History FanFic / AProtectorsPride

** [[spoiler:Ayumu]] when he eventually decides that [[BadassGrandpa Yamamoto]] [[TurnsRed is actually a threat to him]].

* DeathByAdaptation: Subverted with [[spoiler:Grimmjow]]; they thought he'd died, but he actually [[spoiler:became a togabito by eating one and inheriting its chains]].

* RainOfBlood: One of [[spoiler: Urahara]]'s techniques [[FlechetteStorm weaponizes]] this.

** When Ichigo's allies learn that [[spoiler: his mother was a quincy]] Uryuu's reaction is to start [[HeadDesk banging his head]] against the nearest wall. [[WordOfGod According to the author]], Uryuu invokes this trope when he imagines the sheer ''headache'' involved in [[spoiler: teaching [[UnskilledButStrong Ichigo]] how to fight like a [[WeakButSkilled quincy]]]] and realizes that the job would likely fall to him.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5002293/1/A-Protector-s-Pride A Protector's Pride]] is a {{Manga/Bleach}} FanFic by [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/943302/NeoRyu777 NeoRyu777]]. It is now complete.

The premise: Ichigo decides to handle his inner hollow like every other problem he faces: fighting it head on instead of running away. [[ForWantOfANail Things quickly snowball from a seemingly minor change.]] The story begins just before the vizards approach him and covers canon up to Aizen's defeat as well as an original Hell arc.

** [[spoiler:The source of the quincies' powers.]]

* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Mashiro lampshades Ichigo's affinity for this trope:

--->'''Kurosaki Ichigo:''' Look me in the eyes, [[spoiler:Ayumu]]. The fact that you breathe is an unforgivable affront to me after what you have done. So this is your punishment. You will die at my hands, again and again, until I am satisfied. When you revive, you are to return directly to me. For every minute you do not appear before me, I will use a Gran Rey Cero to tear your world, your soul apart. And when I get bored of that, I will seal you with a technique of my own making, one that will leave you in [[AndIMustScream eternal agony]]. Then I will leave you buried alive in the deepest level of this world. Your existence will be nothing. Blind, alone, in endless torment with no one to hear your screams. Now die, [[spoiler:Ayumu]]. Die, and return to me for more. ''[Slasher Smile widens]'' Or don't return to me. The Quincy thought for years they were destroying souls. It would be rather fitting for me to destroy yours, oh so slowly. Anyways, the choice is yours.

The premise: Ichigo decides to handle his inner hollow like every other problem he faces: fighting it head on instead of running away. [[ForWantOfANail Things quickly snowball from a seemingly minor change.]]

* ChekhovsGun: Ulquiorra reveals a DespairEventHorizon will unlock the Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa.

* DeaderThanDead: The blue desert in the fourth layer of Hell is made of togabito that have [[CessationOfExistence died permanently]] [[spoiler:or have been killed by Hell (who can also revive them from this state). Shuren was on the receiving end of the latter and has not been revived as of yet]].

-->'''Muguruma Kensei:''' ''[reading Mashiro's notes]'' Things to learn to be like Berry-tan: [[SuperMode Bankai]]. [[DeathGlare Scary serious faces.]] How to beat people up and then make them your friend.

** Later in the same battle, he learns how to [[spoiler:project his Inner World into the real world]].

* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: [[spoiler:Zommari]] goes on for so long about his powers that Ichigo just tunes him out and notices that [[spoiler:Ayumu]] looks seconds away from face-palming at his idiocy.

* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Ichigo and friends' excuses when they have to deal with spiritual matters.
** Becomes something of a RunningGag with their teacher, who comes to believe that Ichigo and Chad are off dealing with an escalating personal war against the criminal underworld of Karakura. So far she believes that Chad was kidnapped and held hostage for days, that Ichigo spent days rescuing him and extracting retribution, and that Ichigo was later shot and put into a coma in retaliation for this.
* IgnoreTheFanservice: Unlike canon, Ichigo is not remotely interested in Rangiku's attempts to let her stay at his place. He even notes that though she could probably give him the night of his life, 1) he's way too tired from training to be interested and 2) he's the son and occasionally assistant of a doctor, so she doesn't have anything he hasn't seen before.

** [[spoiler:Asahi no Kagami]]'s [[ArmorPiercingQuestion illu]][[AwfulTruth sions]] don't affect someone who's at peace with themselves.

* MarkedChange: When Ichigo reenters his body after performing Jinzen, Ichigo's body changes to match his new spiritual form.

* MythologyGag: Nelliel "not minding" Ichigo chaining her up brings to mind her comments on being a masochist when they met in canon.

--->'''Kurosaki Ichigo:''' Look me in the eyes, [[spoiler:Ayumu]]. The fact that you breathe is an unforgivable affront to me after what you have done. So this is your punishment. You will die at my hands, again and again, until I am satisfied. When you revive, you are to return directly to me. For every minute you do not appear before me, I will use a Gran Rey Cero to tear your world, your soul apart. And when I get bored of that, I will seal you with a technique of my own making, one that will leave you in [[AndIMustScream eternal agony]]. Then I will leave you buried alive in the deepest level of this world. Your existence will be nothing. Blind, alone, in endless torment with no one to hear your screams. Now die, [[spoiler:Ayumu]]. Die, and return to me for more. ''[SlasherSmile widens]'' Or don't return to me. The Quincy thought for years they were destroying souls. It would be rather fitting for me to destroy yours, oh so slowly. Anyways, the choice is yours.

* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: Tessai trains Ichigo in kido after the latter acknowledges that he's functionally helpless against them.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Ichigo has this to say when looking at [[{{Tsundere}} Hiyori]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Shinji's]] relationship.
-->'''Kurosaki Ichigo:''' ''[to Rose]'' You know, it sounds like there's a lot of repressed sexual tension between them. Maybe that's why they fight--hoping for some good make-up sex?\\

* BewareTheNiceOnes: All of the nice characters, Orihime in particular.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Gin]] prevents [[spoiler:Soifon]] from killing Momo.

* AchievementsInIgnorance: Rukia manipulates ambient reishi for kido at one point and thinks nothing of it, until a worried Hitsugaya points out that is a Quincy technique.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:Ayumu is defeated, Hueco Mundo forms a tentative alliance with Soul Society, Masaki is given a proper home and protection in Soul Society, and Ichigo has finally made peace with his life. Then Quincy activity is detected in Hueco Mundo and the heroes are informed about Yhwach's prophesied return, so they start taking steps to counter him.]]

* AwesomeButImpractical: Ichigo being able to use his hollow's zanpakuto in Shikai is noted as increasing his attack power but decreasing his agility and preventing him from casting kido. In Bankai, however, it compounds the normal effect.
** DualWielding both swords during Bankai counts. Twice the power and twice the speed is negated by the damage done to Ichigo's body and him not really being used to fighting while Dual Wielding.

* CuriosityKilledTheCast: When it's learned [[spoiler:Ichigo's mother is a Quincy]], Yamamoto asks that information be suppressed lest Captain Kurotsuchi decide to "commit suicide by Kurosaki."

** [[spoiler:The source of the Quincies' powers.]]

* ForWantOfANail: The story kicks off from Ichigo's choice to confront his inner hollow rather than avoid the problem until the Vaizard confront him.

* HeadDesk: Uryu starts hitting his head against a wall upon learning [[spoiler:Ichigo's mother is a Quincy.]]

* MagneticHero: Ichigo. Makes Yamamoto very suspicious of Ichigo since he has a Quincy, a human with hollow-like powers, a girl with RealityWarper powers, the Vizard, Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, [[spoiler:Ulquiorra, Harribel, Stark, and Lillynette]], and several of Yamamoto's own high-ranking officers willing to fight for him.

* MamaBear: Masaki once she [[spoiler:regains her Quincy powers]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Ichigo and the other Vaizards kill so many Kushināda that they [[spoiler:accidentally revive Hell]].

* SideBet: Though the exact terms of the bet are unclear, Shinji collects money from Rose and Kensei when they hear Yamamoto say, "If Kurotsuchi-taicho finds out [that [[spoiler:Ichigo's mother is a Quincy]]], then I can see no scenario where he does not commit suicide by Kurosaki."

* TheyWouldCutYouUp: When Hitsugaya hears about Rukia's new, Quincy-like ability, he advises her to keep it a secret, unless she wants to be locked up or experimented on.

** When Ichigo's allies learn that [[spoiler: his mother was a Quincy]] Uryuu's reaction is to start [[HeadDesk banging his head]] against the nearest wall. [[WordOfGod According to the author]], Uryuu invokes this trope when he imagines the sheer ''headache'' involved in [[spoiler: teaching [[UnskilledButStrong Ichigo]] how to fight like a [[WeakButSkilled Quincy]]]] and realizes that the job would likely fall to him.

* ApologeticAttacker: Some of the [[spoiler:togabito]] will ask their opponent to surrender and will apologize for what they have to do before fighting.

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Zommari Leroux]] comes back as a Togabito. [[spoiler:Grimmjow]] was presumed dead, but it's revealed he actually [[spoiler:ate a Togabito and inherited its chains]].

** The Togabito can use their chains as weapons or shields.

* ColorCodedArmies: When Uryuu makes note of the canon red (shinigami) and white (ordinary humans and quincies) colorations of spirit ribbons, he also mentions that hollows appear black and Togabito appear purple.

* DeaderThanDead: The blue desert in the fourth layer of Hell is made of Togabito that have [[CessationOfExistence died permanently]] [[spoiler:or have been killed by Hell (who can also revive them from this state). Shuren was on the receiving end of the latter and has not been revived as of yet]].

* DeathByAdaptation: Subverted with [[spoiler:Grimmjow]]; they thought he'd died, but he actually [[spoiler:became a Togabito by eating one and inheriting its chains]].

* ExplainExplainOhCrap: After Chad asks Urahara a few questions they realize that [[spoiler:Hell (the person) has been sending Togabito specifically to be defeated so the reishi left behind would eventually merge the living world and Hell (the dimension)]].

** [[spoiler:Hell sending Togabito to Karakura]] turns out to be this. [[spoiler:If his minions kill the defenders, he can more easily invade. If they don't, the reishi left behind when they lose will eventually let him merge the Hell dimension and the living world.]]

** [[spoiler:Grimmjow]] eats a Togabito and inherits its Hell chains.

The premise: Ichigo decides to handle his inner Hollow like every other problem he faces: fighting it head on instead of running away. [[ForWantOfANail Things quickly snowball from a seemingly minor change.]]

** Zangetsu asks Ichigo one when he fears becoming a monster if he embraces his inner Hollow.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: How Hollows determine who's in charge.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Ichigo being able to use his Hollow's zanpakuto in Shikai is noted as increasing his attack power but decreasing his agility and preventing him from casting kido. In Bankai, however, it compounds the normal effect.

* BloodKnight: Cazador de la Luna (Ichigo's inner Hollow) of course. He insists Ichigo is as well. Also per usual, Zaraki Kenpachi and Madarame Ikkaku.

* ColorCodedArmies: When Uryuu makes note of the canon red (Shinigami) and white (ordinary humans and Quincies) colorations of spirit ribbons, he also mentions that Hollows appear black and Togabito appear purple.

* CombinedEnergyAttack: Urahara has an experimental Kido spell that can pull a dispersed soul back together, but it requires ''WAY'' more reiryoku (spirit energy) to use than he has personally. So, all of the Shinigami currently around add their power to his in order to use the spell.

** Ichigo handles his Hollow by making a deal to fight for control every two weeks with the loser helping the winner until their next fight.

* DualWielding: When Ichigo first wins his battle with his inner Hollow, he claims the latter's sword for himself, and from then on is able to use both Zangetsus as once. However, he rarely does so due to it being Awesome But Impractical (see above).

** Ichigo and his Hollow, Cazador de la Luna. They playfully [[CasualDangerDialogue banter]] when they fight.

* MagneticHero: Ichigo. Makes Yamamoto very suspicious of Ichigo since he has a Quincy, a human with Hollow-like powers, a girl with RealityWarper powers, the Vizard, Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, [[spoiler:Ulquiorra, Harribel, Stark, and Lillynette]], and several of Yamamoto's own high-ranking officers willing to fight for him.

** One Shinigami skill is to pull one's zanpakutou spirit from the world of one's heart (i.e., "inner world") and manifest it in the physical world. The logical extreme of this is to pull the entire world of the heart into the physical world.

** Though Ichigo kills him after rather than before, during his first fight with Cazador de la Luna Ichigo claims his Hollow's zanpakutou as his own.
** Later, [[spoiler:Ichigo becomes the king of Hueco Mundo after killing Aizen]]. He then has to fight a lot of Hollows to [[spoiler:prove his strength so other contenders won't attack him in the human world and cause a lot of collateral damage while trying to become king themselves.]]

--->''"What makes a person a monster?"''

---> '''Unohana:''' If it had been anyone else, say, Kurotsuchi-taicho who had done such things, would you have argued against killing him for treason?
---> '''Momo:''' No... [[WellIntentionedExtremist But Aizen had a higher purpose in mind.]]
---> '''Unohana:''' Perhaps, but do the ends justify the means. Where is the limit, Hinamori-chan? Thousands of people? Millions? Billions? How many until it's worth it?
---> '''Momo:''' ''[falters and quietly whispers]'' I...I don't know.

---> ''"I channel that desire [to hurt others] into my left arm, and I've used it to protect others. What is better? To be born perfect, or overcome your flawed nature through great effort?"''

--->''"This is my power. You may be able to [[spoiler:rot away flesh, bone and sinew]]. You may be able to [[spoiler:decompose earth and metal and even dissipate reiatsu]]. But my technique is based on none of those, nothing but the eternal force of my will to protect! This is my power, [[spoiler:Baraggan, Lord of Hueco Mundo]]! This power that intrudes on Kami's territory! The power to reject and reshape reality! And I reject you and your power! Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun! I reject!"''

--->''"Allow me to tell you exactly whom you are dealing with. My name is Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. I have lived for millennia, in times of war and in times of peace. I have made damning mistakes. I have won impossible victories. I have committed terrible atrocities, ordered and led utter genocide, not once, not twice, but thrice in the name of world balance, in the name of sanity, in the name of the human soul. I am he who conquered Soul Society and united the strongest under my rule! I am he who fought and survived the First Quincy, Yhwach, one thousand years ago, destroying his powers! I have had one thousand years since then to increase my powers, [[spoiler:Hell]]! Now taste the ever-burning flame of my soul! Bankai! Zanka no Tachi. Now... can the fires of Hell compare to me?"''

--->''"Enough talk! No Togabito will distract me! No attack will faze me! No defense will stop me! I came here to end the threat you pose to all the worlds, and you will not escape me!"''

---> ''"I am the sōtaicho of the Gotei 13! There is no Shinigami stronger than I! What does it matter if you understand one technique? I have dozens, [[MasterOfAll hundreds of techniques]] that I have mastered in the millennia I have lived! Your armor may have saved you from my flame, but do not presume to think you have defeated me! ... I may not succeed in sealing you, but I ''will'' keep you from getting to Kurosaki Ichigo. I will [[DelayingAction buy him the time he needs]] to ''tear your soul apart!''"''

--->''"Did you really think that after a hundred years of exile, I would not have a plan for how to counter Yamamoto? That I would not [[CrazyPrepared account for every possibility]]? I know his Shikai. I know his Bankai. I know every single one of his capabilities, and I have a plan to counter them all. This is why Aizen feared me so, why he never came after me directly until after he had the Hōgyoku in his grasp. He knew that if he did, I would kill him, because I ''always'' work out a counter to every power I am ever exposed to."''

--->''"Look me in the eyes, [[spoiler:Ayumu]]. The fact that you breathe is an unforgivable affront to me after what you have done. So this is your punishment. You will die at my hands, again and again, until I am satisfied. When you revive, you are to return directly to me. For every minute you do not appear before me, I will use a Gran Rey Cero to tear your world, your soul apart. And when I get bored of that, I will seal you with a technique of my own making, one that will leave you in [[AndIMustScream eternal agony]]. Then I will leave you buried alive in the deepest level of this world. Your existence will be nothing. Blind, alone, in endless torment with no one to hear your screams. Now die, [[spoiler:Ayumu]]. Die, and return to me for more. ''[SlasherSmile widens]'' Or don't return to me. The Quincy thought for years they were destroying souls. It would be rather fitting for me to destroy yours, oh so slowly. Anyways, the choice is yours."''

--> '''Ichigo:''' ''[to Rose]'' You know, it sounds like there's a lot of repressed sexual tension between them. Maybe that's why they fight--hoping for some good make-up sex?\\
'''Hiyori and Shinji:''' ''[kick Ichigo in the face while showing a LuminescentBlush]'' Baka-Strawberry! [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend It's not like that.]]\\
'''Ichigo:''' So quick to deny and you reacted so well in unison. It's like you're in tune with each other. Is anyone else here seeing what I am?\\
'''Lisa:''' ''[giggles]'' Hey Shinji. You wanna borrow my manga? Might give you some ideas.\\
'''Shinji:''' No! I'm not into little whiny brats like her!\\
'''Hiyori:''' Says the man who makes faces when he knows he's lost a verbal war!\\
'''Ichigo:''' Definitely an [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple old married couple]]. They know each other way too well, push each other's buttons too easily. If they really hated each other, one of them would have killed the other by now. It's been over a hundred years of living together, for crying out loud. Betcha anything they don't act like that with other people normally.\\
'''Rose:''' He's got a point.\\
'''Hiyori:''' ROSE!\\
'''Love:''' What? You only get that pissed off at Shinji, and we all know Shinji does those antics just to get a rise out of you.

-->''"Soul Society might tolerate me long enough to put Aizen down, but guess who'd be next? Especially since I'm just a human being living here. Soul Society might tolerate the existence of a human who could defeat some of their best Shinigami, since we humans live a short time anyway. But a human who could defeat some of their best Shinigami and then have the additional power to push him beyond Taicho ''[captain]'' level? They'd assassinate me!"''

-->'''Kensei:''' ''[reading Mashiro's notes]'' Things to learn to be like Berry-tan: [[SuperMode Bankai]]. [[DeathGlare Scary serious faces.]] How to beat people up and then make them your friend.

--->'''Ichigo''': I believe that what he wanted above all else, was a companion who would stand with him at the top. Maybe he felt that after a century or two, our battles to the death would evolve into rivalry, and then perhaps into a friendship of equals, because who else could we turn to? Touch is such a huge part of human affection. Can you imagine not being able to receive even a simple pat on the shoulder? To play around with your friends? Can you imagine complete physical isolation? To Aizen and I, our evolutions kept us from doing that to any save each other. To us, it would be such an enormous gift to be able to actually touch one another, be it in combat or in friendship. It would be a sign that we are not alone. That was why Aizen [[spoiler:made the deal to leave Karakura alone]]. He didn't want to alienate me completely, I don't think.

--> '''Yamamoto:''' ''[thinking]'' Is Kurosaki ''trying'' to build an army?

--> '''Matsumoto:''' ''[with one hand holding his head closer to her chest and the other holding his bicep]'' [[TheTease Oh Renji! I never knew you were so bold!]]

** Uryū's Ranso Tengai allows him to completely negate Zommari's Amor.

--->''"Trying to kill my friend again... was a very big mistake, you cocky little bastard! Koten Zanshun! Tsubaki! Kill the son of a bitch!"''

--->''"It doesn't matter what you look like, I'm going to rip that scrawny head of yours from your fucking shoulders!"''

-->'''Isshin''': How do you just come out and say, 'Hey Ichigo, do you wanna hear how your Mom and I first met?'
-->'''Ichigo''': [[DeadpanSnarker Exactly like that.]]

-->'''Nelliel''': ''[After Ichigo binds her with reiatsu chains]'' I've got no problem with it, but people are going to wonder about you if you keep chaining me up in public.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Asahi no Kagami [[spoiler:was originally meant to be a therapy tool]], but had to watch as instead she destroyed the dreams and hopes of countless souls,

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Gin, Tousen, Ulquiorra, [[strike:Harribel,]] and Starrk & Lilynette.]]

** After it looks like he's lost his mother forever but a way to get her back is presented to him, Ichigo is afraid to try it because [[GenreSavvy he knows]] it will hurt that much worse if he fails.

** Quincy arrows [[spoiler:don't erase souls from existence. They send people to Hell.]]

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Zommari Leroux]] comes back as a Togabito. [[spoiler:Grimmjow]] was presumed dead, but it's revealed he actually [[spoiler:ate a Togabito and inherited its chains.]]

'''Hiyori and Shinji:''' ''[kick Ichigo in the face while showing a LuminescentBlush]'' Baka-Strawberry! [[ShesNotMyGirlfriend It's not like that.]]\\

* BreakingSpeech:
** Zen'i gives Ichigo one about how for all his power and experience, Ichigo has no idea what to do with himself if he's not fighting.
** [[spoiler:Hell]] gives one on the nature of humanity, which leads to a ShutUpHannibal from the heroes.
** Zaraki Kenpachi, of all people, gives one to [[spoiler:Ayumu]]--again, of all people--after the latter's zanpakutou is destroyed.

-->'''Kensei:''' ''[reading Mashiro's notes]'' Things to learn to be like Berry-tan: [[SuperMode Bankai]]. [[DeathGlare Scary serious faces]]. How to beat people up and then make them your friend.

* NoKillLikeOverkill: Zangetsu seems to believe this. He lectures Ichigo for not [[spoiler:using his mask against Gin]]. When Ichigo claims it would have been overkill, Zangetsu insists there is no overkill when fighting to protect someone.

* RapeAsDrama: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. Aizen makes Hinamori think Ichigo threatened to keep [[OffWithHisHead Aizen's head]] [[DeadGuyOnDisplay as a trophy]] and rape her in front of it daily.

-->'''Ichigo''': [[DeadpanSnarker Exactly like that]].

** Ichigo threatens this when [[spoiler:Seireitei nobles kidnap his mother.]]
** Ichigo when Aizen [[spoiler:reveals he had Ichigo's mother killed to push him to get stronger.]]
** Ichigo after gaining [[spoiler:Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa]]

** To ''VideoGame/TheElderscrollsVSkyrim'': Chad asks [[spoiler:Hell]], "What is better? To be born perfect, or to overcome your flawed nature through great effort?"

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Gin, Tousen, Ulquiorra, [[strike:Harribel]], and Starrk & Lilynette.]]

** [[spoiler:[[AGodAmI Barragan]] refers to [[RealityWarper Orihime]], [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome who]] [[NoSell killed]] [[RetGone him]], as a fellow Kami, making her the only person in existence he respects as an equal.]]

* CheckhovsGun: Ulquiorra reveals a DespairEventHorizon will unlock the Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa.

** Uryuu regains his powers after iii wonders if Orihime could reject him ever losing them.

-->'''Isshin''': "How do you just come out and say, 'Hey Ichigo, do you wanna hear how your Mom and I first met?'"
-->'''Ichigo''': "[[DeadpanSnarker Exactly like that]]."

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Used almost verbatim by Ichigo about [[spoiler:fighting an even stronger Hell]].
** When Ichigo's allies learn that [[spoiler: his mother was a Quincy]] Uryu's reaction is to start [[HeadDesk banging his head]] against the nearest wall. WordOfGod is that he invoked this Trope when he imagined the sheer ''headache'' involved in [[spoiler: teaching [[UnskilledButStrong Ichigo]] how to fight like a [[WeakButSkilled Quincy]]]] and realized that the job would likely fall to him.