seated under the shade of their favourite tree.

"Mhmm," Michiru answered back quietly, nibbling on her sandwich, her eyes downcast as she feared the possible expressions on Orihime and Tatsuki's faces.

"Well I guess this means that you're not intimidated by him anymore," Ryo commented from behind her book, her eyes just barely visible over the top of it. "It does seem awfully sudden though. When did he ask you?"

"He…he didn't ask me out," she replied. "I…bumped into him last night and I just…asked." As everyone remembered the shiver of fear that ran down their spines last night, it wasn't hard to understand what Michiru meant when she said she bumped into him.

"Why are you asking her this though?" Nozomi asked, drawing their attention off of the timid girl. "It seems like there are a few of you that would have liked to go out with Ichigo, but none of you took the initiative to act upon it. Can you really blame her when she acted upon her feelings and followed through with them?" she questioned, her emotionless tone, sweeping through their emotional shields with brutal efficiency. Returning to her own bento, she ignored the almost stifling silence she had caused.

"So what are you planning on wearing?" Mahana piped up again after a few minutes, her personality brushing off the seriousness of the conversation and returning to more light-hearted topics.

Meanwhile Ichigo was still in the classroom, scowling at the recent 'transfer students' stood in front of him. Rukia and Renji shifted uncomfortably on their feet, while Rangiku was unable to meet his eye, a hint of a blush on her face from their last meeting.

"So is this about actually finding out how I've been, or is this, another cry for help?" he asked with a hint of bitterness in his tone. "Don't bother answering," he said as he held up his hand, silencing Rukia and Renji as they opened their mouths to speak. "I know what Urahara-san said and the fact that you're trapped here for the moment. That doesn't change the fact that Soul Society brought another war down on Karakura Town and I'm going to do my best to stop it. Whatever's happening in Soul Society is still your problem though, so don't expect me to jump up and help you." Standing from his seat, he started to make his way towards the door, only to feel a slim hand grab onto his wrist.

"What's happened to make you hate us Ichigo?" Rukia asked quietly, her face downcast as she spoke, her tone tinged with hurt.

"Hate? I don't hate you Rukia," he said emotionlessly, "but I was hurt when none of you bothered to even say hi while you were here. I saw you several times Rukia, watching over me from afar, but never actually coming up to me."

"How was I supposed to know that you got your powers back?!" she shouted at him, glaring at him in return.

"You could've asked," he answered her, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "And if I remember correctly, the gigai you're wearing right now can be seen by non-spiritually aware humans." Seeing her look away from him again, he continued, "Byakuya told me this back in Hueco Mundo while we were fighting Yammy, "Don't think too highly of yourself Ichigo Kurosaki. One such as yourself does not possess the skill to be of use to Captains of the Gotei 13." I guess we'll see how true that is now won't we?" Slamming the door after him, he stalked off down the hallway, splitting the crowd of students easily.

XXX

Thankfully the rest of the day passed without incident for Ichigo, well except for the fact that Kyoka was silent for the rest of the day and night and the following morning. Without her almost daily quips and teasing, he found the life seemed to be a lot more boring than before. Thus it was with slightly heavy feet that he dragged himself towards the dojo on a dreary Saturday morning. Thinking about his talk with Rukia and the others yesterday only served to worsen it, as it left him feeling conflicted inside. On the one hand he didn't regret what he had said to them, but he did feel a twinge of unease at their downtrodden expressions. Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, he instead turned his gaze on the scowling teen next to him.

Whilst she agreed that it was wrong to hold the date against Michiru, that didn't stop Tatsuki from giving him the cold shoulder. He of course had his suspicions as to why, but he'd rather she just come and say it. Who knows, maybe she'll get frustrated enough to do just that today.

XXX

Just like he expected, the minute they were divided up to spar, she launched herself at him, scowl firmly on her face and lashing out without restraint. Blocking blow after blow from her, he grew agitated at how everyone seemed to have their own opinion about how his life should be lived. Whether it was the soul reapers thinking that they could simply fit back into his life, or that he needed his friend's approval for how he lived his life, it just didn't matter anymore. Sidestepping her next blow, he caught her with a knuckle punch to her left shoulder, sending her off-balance and stumbling back into a sweeping kick that knocked her onto her back, gasping for breath.

"Want to tell me what's got you so mad?" he muttered, his foot keeping her pinned down momentarily. Off to the side, their sensei had noticed Tatsuki's more, 'spirited' attacks and guessed that the two had something to resolve with one another, that being the sole reason he had decided to not intervene with their bout.

"I'm not mad," she grunted, grabbing his foot and tossing it to the side. Standing up, she took her stance again and charged at him, still intent on pummelling him.

"Sure you're not mad," he grunted, ducking underneath a jab aimed at his head. "After all only someone with some sort of anger would be blindly attacking me like this. Only a weak pathetic, bully would let their anger get the better of them." Grabbing her outstretched arm, he twisted his torso and tossed her over his head. "So, ready to talk to me yet?" he asked, keeping her pinned face down with his knee on the back of her shoulder. Struggling for a few seconds under his pin, she huffed and released a deep breath. "Look Tatsuki if this is about me going out with Michiru," he tried to say, only to be cut off.

"This has nothing to do with Michiru," she spat out, struggling to push him off of her again.

"Then what is this about?" he growled at her, letting go of her and letting their bout begin yet again. Taking a fist to the jaw unfazed, he swung back to face her, rubbing the sore spot with the back of his fist. "Feeling better now?"

Panting heavily on the spot, she winced at his words and looked towards the ground. "Why her?" she whispered, eyes still downcast and her entire body trembling. "Orihime's done everything short of throw herself naked at you…so why her?" she asked again, her eyes pleading with him for an answer.

"Because I don't like Orihime in that way," he replied with a sigh, running a hand over his face. Turning to face her, his face returned to its blank emotionless mask. "First I was so wrapped up in protecting people and after that I lost my powers and slipped into a rut. Orihime may hold feelings like that for me, but I've never been able to feel something similar for her. If she had asked me outright…I doubt I would have gone out with her anyway. As for why I accepted Michiru's offer, I guess that she was the first one to ask and well…why not go out with her? She's someone that hasn't had to get involved in the mess I call my life too often and even after seeing what it's like, she still asked me out."

"Sounds to me like she's more jealous than anything else?" Kyoka commented from within his inner world, causing him to jerk up in surprise at hearing her voice.

'You've been quite these last two days. Are you still mad at me over that fight?' he asked hesitantly, filing away her words on jealousy for later.

"Nope, but I was working on a special project since then," she said with a grin, scaring him as to what her project could possibly be. "Oh don't worry…you'll find out later tonight."

"I…I guess you're right Ichigo," she mumbled in a slightly hurt tone, though he couldn't tell if that was because of his rejection of Orihime, or for a more 'personal' reason.

"Come on, the class is over and we both have places to be," he said, gesturing around them at the empty dojo and heading towards the changing rooms.

XXX

Not long after Ichigo had left for his morning practice, Nozomi found herself being dragged away from the front of TV by an energetic Yuzu, the young girl insisting that she do something more than just stay cooped inside all the time. Finding it almost impossible to argue with the doe-eyed twin, she relented and followed her towards the grocery store.

Once they had gotten everything they needed and a gentle reminder that she needed to be back before Ichigo got home, the pair of them paid for their purchases and made to leave. As they were exiting the store though, Nozomi's senses detected a minor blip ahead of them, before she crashed directly into a daydreaming Rukia, sending them both to the ground.

"Ah Rukia-chan!" Yuzu cried out, helping the dazed soul reaper to her feet after Nozomi. "Sorry, but we didn't see you there."

"It's no problem Yuzu," the petite soul reaper replied with a good-natured smile, rubbing the front of her head and looking up at the Kurosaki twin. When she noticed Nozomi though, her eyes widened in surprise and she turned to greet the youngest Kurosaki. "It's nice to see you again Yuzu, but who's your friend?"

"Ah forgive me, this is Nozomi Kujo," Yuzu replied ecstatically. "She's a transfer student that's staying with us for a while."

"I see," Rukia replied, her eyes giving the girl a once over. Seeing her scowl and turn away from her, she narrowed her eyes at her and filed it away for later. "Well I need to get going now, enjoy the rest of your day!" Waving at the pair of them, she disappeared around the corner, her hand on her chin in contemplation. 'Just what exactly are you hiding Ichigo?'

XXX

Several hours later and Ichigo was waving goodbye yet again to Mahana and her little sister Kaya. Despite being a bundle of energy, Kaya at least proved to be easily entertained and relaxed somewhat quietly when she had Ichigo's hair within reach. He proved to be an excellent perch as well, easily towering over the rest of Mahana's family with ease, making the young girl giggle with glee.

Now as he lay back on his own bed once again, he groaned as he felt himself being pulled into his inner world for the second time in three days. Looking around at his surroundings, he found himself in the familiar classroom from his theoretical kido lessons, Kyoka leaning against her desk in her same provocative outfit.

"I've been going through your memories these last two days Ichigo," she began with a crisp tone, very much like a lecturer would to their student, "and what I found shows me that you have no experience with girls whatsoever. In fact I'm surprised that a guy could be this dense in the first place."

"I had better things to do at times," he grumbled under his breath, resting his head on his hand as he stared back at her with a bored expression on her face.

"That is why I'm going to teach you everything I know about the fairer sex. Welcome Ichigo…to Romance 101!" she said with a mischievous grin, causing him to groan out loud.

XXX

Not much action this chapter since I needed to get some of the personal stuff out of the way, but some more interesting bits next chapter. Let me know what you liked, loved or would like to see improved. Till next time.