The Protector's Temptation
I HAVE BEEN STRUCK WITH INSPIRATION…oh wait…it's gone now...damn! Been a while since I've said this, but thanks to everyone that read and reviewed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this addition.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal Speech"
'Inner Speech/Thoughts'
"Kido/Zanpakuto/Quincy Techniques"
"Zanpakuto Speech"
"Hollow Speech"
XXX
Chapter 19:
All across Karakura Town, the battle between the Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 and their Reigai counterparts came to a complete halt as they felt the malevolent wave of reiatsu crash down onto them, appearing to their senses like a blazing beacon in the dead of night.
Shivering under its oppressive weight, Orihime looked uncertainly towards Uryu, the Quincy's eyes narrowed as he looked off into the distance. "Ishida-kun," she said softly, drawing his gaze to her.
"I know Inoue-san," he said calmly, lowering his bow and dispelling it. "Come on, he'll need our help."
XXX
Not far from them, Rukia and Renji felt the change in the air, followed by Orihime and Uryu's signatures moving towards it. 'It's just like before,' Rukia thought as she recalled the feeling from Ichigo's battle with Ulquiorra on the roof of Las Noches. "Renji!" she shouted, speeding off in the direction of Ichigo and the others, whilst the Sixth Division Lieutenant looked confused at her sudden departure, but nevertheless followed after her.
Watching their counterparts rush off, Reigai-Rukia grimaced and looked past them, scanning the horizon.
"What should we do now?" Reigai-Renji asked as he walked up to her.
"The master would want us to support him if he ends up outnumbered," she answered emotionlessly. "Our place is at his side." Despite her words though, she made no move to leave and join him, but instead continued to get a feel for the battle from a distance.
"You're afraid though," he said, his words more statement than accusation, while she nodded her head slightly.
"The last time we interfered in their fight, we were cut down with ease…I don't relish getting killed again." Nodding his head in agreement with her, he blinked twice as she suddenly sped off in a flash step, before speeding off after her with a sigh and shake of his head.
XXX
Back with Ichigo and his clone, the former substitute flash stepped behind his opponent, leaving an illusion in his place as the mindless berserker swung wildly at it. As the illusion shattered into countless sharp shards and charged at the hollowfied clone, they failed to inflict any real damage as its hierro protected it from harm. Using the distraction to his advantage though, Ichigo swung down at his clone's unprotected neck, watching as Kyoka Suigetsu sliced through the iron skin. To his everlasting frustration though, the clone managed to avoid the fatal blow and retaliated with unnerving accuracy, leaving a shallow cut across Ichigo's ribs.
'Stupid Kageroza, stupid hollowfication,' he muttered to himself as he cradled his wound, groaning as he watched the wound he inflicted heal without a mark. 'And stupid high-speed regeneration,' he added as a final thought, before ducking under another wild swing.
"Hado no. 88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho," he whispered, placing his hand just over his opponent's stomach and firing the deadly wave of lightning point-blank and triggering a devastating explosion in the sky over Karakura Town. As the shockwave of the explosion roared across the town, kicking up bits of debris, bending trees over and rattling cars where they stood, Ichigo was forced to raise his arm to shield his eyes as he peered into the ball of flames. 'Is it over?'
As if to answer him, he flinched at the sudden burst of reiatsu from within the flames and leapt to the side as a crimson beam tore through the wall of flames. Feeling his skin burn from the intensity of the attack, Ichigo watched in horror as it continued to soar past him, before finally striking the ground and detonating. What followed could only be described as cataclysmic, as the area was engulfed in a dome of crimson energy, swallowing building after building with an insatiable hunger as it spread out from the epicentre. Where Ichigo's attack merely shook trees and parked cars, his clone now uprooted them both and sent them flying as the shockwave spread out, cracking the very brick that held up buildings not caught in the blast. Even being half a mile away from the blast was not enough to spare the soul reapers and clones alike, as they were hurled away like rag dolls and smashed into their surroundings.
As the roar died away to a dull boom in his ears, Ichigo could finally remove his arms from his eyes and look out at the damage inflicted on his town. As he looked out, his hands dropped to his side and he gave an anguished cry at the smoking ruin in the distance. A portion of the once sprawling metropolis; was now reduced to its very foundations by the energies unleashed upon it, while the area surrounding it was battered and broken. Searching frantically for any sign of life, he cried out again as he could feel nothing but the chaotic energies of the cero and his opponent blanketed over the area.
Tearing his eyes away from the scene, he glared back at his clone, seeing its hollowfied form standing still on the air, none the worse for wear with its head bowed forward as if to charge. Gathering his reiatsu to him, it exploded outward in wave after wave of violet energy, while his opponent responded with its own cloak of pitch black energy, tinted with red. Charging forward at it, he disregarded the scream from Kyoka to wait and began to tear into the monster before him, unheeding of the fact that his control over his illusions had slipped.
XXX
As Ichigo's friends recovered from their impromptu flight, Orihime cried out and tears started to pour from her eyes at the damage the attack had dealt. The once quiet town was eerily silent once again, until the shrieking of sirens was heard as the emergency services rushed to ground zero. Feeling a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders, she flung her arms around the tall thin body in front of her and sobbed into their chest, barely registering their words of comfort.
In his own mind, Uryu was cursing the fact that the soul reapers had ever come to Karakura Town and now after numerous attacks, it had finally suffered its most crushing loss to date. Steeling himself though, he summoned his hirenkyaku to him, carrying the pair of them towards the battle. As they arrived, he noticed Rukia and Renji arrive at the same time, while the other Lieutenants lagged behind. Tossing their welfare to the back of his mind, he looked up into the sky, his senses pushed to their limits as he searched for Ichigo and his opponent. Finding the pair of them, he watched as they collided time and time again, a violet all of energy clashing with an obsidian orb. Grimacing as he beheld Ichigo's blood spattered visage, he winced as his rival barely dodged a stab aimed at his head.
"The horns Ichigo! Cut off the horns!" the archer shouted desperately, while Ichigo seemed to be shocked out of his blind rage at the sound of his voice.
"Ishida?!" Ichigo muttered in disbelief, his eyes zeroing in on where the archer supported Orihime in his arms. Chancing another brief look around, he found his friends and allies signatures around them, however faint they might be. Sighing in slight relief, he cried out as he had stayed still a little too long and his clone had stabbed him in his shoulder.
Pulling himself off the obsidian blade, he finally calmed down enough to realise that his illusions had melted away long ago and had left him vulnerable.
"Finally you return to your senses!" Kyoka screamed at him, her anger, worry and frustration radiating over to him as he slowed his ragged breathing.
'I'll apologise later!' he shouted at her, withdrawing behind the safety of his illusions, while a plan quickly formed in his mind.
XXX
Feeling Rukia and Renji appear next to him, Uryu gave them the briefest of nods before turning back to watch Ichigo's battle, seeing that the Reigai were content to do much the same.
"So that's the form he took back in Las Noches," Rukia murmured softly. "I…had forgotten the feeling of helplessness it evoked."
"Why hasn't the bastard released his Bankai then? Is he trying to prove that he's stronger than us unreleased, even as his town burns down around him," Renji growled in anger.
"That's not it," Orihime whispered from Uryu's chest, raising her head a little so that she could watch the battle. "The only reason why Kurosaki-kun would not release his Bankai…is if he didn't have one."
"What are you talking about Inoue? He does have one, but we haven't seen him use it since he's gotten his powers back," Rukia said sharply, raising an eyebrow in confusion as she saw the healer shake her head.
"I've never seen his blade outside of a fight Kuchiki-san and for that reason I think that's why we were fooled for so long, but does that even look like Kurosaki-kun's sword?"
Even more confused now, the four of them looked up at the sky where Ichigo and his clone were mere blurs to their keen eyes, until their blades locked together and brought them to a grinding halt. As the two strove against one another, Ichigo with both hands straining against the brute force of his hollowfied counterpart, he suddenly disappeared and reappeared barely a moment later with his blade raised to slice clean through the mask. As his blade made the cut though, he doubled over and gasped, blood pouring from his mouth and his arms shaking violently. As his clone's mask broke away and his unconscious body fell to the ground though, they could see the black blade of Tensa Zangetsu stabbed straight through Ichigo's gut. As his body began to fall, all hell broke loose with the Reigai renewing their assault and the soul reapers scrambling to respond.
Smirking at the chaos in front of him, Kageroza quickly appeared in front of Nova and Nozomi, batting away the injured mod soul with ease and knocking the girl out with a blow to her head. Hefting her up onto his shoulder, he looked up in surprise as Reigai-Ichigo appeared before him, cradling his head and staggering slightly.
"You've done well my creation. Now come, carry the girl and we will head back to the Seireitei and complete my plans. Don't think that I have forgotten the sacrifice you had to make and rest assured that you will be properly rewarded for it," he said in a falsely appreciative tone, while handing over Nozomi's unconscious form to Ichigo. With all the fighting going on around them, nobody noticed as a senkaimon opened and closed with a sibilant hiss.
XXX
As Orihime and Rukia arrived at Ichigo's prone form, the petite soul reaper grunted and tore the blade from his stomach and tossed it aside, while Orihime quickly summoned her Soten Kisshun to begin healing his wounds. To their utter disbelief though, her powers seemed to have no effect on the wound and he continued to bleed out. As the seconds ticked by though, the pair of them let out a small shriek as Ichigo's body seemed to simply melt away into nothingness.
"What…but…HOW?!" Rukia screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling a hand grab her shoulder. Jerking back from the contact, she spun around to find herself faced with a grim looking Kisuke and Yoruichi.
"I think you need to hurry to the Seireitei and quickly Kuchiki-san," he said with a gesture as the Reigai retreated and the others started to gather around them. "You will find your answers there in the end."
Working her jaw in an attempt to say something, she watched dumbstruck as the pair of them vanished, leaving her and the other Lieutenants behind.
"Whatever's happening here, we need to get back to the Seireitei and help the Captains," Rangiku said, cutting into their thoughts. "If Urahara can get us there, then we need to leave now."
Hearing the others murmur their agreement, Rukia and Orihime felt themselves guided away by Renji and Uryu, their eyes straying back to where Ichigo's body seemed to just…disappear.
XXX
As they appeared within the Seireitei, Kageroza looked around and felt the on-going battles between his Invasion Army and the Captains of the Gotei 13. Hearing the first of the Lieutenants appear, he turned around to face them. "Gather your comrades and assist the Captains," he barked at them. "Ensure that no one follows me! Come now Kurosaki. I'll need your help to complete the process."
Nodding at his master, the pair of them disappeared underground, walking quickly towards Kageroza's private lab. Entering a dimly lit room with several computer consoles and several human-sized cylinders, Kageroza approached one of them and began to rapidly type in commands.
"Place her in that unit!" Kageroza shouted, gesturing to an opening in one of the cylinders. Once Reigai-Ichigo had done so, he stepped back and watched as the tube filled with liquid and Nozomi began to float within it. "Good, now it's only a matter of time," Kageroza mumbled to himself, while a door hissed open and Nemu entered the area. "Good Kurotsuchi you're here, I need you to…" he started to say, only to stop as the entire lab was rocked by a jarring earthquake. "What is going on up there?" he thought irritably as the area shook again. "Nemu continue to prepare the subject. Kurosaki, come with me," he barked out, rushing to the door with his cane in hand. As he left though, he was completely unaware of the faint drip of blood striking the floor, followed by Reigai-Nemu's lifeless corpse. Walking over to the cylinder again, Ichigo slashed at the container, shattering it and spraying the pink liquid all over the ground and catching a sputtering Nozomi.
"Ichigo?!" Nozomi said as she choked out some of the liquid, "But I…we," she tried to say, only to find Ichigo's hand on her mouth, silencing her.
"Later," he whispered, before stalking off towards the door after Kageroza.
XXX
As Kageroza stepped out of the underground passageway, he grunted as he was forced back by a gust of wind, the intense heat causing him to break out into sweat. Puzzled at the sudden rise in temperature, he peered around through narrowed eyes as he attempted to pierce the haze of heat. As his surroundings finally came into view, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the scene in front of him. All around him the Seireitei was ablaze, its immense towers crumbled down to their bases. The sprawling grounds of each division nothing more than flaming ruins, with the bodies of dead soul reapers littered across the carnage. Hearing the crumbling of rock behind him, he spun around to find his Invasion Army wounded, but victorious.
"How did this happen?" he whispered in surprise, his mind trying to reconcile the world he remembered entering just moments ago, with this world of devastation.
"It is all thanks to you…my son," a hoarse male voice said, causing Kageroza to spin around again to face the newcomer.
Ambling towards him was a thin, gaunt figure with pale skin and dull green hair, clothed in a faded white yukata. As the stranger stumbled, Kageroza leapt forward and caught him, supporting his meagre weight with ease.
"Otou-san…but…this cannot be true. You…your mind was broken, your body left to waste away," he said with equal parts fear and absolute joy in his tone, wondering whether he was in a dream or nightmare as his creator Oko Yushima stood before him.
"But don't you want me to be here son? Don't you want me to thank you for fulfilling my dream and taking revenge on the Soul Society for what they did to me? After so many years spent unable to live, would you send me back to that hell?" Oko asked him, his eyes drooping lower as he spoke.
"No! Of course not tou-san, I'm just…this is so…" he mumbled, wrapping his arms around his creator in a tight hug. "My army completed their mission without my help and now all that is left is to complete the fusion with Nozomi. Then we can finally have peace."
"Peace you say," Oko Yushima said, except now his voice was clear and stern, worrying Kageroza at its change. "I'm afraid that now… now you've become expendable my son, you and your army."
"Tou-san, w-what are you saying?" Kageroza stuttered out in fear, crying out as he felt a gut-wrenching pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he was stunned to find a blade that looked like Sumitsukigasa impaled through his body. On inspection of the reiatsu though, he knew the blade to be a fake. Looking up into his father's face, his eyes widened in horror as his visage seemed to fade away and was instead replaced with the cold, blood-spattered image of Ichigo Kurosaki. "Kurosaki?! When did you KEARGH!" he tried to say, only to cry out in pain as Kyoka Suigetsu cut down through his torso, his blood pouring out of him without restraint.
"When did I get here? Oh I've been here since you got back. It's strange how blind we become when we have what we want in our hands," Ichigo answered in his emotionless tone, pulling his blade free from Kageroza's torso.
"But the Seireitei…my army…Otou-san," Kageroza mumbled, falling to his knees as he tried to understand once again what was happening. As he looked around though, his army seemed to shatter into glass and the once raging flames around them seemed to disappear. Whilst there was damage here and there…there were no destroyed barracks or mountains of corpses and from the feel of things as they were…his army would soon be dead too.
"I'd tell you how this all happened…but it seems we have company now," Ichigo said softly, while several Captains appeared around them. Feeling a small pulse behind him, Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at his friends as they arrived.
"Ichigo…you're…alive," Rukia said in disbelief, as tears poured from both hers and Orihime's eyes, while Renji and the others merely stared at him as if he was a ghost.
"Well of course he's alive, he's standing right here in front of us," Sui-Feng spat, nursing a large cut to stomach. As Rukia made to speak again, she was cut off by Ichigo silencing her with a brief shake of his head. "What do you plan to do with him Kurosaki?" Sui-Feng asked, her tone bordering on angry and frustrated.
As if to make his decision for him, the Kageroza's body turned to dust and faded away, leaving behind a simple red pill, similar to a gikongan. Picking it up in his hands, Ichigo watched dispassionately as it turned into blue reishi and was blown away. "Satisfied?" he asked with a glare, dusting his hand off on his shihakusho.
Turning his back on the Captains, Ichigo began to walk away, but stumbled and fell to one knee. Feeling someone drape his arm over their shoulders, he looked down to see Nozomi supporting him, a glowing green palm held to his chest. Feeling his wounds begin to heal ever so slowly, he rose back to his feet and started towards the senkaimon. "I'll see you guys later then," he said with a wave over his shoulder, while Rukia, Renji, Orihime, Chad and Uryu followed after him.
"Why were you all so surprised to see Ichigo Kurosaki alive?" Captain Commander Yamamoto asked with a stern tone as he levelled his gaze towards the Lieutenants that had been left behind.
Fidgeting on the spot, Rangiku shared a look with Momo and Isane, before clearing her throat. "Well you see…"
XXX
As the group stumbled out of the senkaimon, they were welcomed by a jovial Kisuke and smirking Yoruichi.
"I trust everything went well then Kurosaki-kun?" he asked as he waved his fan casually in front of his face.
"I'm bleeding from more wounds than I've had in over a year. My head feels like I have a dozen Gillian stomping around in there and I just blew off the Gotei 13 again…what do you think Urahara?" Ichigo growled as they made their way up the ladder to the shop.
Snapping his fan shut with a loud snap, Kisuke caused them all to jump near a foot in the air. "Excellent! Now since I'm feeling so charitable, why don't you all stay and have your wounds tended to. I'm sure you'd like to rest before you need to tell your story to the others Kurosaki-san."
Looking over his shoulder at his friends, Ichigo could see the pleading look in their eyes and gave a weary sigh as he nodded his head briefly at the shopkeeper. Leading Nozomi who was still supporting him, Kisuke led them to one of the spare rooms in the shop, before leading the others away. A few hours later after being healed by Orihime and left alone to gather his thoughts, Ichigo was disturbed by a knock at his door.
"Come in," he called out in a tired voice, seeing Kisuke slip into the room and walk over to him, before removing his hat and setting it to his side. From this simple act alone, Ichigo was instantly alert, his mentor only showing this level of seriousness when something was terribly wrong.
"The first reports of casualties have come in and I thought I'd tell you now before you hear it from someone else," Kisuke said in a sad tone, running a hand over his tired face. "Now I want you to remember Kurosaki-san, in war there are always casualties and no matter how strong we are, there will always be those that don't make it."
"Urahara-san…please just tell me and stop prolonging my misery," Ichigo groaned as he rested his head in his hands, dreading the number he was about to be told.
"Initial reports suggest that just over 1500 people have lost their lives with double that being injured in the shockwave," Kisuke began, seeing Ichigo's shoulder slump. "But…that's not what I wanted to tell you Kurosaki-san. During the battle…one of the victims was…Michiru Ogawa," he finished, while Ichigo's head shot up at his final words. "It seems the shockwave…Kurosaki-san?! Wait, where are you going?!" Kisuke shouted after him, seeing the teen bolting from the room and rushing down the corridor.
"Hang on Ichigo where are you…HEY!" Yoruichi shouted after him as he bowled her over in his mad dash to the door, not even bothering to apologise to her. "What's gotten into him?" she asked as Kisuke appeared a moment later, helping her to her feet.
"I told him about Ms Ogawa," Kisuke said with a sigh. "Can you keep the others here? I'll go get him."
"No wait, you keep the others busy. I'm sorry Kisuke, but if you've already sent him into a panic like this, then you're the last person that should go after him," she said sternly, while he pouted at her.
"Fine, fine. I guess you're right," he relented, dropping his head in acceptance, seeing the Flash Goddess rush after the distraught teenager.
XXX
Flash stepping through the air above Karakura Town, Ichigo barely paid attention to the sirens or cries of mourning as he ran. His mind was currently racing to deny what Kisuke had told, trying with all its might to deny that he had allowed a friend to die. Appearing just outside her home, he felt a flash of hope as the house was completely untouched on the outside and he slowly made his way up to Michiru's window and slid in. Seeing no one, but his prone body on the bed, his hope began to fade, until it was finally shattered by the sound of sobbing downstairs. Making his way slowly towards the stairs, he winced at the pool of blood drying at the bottom of the stairs and walked into the living room. There huddled together with one another were her parents, crying their eyes out as they clung to one another.
Tearing his eyes away from their grief, he spotted movement in the corner of his eye. Afraid of what he might find, he slowly turned his head in its direction and felt his fears confirmed. Huddled on the floor with her head buried in her arms and her knees drawn up to her chest, was the ghostly form of Michiru, still wearing her grey shirt and red short-shorts.
"Michiru-chan," he whispered softly, seeing her head shoot up to stare at him. As she struggled to her feet, he glimpsed a broken chain attached to her chest. Overcome by his grief, he collapsed on his knees in front of her, flinching as she tackled him in a desperate hug, his own arms wrapping around her reflexively.
"Ichigo…they…they can't see me," she cried into his shoulder, ghostly tears pouring from her eyes. "Why? Why can't they hear me Ichigo?"
Falling back into a seated position with her in his lap, Ichigo tried to find the words to explain it to her, but found himself stubbornly mute. Feeling tears begin to pool in his eyes, he ruthlessly suppressed them and buried his face in her neck, clutching her all the more tightly. "I'm so, so sorry Michiru. This…this is all my fault." As his hand began to slowly stroke the back of her head, he felt a cold sticky substance stick to it. Raising it to eye level, he bit back the urge to flinch as it was covered in blood, indicating that she had probably fallen down the stairs and hit her head, because of the shockwave. Feeling her pull away from him, he looked down, desperately trying to avoid staring her in the eye.
"What do you mean Ichigo?" she asked in a choked tone. Cupping his face with her hands, she lifted his head up until he was staring back into her eyes. What she found was the anguish and pain of a boy that had, had his heart twisted and crushed and she couldn't help but sob and embrace him again. "You fought as hard as you could though right? There was nothing more you could do right?"
"He…he couldn't move and was bleeding to death. I…I thought he'd die and that'd be it," Ichigo choked out. "If only I had…" he tried to say, only to find her fingers pressed to his lips, silencing him.
"The Ichigo that I know, would not kill a man that couldn't fight back," she said soothingly, resting her forehead against his own. Hearing her parents sobs quieten, she looked over her shoulder to see her mother had passed out, her head resting on her father's shoulder. "Ichigo…could you do me a favour please?" she asked, while he looked up at her curiously. "It's nothing too big, but could you just tell them that I…" she paused to let out a choked sob, "that I loved them and miss them more than they could ever imagine." Seeing him nod his head, she went back to resting her head against his shoulder, giving off the odd sniffle or sob now and then. "You know…it's not fair. I mean we only got to go out once and last night was the first and last time I got to sleep with a guy," she said with a light blush on her face.
"Life is a cruel mistress sometimes," he murmured softly in her ear. "I'm just sorry that we didn't have more time with one another."
They continued to sit, wrapped in one another's embrace, until finally Michiru lifted her head up and stared up at him. "What happens to me now Ichigo?"
"Well…I guess I have to send you to Soul Society," he mumbled, less than pleased about sending her there now than he was before. "From there…I really don't know. If you have enough reiatsu, you might join the Shino Academy for soul reapers, or you'll live your afterlife in the Rukongai."
"Is there a chance that I'll see you again?"
"There's always a chance Michiru, but…there's a chance that you won't even remember me."
"You mean I could lose all of my memories?" she asked in shocked horror, while Ichigo tried to calm her down by rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"It's possible," he said quietly. "I'm not an expert, but some people do retain their memories of their past lives. Even if you don't remember this life though, you'll be able to start over again and who knows, maybe you'll find a guy that's a bit more normal," he said with a smirk, hearing her chuckle slightly. As the minutes continued to tick by with neither of them making a move to get up, Ichigo felt Yoruichi slip into Michiru's room and remove his body, removing one problem from his mind at the moment. Adjusting his arms so that he could carry her, he slowly rose to his feet, drawing a puzzled look from her. "Is there anything you want to see or do before I help you pass over?" he asked gently, watching as she acquired a thoughtful look. Setting her down as she attempted to climb out of his arms, he watched as she walked over to her parents and kissed them both on their brows, before walking back to him again with a sad smile on her face. Drawing his blade slowly and pressing the hilt of it to her forehead, watching impassively as she started to disappear feet first.
"Remember Ichigo, you're not allowed to blame yourself for all this. Even if we had never met, I might have died anyway. At least this way I had a lot of fun in the days leading up to this." Giving her a stiff nod to show that he had at least heard her, he gave her one last smile as her head disappeared and a hell-butterfly fluttered in her place, heading towards the open window.
"She was a smart girl Ichigo; make sure you remember her words okay?" Kyoka whispered in his ear, her slim arms wrapping around his neck as she nuzzled into him. "Now come on, the others are probably forming all sorts of theories about you and its time you revealed me to them."
Sighing at the potential interrogation he would face soon, he spared Michiru's parents one last glance, before heading to the window and climbing out of it.
XXX
And we come to the end of the Invasion Army Arc and what a sudden end it was. Right now I really need to address some of the reviews the last chapter got. Please bear with me and well, that's all I can ask really.
Sparing his opponents: To be honest, I have no idea where this came from. His first fight with his clone, he kills him. Second fight, Kageroza intervenes. His last fight, he leaves him paralysed and bleeding out.
Lack of illusions: Well I'd say the events in today's chapter just served as the catalyst to ensure that he's never without an illusion near him.
Clone's survivability: For those of you that didn't watch anime, the clones can be resurrected any number of times, provided their pill form isn't destroyed. Whenever Ichigo or the others killed one, they simply destroyed the body they were in.
Reigai-Ichigo blaming Ichigo: Remember Kageroza was working from the shadows. To Reigai-Ichigo it simply seemed like Masaki's 'attacks' were caused by his close proximity.
Visored Ichigo: I dealt with this a while back if I remember correctly, but he's not a Visored. There is only a taint left to his soul as it were.
Ichigo not releasing his Shikai at the first possible moment: Two reasons really. One, Ichigo's been trying to hide his powers from the others and calling out his release doesn't exactly help with that. Two, arrogance. He hasn't been even remotely challenged during his last few encounters what with how effective kido can be etc.
Hmm, a bit longer than average but I think I addressed the reviews that brought up some interesting points. And for those asking for his Bankai…well you're just going to have to wait and see won't you?
Anyway guys thanks for the support for this story. I know that we disagree with one another at times and by no means is this perfect, but I've loved every minute of it, the good, the bad and the downright "DUDE WTF DID YOU JUST DO?!" Till next time, read, review and enjoy.