Kurosaki Ichigo stood before the ancient being who called himself the leader of the Gotei 13. As he observed the elderly man wordlessly, he felt sweat pooling at the back of his neck. "I am sorry Kurosaki Ichigo." Yamamoto said at last. "But I simply cannot allow the body of Ginjou Kuugo to travel back to the World of the Living before Kurotsuchi-taichou has been given a chance to analyze it". Ichigo shook his head angrily, barely able to keep his temper in check. "You can't let Mayuri just dissect him Jii-san! Ginjou might have done some horrible things but it wasn't all his fault! He deserves a proper burial!" Behind him, Ichigo heard Mayuri let out an annoyed "Tch." from addressing him so informally. Yamamoto sighed and opened his eyes a fractional amount. "Again, I am sorry Kurosaki Ichigo, but that is my final decision. I will, however, implore Kurotsuchi-taichou to be as uninvasive as possible with his data collection, and we will bury him formally after we have learned all that we can from his corpse." Ichigo frowned at the old man, but knew that he'd get nowhere if he continued to argue, the Captain-Commander's word was final. Yamamoto closed his eyes again before making his next inquiry. "It is regrettable, but a necessary precaution so that we know what we are dealing with if this situation ever comes about again. However, I may still be able to grant any other requests you might have. Is there nothing else you want Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo brought his hand up to his chin in deep thought. He didn't need money, and certainly not Soul Society money. All the information he wanted on his father could wait until his father was ready to tell him, and even then Ichigo wasn't sure if Yamamoto even knew about the undercover Shinigami in Karakura Town to begin with, and the last thing he wanted was to get his dad in hot water thanks to his big mouth. He had to think of something, this was an unprecedented opportunity, Yamamoto was offering him a chance to grant almost any request he made. He should use it to gather information, to learn more about the world that he was still so very ignorant to, but the Gotei 13 were incredibly strict when it came to sharing information about touchy subjects, and Urahara and his dad even moreso. He needed to talk to someone willing to share without fear of backlash. He looked up and fixed the Captain-Commander with a steady gaze. "You said Aizen was sentenced to the lowest level of the Shinigami prison?" The old man nodded, Ichigo took a deep breath. "I want to speak with him."

The effect that simple statement had across the entire room was immediately noticable. Several of the Captains audibly gasped, and he distinctly heard Shinji mutter something that sounded suspiciously like "Idiot.". Kenpachi and Mayuri, however, both let out delighted cackles. Yamamoto did not respond right away, apparently lost in consideration. Ichigo once again found himself at the mercy of the Captain-Commander's scrutinization, and wondered if he should tell him he had changed his mind when the elder Shinigami finally spoke. "Very well." Even more of the Captains gasped at this, and Shinji, not daring to call Yamamoto an idiot, merely stared at him open-mouthed. Again, Mayuri and Kenpachi let out cruel, harsh laughs, louder than before. Yamamoto opened his eyes, causing the entire room to settle down within seconds. "I must insist, however, that you are accompanied by a Captain. It is best that you do not approach Aizen Sousuke alone." He scanned the room to decide on Ichigo's companion, and let out an annoyed grunt as several Captains, namely Hitsugaya, Shunsui and Shinji, all turned their heads to avoid his gaze. Ukitake actually attempted a coughing fit to accompany his muttered comments on how weak he was feeling today and Byakuya began an uncharacteristically animated conversation with Unohana, who returned it in full. Yamamoto shook his head quickly as Kenpachi raised his hand, grinning eagerly. "Cowards." The old man muttered irritably. Ichigo saw a figure step forward out of the corner of his eye.

"I will go Genryuusai-dono." Komamura Sajin said, bowing deeply to the Captain-Commander. Yamamoto nodded. "Thank you Sajin. At least someone has demonstrated that they possess the same mental fortitude as a teenaged boy this day." The rest of the Captains, sans Kenpachi and Mayuri, looked at their leader sheepishly. Ichigo grinned up at Komamura, who returned his smile in full. Yamamoto cleared his throat. "Will that be all Kurosaki Ichigo?" The orange-haired boy nodded. "Very well then. You are all dismissed." Turning to his new traveling partner, Ichigo asked the question he had never given much thought to before. "Where's the prison at anyway Komamura-san? Is it very far?" The wolf shook his head and pointed to the ground. "No. In fact, it's directly below us Kurosaki-san." Ichigo looked down at the floor and couldn't help but shiver. "How does Jii-san sleep if he knows Aizen's right beneath him at all times?" Komamura merely shrugged. "I do not think Genryuusai-dono is frightened that easily." The older Shinigami motioned for Ichigo to follow, and stepping through the doors out of the Captain Meeting Room, set out down the hallway toward the stairs. "I am curious Kurosaki-san, why did you choose this as your favor?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head, wondering if he should give Komamura the full truth. Deciding that since Komamura had been the only one willing to accompany him down to Muken, he at least deserved the honest answer, and looked up at the bestial Captain and spoke. "You guys, the Gotei I mean, you aren't very free with information. Aizen doesn't have anything to lose by telling me what I want to know, and besides," he said, giving a small shrug, "I have something I want to ask him about concerning our battle last year."

It was a mark of Komamura's respect for Ichigo's privacy that the Captain did not pry into his last statement, but that did not stop him from addressing his first. "I think Genryuusai-dono would have been willing to share with you what you needed to know if you had given him a satisfactory reason Kurosaki-san." Ichigo shook his head. "No offense Komamura-san, but Jii-san seems to have a pretty warped view of what I need to know if I never even heard about Ginjou being the Substitute Shinigami before me until he had told me so himself." After that, the two walked for a good distance in silence, each left to their own thoughts. As they began to descend down beneath the earth, Ichigo felt it grow noticably colder, and after a time, the stark white tile floors of the Seireitei gave way to plain brown earth, the walls lined with countless torches. "Aizen's at the bottom right?" Komamura nodded. "Are you nervous? Even restrained as he is I imagine he will still be a rather intimidating presence." Ichigo blinked at the other man. He hadn't thought about that to be honest. "I guess... I'll just try to keep my cool." He said at last, and heard Komamura let out a small, humorless laugh. "You know as well as I do that when it comes to dealing with Aizen Sousuke, keeping a level-head becomes exceedingly difficult." Ichigo was able to force out a nervous laugh before wondering if this hadn't been such a great idea after all. "Um. Komamura-san?" Ichigo said, watching the outline of the large Shinigami in the quickly dimming light. "Why did you come with me?"

As they turned a corner and proceeded down a nearly identical hallway, Ichigo heard Komamura sniffing the air, apparently checking to make sure they were going the right way before answering. "I was of the same mind as Genryuusai-dono. It is unwise to leave someone, especially someone as young as you, if you don't mind me saying Kurosaki-san, alone with a person like Aizen. There is no telling what the man is capable of, especially now that he'll be able to speak for a time." Komamura nodded sagely. "Sometimes words can be deadlier than the sharpest blade." Ichigo nodded at the other man's statement before squinting down the hallway. "Just how much farther is it to his cell? I can't even see the end of this passage." Komamura looked down at Ichigo. "Not much farther. You aren't having second thoughts are you?" Ichigo shook his head. "No. I have to do this, if I don't what I learned is just going to eat at me until I see him again anyway." Again, Komamura didn't attempt to ask Ichigo to explain his cryptic statement, but what he said next nearly made Ichigo trip over his own feet. "Do you believe Aizen can be redeemed Kurosaki-san?" Ichigo looked up at Komamura, open shock displaying on his face. "W-what?" Komamura glanced down at the boy. "It was merely a question. I am interested in your input, as you are the only one who has ever crossed blades with him as equals." Ichigo stared at the wolf for a moment before frowning and placing a fist to his cheek. "Well... I think anyone can be swayed to turn from the wrong path if you know what to say." Ichigo said, closing his eyes in deep thought. "But... for someone like Aizen, I don't think he's ever let enough of his true self show through to allow for anyone to guess what to say to him to achieve that."

"Hmm." Komamura hummed. "An interesting view for one as young as yourself." He nodded. "Perhaps you are right Kurosaki-san. Tousen was sorely misguided for his entire life, but in the end even he was capable of seeing the light. I suppose the same could be said of Aizen, or anyone for that matter." Ichigo grinned jokingly. "Except Mayuri." Komamura let out a bark, which Ichigo took for a laugh. "Ah. Indeed, Kurotsuchi-taichou is too firmly set in his beliefs to ever change." He stopped suddenly, pressing his hand against a wall which, to Ichigo at least, seemed to be no different from the rest of the hallway they had been striding down. He heard a soft clicking noise, and the stone wall lowered itself slowly into the ground, revealing a small hallway beyond. "We are almost there Kurosaki-san." Komamura stated simply as he motioned for the boy to follow. It only took a few more minutes of walking for Ichigo to see the end of this passageway. A large metal door was set into the surrounding rock, a deep black color in comparison to the slate gray in the other hall. "Reiatsu-absorbing stone." Komamura said, answering Ichigo's curious stare. "So the occupants of the cells cannot feel anything coming from the outside. They are completely alone in their own miniature world." The wolf grimaced. "Though that might be to Aizen's tastes knowing him."

Ichigo inspected the door more closely. Surrounding the perimeter of the doorway were complex-looking runes, each glowly slightly in a different color of the rainbow. "Kido enchantments." Komamura explained. "Set by the Captain of the Kido Corps himself. They bolster the defense of the door and make it resistant to most conventional attacks." He pointed to the single, large handle set into the right side of the door. "Though this seems rather simple to open due to it lacking a formal lock, one must actually direct a portion of their reiatsu at the door. If the reiatsu matches any of the signatures granted access to this level of the prison, then the latch will open." Ichigo stared interestedly at the mechanism. "Who all are allowed to open this kind of thing?" Komamura waved his hand to the ceiling, indicating the 1st Division above them. "Genryuusai-dono and all the Captains obviously, but also a select few members of the Onmitsukidou handpicked by Soifon-taichou herself for their loyalty, and a handful of members from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, though the Captain-Commander has expressedly forbidden any attempts to experiment on Aizen." The wolf placed his hand on the door, which glowed bright green for a few seconds, and Ichigo heard a loud clunk. "That will be the mechanism recognizing my reiatsu signature and beginning to open the door."

Sure enough, it was only a few seconds later that the heavy metal door swung open on its hinges slowly. Inside the room, Ichigo couldn't see a thing, as what small amount of light was still in the hallway seemed to disappear entirely upon crossing the threshhold to the cell. Komamura placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Are you ready for this Kurosaki-san?" Ichigo stared briefly into the void beyond the doorway and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Let's go Komamura-san." As the two stepped through the entryway into the cell itself, Ichigo was nearly blinded by the bright white light bursting seemingly from nowhere the instant they had walked into the prison cell. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in brightness, Ichigo caught glimpses of Aizen's cell. The floor, walls and ceiling were all comprised of the same reiatsu-supressing material that made up the outside wall. To Ichigo's mild surprise there was no formal lighting to be found, the cell was seemingly illuminated by some unknown source. However, it was what stood in the exact center of the room that drew Ichigo's attention and caused Komamura to tighten his grip on the boy's shoulder briefly. In a high-backed, black leather chair, wrapped up tightly in countless matching black leather straps, sat Aizen Sousuke, his face hidden behind his bonds. Ichigo could just make out the faint glowing of the Hogyoku beneath the wrappings that covered Aizen's chest.

Taking a step forward, Ichigo heard Komamura mutter "Kurosaki-san..." in warning, but the Substitute Shinigami suddenly found himself filled with inexplicable confidence. Reaching toward the head of the being that sat bound in the chair, Ichigo slowly began to unwrap the straps that obscured Aizen's mouth, eyes and nose. Aizen for his part did not move an inch as Ichigo did this, and when the boy had successfully freed one of the imprisoned man's eyes, it did not open until Ichigo had completely finished unwrapping the rest of his nose and mouth. Stepping back as Aizen slowly blinked at him and looked around to get a handle on his surroundings, the Ex-Captains adopted one of his well-known smirks. "Kurosaki Ichigo. Komamura Sajin." He said simply, his voice growing stronger with every word as it recovered from lack of use. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Ichigo fixed Aizen with a determined glare. "I want to talk to you," Ichigo responded, inwardly surprised at how calm his voice sounded. "About our battle in Karakura Town. And about the Soul King." Aizen's smile deepened. "By all means then. Ask away."

Ichigo took a moment to determine what he would ask the man first. "Before you beat my dad, Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san, you said that I was the offspring of a Shinigami and a human." Ichigo's eyes met Aizen's, and he couldn't help but notice Aizen's eyes were the same shade of brown as his own. "How did you know about Dad? What did you know about my Mom?" Aizen took in the boy before him silently for a few seconds before answering. "I believe I told of this already Kurosaki Ichigo. I've been observing you since the day you were born. I was the one who sent Grand Fisher to you and your mother when you were still a child. I've always been aware of who you and your parents were." Ichigo had expected that, and had already prepared a counter-question. "Why? I know you said you've been watching me since I was a baby, but that doesn't answer how you knew about my Mom and Dad having me." Aizen blinked, seemingly finding a way to phrase his next statement. "Are you aware of who your father is?" He asked. Ichigo shook his head. "All I know is that he's a Shinigami, I haven't asked him about his past yet." Behind him, Ichigo heard Komamura let out a small gasp. "Komamura-san... please don't say anything to Jii-san. I don't think my Dad wants him to know that he's hiding out in Karakura Town." A few seconds later, Komamura's hesitant voice rung out behind him. "...Very well Kurosaki-san. I will honor your request for now... but if I'm ever directly questioned by the Captain-Commander..." Ichigo nodded, his back still to the wolf. "I understand." Aizen watched the two exchange words amusedly before returning to their conversation. "Well then, it would be in poor taste to reveal secrets that you have no desire to hear from anyone other than your own father Kurosaki Ichigo. I suggest you drop this particular vein of thought before you spoil yourself." Ichigo swore inwardly, he had wanted to know so badly, but if it meant having Aizen expose the truth behind his dad instead of hearing it from his father's own mouth... he supposed he could wait. "Okay." Ichigo said, doing his best to keep his face blank. "Then I want to ask you about the Soul King."

Aizen openly grinned this time, his teeth starkly white against the otherwise black background that surrounded him. "A topic of great interest to me personally." Aizen stated happily. "Go ahead." Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to recall that fateful day over a year ago. "When you were being sealed by Urahara-san, you asked him why he subjected himself to 'that thing', which Urahara-san took to mean the Soul King. Why did you ask him that?" At the mention of Urahara's name, Ichigo noticed Aizen's lip had twitched ever so slightly. "Urahara Kisuke is perhaps the only individual in this world who possesses an intellect equal to my own." He shook his head as much as his bonds would allow him to. "Sadly, he has opted to simply become another sheep in the herd, throwing away the gift of knowledge that has been bestowed upon him. With him at my side, we very well could have succeeded in my plan years ago, and I would now be sitting on God's throne instead of this one." He gestured with his head to the chair he was sitting in. Ichigo frowned. "Why do you want to dethrone the Soul King?" Aizen closed his eyes. "Is it not obvious? Look around you Kurosaki Ichigo. The worlds, all worlds, are in a state of despair. We have the World of the Living, inhabited by ignorant fools with limitless untapped potential and no knowledge of the Spirit realm that lies beyond, their pathetic minds incapable of grasping the truth. We have Hollows, creations of the sins of mankind that feed upon suffering like moths to a flame, organisms that would not even exist to begin with if humanity was not so hopelessly corrupt. But then lastly we have the Shinigami, so called defenders of the weak and helpless, hunters of hollows. But strip them of their powers and what are we left with? Nothing more than egotistical spirits with a thirst for power, too blind to see that they just as irredeemable in their sinful ways as the humans they claim to protect." Komamura scoffed. "That truly is the pot calling the kettle black Aizen." Aizen shrugged. "Think of it what you will Komamura Sajin. I am merely stating the way the world is." He narrowed his eyes at Ichigo. "Speaking of which, you may perhaps recall what I told Urahara Kisuke the last time I saw you Kurosaki Ichigo. 'A victor must always see the way the world should be, not the way the world is.' Urahara Kisuke is content with letting the Soul King govern this inefficient, slowly dying realm he calls a utopia, but I do not wish to see that happen. I will become God and see to it that things are set right."

Ichigo stared confusedly at Aizen. "You sound like a well-intentioned extremist. I don't understand why Soul Society stood against you if that was truly what you wanted to accomplish." Komamura gasped and Aizen's smirk replaced his smile. "You are perhaps more perceptive than I first thought Kurosaki Ichigo, to be able to look past the acts neccessary for revolution and gaze at the bigger picture." He closed his eyes. "For the greater good, some must die so many may live. That is the unfortunate reality, the one the Soul King set in place. I aim to change that." The boy watched the prisoner intently. "You keep saying you'll change things, that only you can be the God this realm needs. What will you do differently Aizen? What's stopping you from getting drunk off your own power and becoming just another version of the Soul King?" Aizen opened his eyes. "My world shall be perfect, Kurosaki Ichigo." His brown orbs glazed over, seemingly lost in pleasant thought. "There shall be no needless sacrifice, no pointless death. The weak will be culled from the strong, and set into their rightful place beneath my heel. There will be no sin, and thus the Hollows shall never come to be, and without Hollows to hunt, the Shinigami will never rise to power. We will all simply be divided between strong and weak, with only those deserving of respect, power and authority being granted it and myself, the strongest of all, at the very top." Behind him, Ichigo heard Komamura growl. "You're a madman Aizen. To speak of people as if they are animals to be sorted according to power." Aizen merely shrugged. "I am sorry that you are too naive to grasp my idea of paradise Komamura Sajin." He looked at Ichigo. "And what say you, Kurosaki Ichigo? What is your opinion of my vision?" Ichigo laughed darkly.

"I think you're bullshitting me Aizen." Aizen narrowed his eyes threateningly. "Oh? Why might you say that Kurosaki Ichigo?" Ichigo shook his head, a smile playing at his lips. "Because if I'm right, and I think I am, you have no interest in furthering your own isolation." He locked eyes with the traitor, who was gazing at him with an almost hungry look in his eyes. "And how do you know that Kurosaki Ichigo? When have I ever given you the impression that I do not wish to distance myself from the weak?" Ichigo's smile contrasted with the sadness in his eyes. "You never told me that. Kyoka Suigetsu did." For the briefest of moments, Ichigo saw that insufferable smirk slide from Aizen's face before returning in full. "I hope you have time to stay and chat for a bit longer Ryoka boy. You have piqued my interest." Ichigo nodded, his confident grin growing ever wider. "I've got all night Aizen. Let's see if I can't break through some of your 'perfect' illusions." Aizen grinned.