Well, I'm probably a dumbass. Yep, that's how I'm starting this story. So I once said many times I don't intend to be someone who runs loads of stories at once, and inevitably isn't able to finish any of them and gives up. I still keep to that promise.

Where I diverge from it, however, is right here. So I read all the PJO books (at current time I'm hoping to get Heroes of Olympus soon) and fell in love with them and the writing style used by Rick Riordan.

Then my brain did the logical thing and started creating plot ideas and ways to cross it over with Bleach. Because that's how my brain functions.

For the record, those who are worried about it, To Shatter Fate will not be affected by this, I've just had little inspiration to write recently and PJO is helping me by giving me something to write about.

Anyway, for reference, I'm trying to somewhat adapt my own version of Riordan's writing style for this story, which is why it's gonna be first person from Ichigo's POV.

Other than that, you'll just have to keep reading :P

A Protector Until The End: Chapter 1: I Get Expelled And Leave The Country

"Expelled?" I questioned in disbelief, my voice almost silenced by my shock. I didn't something like that would lead to this.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but between your falling grades and prior incidents involving skipping classes and other fights on school grounds, something like the fight last week was bound to push it over the edge" Ochi-Sensei replied. I could see the pity in her eyes. She'd been my teacher since I'd started at Karakura High, so she'd noticed better than any other faculty in the school when I started skipping classes and when my grades started falling.

Name : Ichigo Kurosaki

"What about Uryu? He shouldn't be punished because those guys mistook him for me" I asked. Uryu might've been stuck up but he was still my friend, 'Quincy Pride' or not, and I always looked out for my friends.

"Luckily this is a first for Mr. Ishida and because of his consistently exemplary grades he's been let off for this" Mrs. Ochi responded. I guess I couldn't call her Sensei if I wasn't going to be at this school any more.

Age : 17

"As for your grades, you've been suffering ever since your long streak of bathroom breaks and family emergencies. They were getting so bad I was planning on talking to you about it but when they stopped I thought things might return to normal, but they didn't. Instead while you were in my classes you seemed to be anywhere but" The way she looked at me showed she cared, like she did for all of her students. She even put up with Keigo's crap for crying out loud. She always knew what was troubling them when she looked at them and she tried her best to help, even if it wasn't directly.

She couldn't do that with me. She couldn't bring back the powers I longed for, the powers I wanted to use to protect others. She couldn't erase the feeling of uselessness I felt knowing that even without my powers people were being protected, like my sacrifices meant nothing.

She couldn't stop the nightmares.

I stood up from my seat. "Thanks for everything, Mrs. Ochi" I slung my bag over my shoulder before turning to leave the office. Maybe the principle was scared of me because I looked like a thug or something (or maybe it had something to do with the cause of my expulsion being an entire group of downed thugs from another school while it hadn't taken much effort on my part). Either way I'd had to be told by my homeroom teacher that I'd been expelled, didn't matter who told me anyway. Either way, it'd just happened.

Mrs. Ochi grabbed my wrist before I walked out of the room, her last request to me as a student "I think you should take a break, Ichigo. I know things aren't right but I believe you need time to adjust to whatever's changed since seventeen months ago, then maybe you can come back to the world where the rest of us are" Her phrasing caught me off guard, but I guessed it was just an expression for how often I spent daydreaming and distracted.

I thought she was probably right, so I humoured her request "Okay… Ochi-Sensei" Perhaps it meant something to her that I'd addressed her as my teacher for the last time, but she smiled in earnest while I left the classroom, leaving Karakura High School grounds for what would likely be the last time, and that wasn't because summer break would be starting soon.

Occupation : Student at Karakura High School (Former)

Substitute Shinigami (Former)

A Protector Until The End

"Expelled?! No son of mine should be expelled from school!" Even now I'm suppressing a groan at this. Leaving the school grounds I hadn't acknowledged how Dad would react until I stepped through the front door and walked into the living room.

And to think he'd almost got me that time.

Perhaps his outrage at my expulsion would be easier to take seriously had he not been forced to sit on the couch with an ice-pack on his newly bruised foot.

Serves the old man right for trying to jump and kick me when I could simply duck and watch his foot sail into the wall, like I had done several minutes prior.

Though unfortunately my smug attitude at his current predicament didn't kick in at the time, so instead my angry response was "So if I'm meant to stick up for people being bullied and I'm meant to fight back when somebody picks a fight with me, as well as having to protect Pluses from being devoured by Hollows, but I can't get expelled when all of that takes up school time, what am I supposed to do!?"

My father studied me from that response. Perhaps he'd realised then that all those actions had led to this. Subsequently he seemed to phase out of his usual 'Insane Father' mode and into 'Dad the Death God' mode.

"Huh, I guess so. What school you go to doesn't matter anyway. Education is education wherever you go. So you got any ideas where you wanna go? There's that other high school across town, though I'd guess you already know a few students from there" he was, of course, referring to the same school attended by the group of dumbasses whose asses I'd kicked in the first place.

"I'm not thinking about school, Dad. I'm thinking I need a break" I responded, my depressed mood reflecting in my voice.

He looked at me once more, responding "A break from what, exactly? Girl troubl-." My pointed glare seemed to cut that statement off, temporarily halting the reappearance of 'Insane Father'.

"A break from all of this" I responded, my hands clasped together under my chin in thought of all the actions and choices I'd made since first gaining my Shinigami powers, all the way up to when I chose to give them away.

When I'd thrown away part of myself to defeat a madman.

Perhaps inside my soul, the rain had finally turned into a typhoon that would wipe away the entire city. It'd probably be silent, reflecting the emptiness left by the loss of my would-be eternal companions.

I say companions purely because Zangetsu and the Hollow both represented my power, apart from that the soulless bastard was a complete pain.

Mostly a pain in the chest area, where a sword always seemed to end up when he was involved.

"This meaning?" Dad questioned, and I guessed I'd have to explain it, or maybe he just wanted to hear me say it aloud and acknowledge it.

"A break from school, a break from home, a break from my friends" My list would've continued, but Dad just held up his hand and waited for me to figure out my own answer, and after a minute of silence I finished "A break from everything that reminds me what I'm not".

"A gap year, then? I've got resourceful friends who owe me a few favours. Anywhere in particular you'd want to go?" He was smirking to himself, proud he'd finally figured out what to do to try and help me after my over-a-year of moping and being depressed.

I think he'd realised around the One-Year-Since-I-Lost-My-Powers mark that this wouldn't heal with time. I had no doubt he'd liken this to the only other two times I'd been that low.

This was coping with loss, not death. Perhaps one would prevail as more painful than the other.

After a moment of thought, I'd decided (ignoring the blatant obviousness that 'Resourceful Friends' meant Kisuke Urahara without a doubt) and I responded "Anywhere in the world, just not here"

His brows knitted in thought at that. I'd just given my crazy old man a chance to send me anywhere in the world. He'd better not give me reason to kill him again when I came back, even if it took longer than a year. We both knew how to give each other time and space, and I got the feeling that my perception of a year could slow as much as I needed it to so I could figure everything out before coming back.

On that thought, I chose to go upstairs and leave him to his own thoughts.

A Protector Until The End

Two weeks later and I was at an airport, ready to board the next plane to I-didn't-care-where. I'd packed pretty light: clothes, cash, the bare necessities and not much else. I'd completely refused to bring any reminders of what I was leaving behind.

I was wearing black jeans and boots with a white shirt and a black hoodie thrown on top. I wasn't dressing to impress, I was dressing for hours of air travel.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Yuzu asked once more. I'd never gone away for prolonged amounts of time before. I repressed the thought that my longest trip away from family was the Winter War.

"It'll be good for me, don't worry, I'll bring souvenirs" I smiled fondly at my younger sister. She'd been an anchor for the family ever since Mom died. For her, watching me leave might've felt like I wasn't coming back.

"Don't worry about it, Yuzu. He's big enough, tough enough and ugly enough to fend for himself wherever he goes" Karin responded, and I smiled at her before realising her final comment.

"Hey what do you mean ugly enough!?" I questioned in embarrassed outrage.

"Seventeen-And-He-Still-Hasn't-Had-A-Girlfriend" Karin coughed each word into her hand, and heat rose to my face while Dad chuckled with Yuzu about the joke.

The joking moment ended when my sister ran to me, encircling me in a hug "Just make sure to come back eventually, alright?" She was worried. Yuzu had only heard about what had happened to me but Karin had actually glimpsed the levels of power I'd fought against. Yuzu feared for my safety and health but Karin feared because she could still see the things that had almost taken my life repeatedly throughout that time.

"It's a deal" I responded, returning the hug when Yuzu joined her.

Bless little sisters sometimes; they at least know how to get out of a sombre mood. Karin continued "What's the deal? That you'll come back or that you'll get a girlfriend?"

Even with the heat in my face (seventeen months and I'm still a goddamn prude) I responded jokingly "The deal was for the first one, the second one's a tossup"

Then I glimpsed the last possible person I'd wanted to see before leaving.

After a conversation away from us, out of earshot, my Dad returned walking alongside my old teacher.

It wasn't that I held anything against Kisuke, but he was probably the only person smart enough to get my powers back and he hadn't done anything for the past seventeen months. It was probably just switching days where I'd find something or someone else to blame for my powerlessness.

"Kurosaki-san" The Geta wearing shop-owner greeted, though even his usual humorous tone and grin hidden behind a fan were gone.

"Ichigo" Dad spoke addressing me, his mood from earlier in the day (insane and saddened that 'one of his birds was leaving the nest' which was most likely responded with 'It was your idea, you crazy old man!') was instead replaced with the expression of utter seriousness, like he was standing there about to ask if I was going to come with him to face Aizen again.

In his hand, he held out a box. It was small, probably about the size of a shoebox and seemingly made of wood, locked by key and looking like it definitely had some kind of seal involving intricate Kido or some crap like that. He held the box out to me, saying "You once told me you'd be willing to wait and I'd tell you everything when the time was right for me. I don't know what's going to come your way where you're going but this'll give you the few answers I can offer. The rest will be up to you" he placed the box in my hand and placed the key on a chain around my neck.

I raised the box to look at it, and then lifted the key towards the lock. Dad's voice stopped me, saying "I'd ask you wait until you get where you're going if you must open it so soon. Just know I'll always be proud of what you've achieved" his turn finished, he stepped back and allowed Kisuke to step forward.

"Urahara-san" I acknowledged his presence, though perhaps the fact I wasn't ecstatic to see him was reflected in my voice that made him lower his eyes in shame.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry" he began, and from those words alone I felt shame for putting this on him. He'd had enough to blame himself for before, though I didn't want to think about any of them because all they'd do was remind me what I'd lost.

We locked eyes and understanding seemed to pass into his, like he knew what I was thinking, and he elaborated "I'm sorry for all you've had to do and endure because of my mistakes. You don't yet know how deep they run and all I can do is accept blame for all that's befallen you. But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to give you this" he gestured to a small suitcase, and I briefly wondered how much of its contents were explosive and/or likely to kill me.

"Ichigo" He continued "I'm sorry for actions I've committed to protect you in the past. The contents of this suitcase will hardly repay you for that, but they'll serve as a good contingency plan should anything happen" contingency plan? Where were they sending me, the airline straight into the nearest convenient Garganta?

"What do you mean 'actions you've committed to protect me'? What aren't you telling me?" I questioned. What were they throwing me into?

"Better if you don't find out" Dad responded, pulling me into a hug. He'd smelled like cigarettes, and he only ever smoked them at Mom's grave or when he was worried.

That seemed to signal for Kisuke's departure, though as he left he turned to me "Ichigo, just remember. When you attack, you cut. When you dodge an attack, you don't let it hit you. And when you protect someone…"

"I don't let them die" I responded, continuing "Thanks, Getaboushi"

That seemed to be enough for the 'humble candy store owner' as he walked into the buzzing crowds of the airport, and when someone walked passed him, he vanished into the crowd.

"Well, it looks like it's time to go" Dad said, before dropping a pair of keys into my hand "You know the address"

The keys looked familiar, like I'd seen them before, but I had no idea where he was talking about, though knowing him he'd be right and I'd know where the keys were for when I needed to.

I gave my family one last hug before turning to leave, seeing them watch my form retreat further into the airport.

Then my rare sense of humour kicked in and I decided to get one back at Karin for her earlier jokes, and mine seemed to work just as well seeing how much she hung out with a certain Chibi-Taichou "And Karin" I began, making her turn towards me before I shouted something that would publicly mortify her (and would get me frozen in a block of ice if the person I was referring to was within earshot) "NO BOYFRIENDS!"

I was still cackling when I boarded the plane.

A Protector Until The End

Several hours into the plane trip I'd finally caved and decided to see if Kisuke's gift would blow up or not. Air travel was boring, regardless whether we'd been told our destination would come into view shortly.

Bringing the small case onto my lap (both it and the small box I'd chosen to keep on me instead of storing with my other luggage) before opening it and watching a single item drop into my lap.

A small wood/clay (still didn't know what it was made of after two years) pentagram dropped into my lap. Carved onto it were two bars that crisscrossed the main part of the object. A skull.

Kisuke had given me my Substitute Shinigami Combat Pass.

A note taped on the front of it simply said 'Remember your will to protect'

There was a couple of other objects in the case, including a shoebox where I could swear I might've been hearing sound from, along with some kind of files filled with notes, but I wasn't paying attention to whatever the contents of the files may have been.

I was too distracted by the combat pass until the announcer spoke over the intercom.

"And if passengers look out the window now you can see us flying right over New York City" he droned like a tour guide.

Dad had sent me back here, quite possibly the only other place in the world I wouldn't want to go after Karakura town.

So, here we have it, the opening chapter of A Protector Until The End. Where it correlates in terms of the PJO timeline will become more obvious in coming chapters. I'm not gonna leave long drawn out explanations of my thought processes in this AN, I'm simply gonna say if you like the story, drop a review.

And for the final time I'll mention it: THIS DOES NOT MEAN TO SHATTER FATE IS ON HIATUS OR CANCELLED. I simply chose to start this, rest assured, more chapters of that story will come in the future.

Well, hope you guys look forward for where this goes, see ya next time :D