I now own Bleach. Just kidding.

Chapter 4: The Power to Protect

The sun rose and illuminated the dark room of Kujou Nozomi. It was still pretty early, and considering the birthday party they had for Ichigo last night, it's understandable that she'll be tired. She didn't plan on waking for another few hours, but her plans were thwarted when she was woken up by a knock on her window. She got out of bed and checked the silhouette.

"Black clothes…?" Nozomi rubbed her eyes as she leaned in closer to the window. "…a Shinigami?"

She slowly opened the window and peeked outside.

"Yo." The person greeted.

"Rukia! Why are you here?" Nozomi asked her, albeit in a sleepy tone.

"Oh, I came to deliver this." Rukia said while she handed Nozomi her reforged Zanpakutou.

"Arazome Shigure!" Nozomi exclaimed and she received her sword. "Thanks."

"No prob." Rukia smiled at her. "Well, I'm off. I've got some things to take care of."

"Alright."

Rukia started to leave but turned back for a while.

"Oh, and take care of Ichigo."

"Sure."

With that, Rukia returned to Seireitei. Nozomi put her Zanpakutou against the wall near her bed, and lied down again. She was deep in thought after regaining her sword, thinking about her resolve to help protect the people around her.

…

"Ugh, Morning already?" Ichigo complained as he got up from bed. He glanced at the clock for a while and noticed that it's not moving. "I'll have to buy some batteries later." He reached for his phone and checked the time. "10:43 am…"

He changed his clothes and headed downstairs. Isshin was nowhere to be seen, and so was Yuzu. Karin, on the other hand, was watching television.

"Hey, Karin, where's dad and Yuzu?" Ichigo asked his sister, who turned around after a while.

"Hm? I don't know, probably did some grocery shopping." Karin replied and returned to watch tv.

"Uh, okay then. Wonder what I should do today?" Ichigo thought out loud, unaware that his sister heard him.

"Why not hang out with your girlfriend?" Karin asked while holding back a devious grin.

"Wha- I already told you that she's not my girlfriend!" Ichigo replied, slightly blushing.

"Who's she?" His sister asked, acting innocent all of a sudden.

"Nozomi!" Ichigo answered, falling into Karin's trap.

"Whoops. Someone just admitted it." She snickered devilishly. Ichigo facepalmed while grunting. "Hey, I was just kidding. It's just fun to watch how you get so worked up over her."

"Whatever! I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later." Ichigo said and exited the house. He walked along the sidewalk thinking of something to do. Life's been pretty dull for Ichigo ever since he lost his powers, although it's much livelier than his normal life before because of Nozomi, and to a lesser extent, Kon.

"Ichigo!" A deep masculine voice called out to him.

"Oh hey, Chad! What's up?" Ichigo asked as his friend walked up to him.

"Nothing much, just wanted to see how you're doing."

"Oh well, It's less busy now without Substitute Shinigami work…"

"I see… hey Ichigo, be careful. Without your powers, you're defenseless against Hollows should they attack." Chad reminded him, obviously worried about Ichigo's safety.

"Thanks for the concern." Ichigo replied. "But don't worry, I'll be fine. All that training I wpuldn't go to waste just like that."

"Okay, I gotta go now. See you later, Ichigo."

"Yeah." Chad left Ichigo and headed towards the other street.

"Hm… I guess the park's a good place to hang out in..."

…

Nozomi went downstairs at somewhere around 11:20. She had breakfast and changed her clothes. Kon and Arazome Shigure in tow, she headed to park, reason being she felt like it.

"Nozomi-saaannn!" She heard a voice call out. She turned around to see Inoue running towards her, in the same manner as yesterday.

"Inoue…"

"Inoue-saaaan!" Kon greeted but was forcibly stuffed back inside the bag, once again in the same manner as yesterday.

"What are you doing here,Nozomi-san" Inoue asked curiously.

"I… well, I don't know…"

"Kurosaki-kun isn't with you?"

"No, he wasn't in the house when I woke up."

"I see…" Inoue replied before asking another question. "Nozomi-san… do you… like Kurosaki-kun?"

Nozomi stared at her for a while, before blushing madly after realizing what she meant.

"Wh-what? N-no I don't! Why would I… like him…" Nozomi blurted out, thinking about the events that transpired ever since she met Ichigo.

"Nozomi-san… it isn't bad to like someone. Especially Kurosaki-kun, he's such a nice guy!" Inoue praised Ichigo while smiling at Nozomi.

"I…" Nozomi attempted to speak but was interrupted by a sudden spike of Reiatsu.

"What-" Just then, a large Hollow appeared and attacked them. The Hollow raised its giant claws and slammed the ground. Nozomi switched to her Shinigami form and carried Inoue to safety. "Hold this for me." Nozomi handed Inoue the bag that contained Kon.

"Nozomi! What are you going to do?" A concerned Kon asked.

"I'll get rid of it." Nozomi stated and dashed at the Hollow. She raised her sword and slashed at the Hollow, but blocked her attack with its other hand and sent her flying.

"Kh!" Nozomi fell from a considerable distance but she was caught by the combined efforts of Inoue and Kon.

Just as Nozomi got up, the Hollow turned around and walked away.

"The Hollow, it's heading towards the park!" Nozomi said while she got up.

"Oh no… This is bad!" Inoue said. "I saw Kurosaki-kun headed to the park a minute ago!"

"Ichigo!" Nozomi instantly realized the danger Ichigo was in and launched another attack at the Hollow, but was once again deflected.

"Are you alright?" Inoue asked her but she was cut short when the Hollow decided to retaliate.

"Sacred Links Shield!" Inoue raised her hands to her head and an orange triangular shield appeared, stopping the Hollow's attack.

"Thanks." Nozomi said as she got up again. "I can't use my Shikai to absorb a Hollow's Reiatsu… What should I do? It'll just deflect my physical attacks!

Nozomi attempted to formulate a strategy, but she was interrupted when the Hollow was stopped in its tracks by a volley of arrows. Nozomi and Inoue looked up to see Ishida standing on the roof of an adjacent house.

"Four-eyes!" Kon exclaimed.

"Yo, looks like you guys need a hand." Ishida said before launching another volley of arrows at the Hollow, but it managed to block them with its gigantic claws.

"Kujou-san!" Ishida called out.

"Right!" She said as she dashed towards the Hollow. It got into position to block but was met by another volley of arrows. This distracted it enough for Nozomi to slash it from the elbow down to the waist.

"Did you defeat it?" Kon asked Nozomi.

"No, its exterior is too tough for our attacks. We need something more destructive." Nozomi explained, before glancing at her Zanpakutou. "All right, it's worth a try."

"Ishida!" Nozomi called put to him.

"All right, I understand." Ishida answered, immediately realizing Nozomi's plan.

Nozomi quickly dashed once again at the Hollow, which was beginning to get irritated and launched a much stronger claw attack. Nozomi managed to dodge and land behind the Hollow.

"Now!" Nozomi exclaimed and Ishida nodded before releasing another volley of arrows, but this time it was directed at Nozomi.

She held her arrow in front of the arrows and blocked them, confusing the Hollow momentarily. The Hollow rushed towards Nozomi, not noticing the pink shroud of Reiatsu slowly enveloping her blade.

"Just a little more!" Nozomi said but the Hollow swiped down its claws at her.

"Nozomi!" Kon called out. Luckily Inoue made it just in time to block the Hollow's attack.

"Thanks, Inoue! Alright, it's ready." Nozomi said as Ishida stopped releasing arrows. Her Zanpakutou was now completely shrouded by pink Reiatsu. "Get away now, Inoue!"

Inoue dispelled her shield, causing the Hollow to lose balance for a while.

Nozomi raised her sword above her head and stared at the Hollow.

"Rain without End! Arazome Shigure!"

At her command, Nozomi's Zanpakutou changed to reveal the Reiatsu stored inside the blade.

"I won't let you harm Ichigo! This is… the power to protect!" Nozomi shouted and swung her blade down to release a large wave of pink Reiatsu. The Hollow tried to block but was enveloped by the blast and was completely obliterated. Nozomi reverted back and fell to her knees.

"She did it!" Inoue cheered as she and Ishida rushed to her side.

"Nozomi! Are you okay?" Kon asked while running towards her.

"Yeah… I'm alright."

"Protect huh? You really are similar to Kurosaki." Ishida stated while pushing up his glasses.

Nozomi smiled while slightly blushing upon remembering her earlier words. She was helped up by Inoue and was handed her bag back.

"Oi! What are you guys doing here?" Someone called out, causing them to search where the voice came from.

"Kurosaki!" Ishida said.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun! Nothing, we just… met up here by chance." Inoue explained, which was rather true.

"Well I'll be going now, see you." Ishida bid before walking away.

"I'll be going too! Bye Kurosaki-kun! Nozomi-san!" Inoue said and tried to catch up to Ishida.

"What's with them?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"…beats me." Nozomi said after remembering Inoue's earlier question.

"Well we should go home now! We've been out too long!" Kon said popping out of Nozomi's bag.

"Kon? When did you get here?"

Nozomi smiled as she watched the two bicker. They finally walked home after a while.

"Ichigo… Do I… like you?" Nozomi thought as they went on their way. She took one glance at Ichigo before blushing and looking away, confusing Ichigo.

"I guess I'll find out soon ." Nozomi thought out loud.

"Hm? Did you say something, Nozomi?" Ichigo asked her.

"No, I didn't." Nozomi answered as a smile forced itself on her face.

Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! It's really touching to see how much my work gets appreciated. I'll do what I can. Anyway, next chapter will take place after the timeskip. Ja ne!