Thanks for the great response to chapter one, I hope you enjoy the follow up :)
Chapter Two:
When Aizen woke, he was in darkness yet he was warm and comfortable despite the injuries he could feel budding beneath the bed sheets he was tangled within.
Taking a moment to assess his situation he came to the conclusion that he was no longer in Soul Society; inhaling as deeply as his bruised ribs would allow him to, he was able to detect hints of sandalwood and strawberry shampoo mixed with an undertone of coffee and mints.
He knew that concoction of scents all too well; he was in Kurosaki Ichigo's residence. He tried to sense the youth's reiatsu, but he sighed as he realised he couldn't and finally came to the understanding that his reiatsu had been taken from him along with his Shinigami powers. He was human now.
Anger tingled through his body like liquid fire, igniting his full fury in seconds as he considered the utter humiliation of having been reduced to something as pathetic and menial as a mere human. He had reached the pinnacle of his power only to be thwarted by... By...
He sat up suddenly and found his gaze drawn to the sleeping figure in the chair near his bed, a book was clasped loosely in his hand and had fallen onto his chest during the course of sleep; the lax expression which was missing its usual scowl was most surprisingly calm and placid, yet Ichigo's hair was as tousled and uncontrolled as ever, his orange locks were long as they had been after spending time in the Precipice World training before their final battle.
There was no denying that he was an especially attractive specimen of male humanity, his kindly nature was untainted by his rise in power, and he had never once lost sight of whom he was and where he had come from; his purpose and his reason for fighting.
Aizen had known about him from the day of his birth, Kurosaki Ichigo would be the greatest experiment he ever had the pleasure of meddling with. And yet his meddling had been his downfall. The man sat asleep before him was strong, unbelievably strong. He was like a God, shaped by his own hands and in his own image. Ichigo was everything Aizen had wanted to be, and it was both sickening and illuminating. While he had strived for power and dominance, Ichigo had been naturally gifted with it all. A God amongst mere mortals.
Jealousy tinged with admiration collared his anger and made it sink back into the hole it had burst free from as he watched the strawberry haired youth sleeping. He still felt immense shame at having been defeated by such a young man as him, yet he couldn't help but feel as though if he had had to have been defeated by anyone, he would have chosen it to be Ichigo.
Sliding off the bed slowly, Aizen realised that he had been undressed at some point; he instantly smirked, wondering what the youth had thought while stripping him and whether or not he had appraised his body.
In all the years he had spent watching Ichigo grow, he had never been able to distinguish his sexuality. It was clear that more than one of his human friends had feelings for him; and it was even clearer than a few of his Shinigami friends did too. But the boy seemed so oblivious to it all. Something which both hurt and infuriated the friends previous mentioned.
The perfect example of this was the Orihime child whom he had ordered to be kidnapped by Ulquiorra. The girl spent her days trying to look sweet and adorable, brushing up against Ichigo and flourishing her rather buxom chest at him - but he never even batted an eyelid at her. Indeed he had gone as far as to defy the Head Captain and infiltrate Hueco Mundo to save her from her dreaded fate, but that didn't mean he loved her. He had seen the Orihime child getting more and more jealous of the Kuchiki girl who Ichigo seemed to pay more attention too, it had been most amusing.
Kuchiki Rukia, who was one of the Shinigami he had identified as having had a crush on the hero of the hour, she took the 'treat them mean keep them keen' approach, or so he thought, what with the amount of times she practiced striking Ichigo. But from what he had seen, Ichigo saw her as nothing more than friend, perhaps a sister at the most. True enough he had stormed Soul Society to stop her from being executed but he had said himself it was because he 'owed her', not because he was in love with her anymore than he was with the Orihime child.
Of his other human friends, Aizen had identified another female with interests in the youth, a young woman by the name of Tatsuki, whom had grown up with Ichigo and was like a sibling to him. He could never be sure whether or not the girl was genuinely interested in Ichigo, or Inoue, the girl seemed incredibly indecisive about her sexual preferences and he had begun to consider the fact that she might be bisexual or lesbian. Which was fine by him, he was simply curious. Either way, Ichigo didn't seem to really see her, his focus to his duties as a Soul Reaper had seen him giving less and less thought to his human friends, the ones which couldn't keep pace with him at least.
And then, he moved onto his evaluations of the men he had seen give interest in him; first of which was the Quincy boy 'Ishida' who had travelled to Hueco Mundo with him and had fought his Octava Espada. They seemed to have something of a love hate relationship, which he found fascinating and the main reason he believed the Quincy had feelings for Ichigo was because he proclaimed to loath all Shinigami and yet was always so willing to assist Ichigo, despite him being a Shinigami of all things. Yes they argued and fought, but so had Szayel and Grimmjow yet they had fucked like rabbits for years. But again, he had never seen Ichigo respond with anything except fondness and friendship; he had seemed genuinely heartbroken when he had discovered that he had stabbed his friend while in Hollow form... But it was not the heartbreak of a lover. Just a friend. Or a brother.
Abarai Renji, the tattooed baboon, clearly had feelings for Ichigo. It was just obvious, from the moment they had come together as allies for the first time and charged at him upon Sôkyoku Hill he had seen the flaring passion in the redhead's eyes; he had been loyal and unwavering as a friend, yet he had seen the longing in his eyes as he watched Ichigo grow. Not to mention the unconcealed jealousy whenever Ichigo spoke to Kuchiki Byakuya.
And there was the last person who he had suspected of having feelings for the Substitute Shinigami, none other than Kuchiki Byakuya. There weren't as many reasons for him to consider him as a contender, however the largest one was the Ichigo could fight him in combat as an equal, something which the Captain undoubtedly respected considering that there were so few people who could do it. And another thing, no one else got away with calling him by his first name without a title and without permission, and yet he constantly allowed Ichigo to do so without complaint. Indeed, Kuchiki was more obvious than the others just because of the huge difference in the way he acted.
Aizen snapped back from his revere as he heard the book Ichigo had been holding clatter to the floor; he blinked and looked back at the strawberry for a long moment before he wrapped the bed sheet around his otherwise nude body and walked over slowly, silently and cautiously.
He crouched down and picked the book up, turning it over in his hands as he squinted through the darkness and read the cover, 'Greek Mythology' and snorted slightly, he had never had him down as one to read those sorts of books. How amusing.
Standing back up, he hovered for a moment, watching the strawberry sleep so soundly. He didn't really want to wake him up yet, he should first explore the house and try to locate his powers so that he could escape and leave the World of the Living behind.
Turning away he began shuffling towards the door, the bed sheet around his waist hindering him slightly and slowing his movements, he had just reached the Clinic door when he heard someone clearing their throat and he groaned inwardly.
"Ah, I see you are finally awake," Ichigo yawned and stretched in his seat, "I wouldn't bother trying to escape if I were you, the door is locked."
"I wasn't trying to escape." He lied, "I require a visit to the bathroom."
The strawberry stood up and stretched again, "Alright, come on then, I'll show you were it is and grab you some clothes. Feel free to use the shower if you want to."
Instead of speaking, Aizen let out a small grunt and stepped back as he watched the other unlocking the door and letting him out; then he started shuffling into the hallway of the Kurosaki household and glanced around at his surroundings.
"This way." Ichigo murmured as he gestured to the stairs, leading the way to up to the second floor of his home before he opened one of the doors along the landing and stepped back as he revealed the bathroom.
"Your family aren't here then?" the brunet commented as he stepped into the family sized bathroom.
"No, Goat-Face took them on holiday." He answered before he threw him a towel from the airing cupboard and disappeared down the hallway and into one of the other rooms.
Aizen stared after him for several long minutes, surprised by his nonchalant attitude towards him and his presence in his home; he had expected more awkwardness, a few ground rules perhaps, but instead he was being treated like a house guest, and he used the term 'guest' quite lightly too.
There was definitely some undertones of mutual respect which neither of them had formerly realised they had for each other. But perhaps they now recognised each other as equally strong enemies, despite one of them no longer having powers. He would have to question him on it.
With a sigh, he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, deciding that first and foremost a shower and alleviation on the part of his bladder would be most welcome.
Several minutes later, after scrubbing his skin dry and discovering all the wonderfully sore bruises which he had been given before leaving Soul Society, Aizen left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist as he padded down the hallway and opened the door to the room he had seen the strawberry disappear into.
He stopped in the doorway and stared as he watched Ichigo getting changed out of his day time clothes and into a pair of drawstring pyjama pants. His eyes roamed the dips and contours of the other's muscular back and long slender neck; he licked his lips and held back a hungry groan before he cleared his throat loudly.
Ichigo looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, "Ever heard of knocking?" he growled as he tied the drawstrings at the front into a small knot.
"I am unaccustomed to having to knock when I want to go somewhere." He said honestly, "I... Apologise." He added tersely.
"Right well... Start getting used to it, because if you walk in on me taking a leak or in the shower... I will rip you apart." The strawberry murmured before he ran a hand through his hair, "Right... It's five in the morning, I have school tomorrow, and I am going to be shattered."
"Where am I sleeping?" Aizen asked as he walked further into the room.
"There's a spare futon rolled up in the wardrobe, grab that and the pillows and duvet that is in there." He murmured as he sat on the edge of his bed and leaned over, setting his alarm, "Oh, and here are some pyjamas, they are my dad's size so they should fit you."
The brunet stared for a moment before he sighed and fetched the futon and bed furnishings he required, setting it up on the floor before he took the dark blue clothing from the strawberry.
"So, I find myself curious," he said as he pulled the shirt on and began buttoning it up, "You don't seem to hate me, and you willingly took the babysitting duty from Central 46... Why?"
Ichigo sighed and climbed into his bed, laying back with his arms behind his head, "Because... We fought on par and when you do that you can tell something about your enemy and your enemy's weapon. I sensed a great loneliness in Kyoka Suigetsu which you reflect as well. Because you have never known anyone as strong as you, no one who could ever stand up under your reiatsu."
"You think I care about that?!" he laughed.
"Your sword did." He stated calmly.
"So you what? You want to keep me company?" Aizen asked.
Ichigo sighed, "Just... Go to sleep."
The brunet watched in amusement as his jailor laid down and turned his back on him; he frowned slightly and sighed before he got under the covers of his futon and folded his arms over his chest.
"I know I'm meant to keep you in check, I'm meant to stop people attacking you and prevent them from killing you in recompense for your crimes... But that doesn't mean I am going to control your every movement and keep you penned in like an animal." Ichigo said suddenly, "If you want to go out, explore the town and do stuff then feel free. As long as you behave yourself and don't cause trouble I won't stop you. You've been given a second chance at having a life. Don't screw it up."
Aizen looked over at him as he fell silent and watched him for several long moments, unsure how to take his speech; it seemed strange to him that he should be allowed such freedom and he wasn't particularly certain that he wanted to trust the strawberry haired male. Still, it was good to know he could at least have some time to himself. And what happened after that was anybody's guess.