Weekend Getaway- Chapter 9

Aizen walked to his office slowly as he mulled over the events of the past few days. None of this had gone the way he initially intended. Even if the best laid plans often went awry, there was at least the possibility of the situation coming close to the projected path in its resolution. But not in this case. Of course, he had never expected to fall for Ichigo quite as hard as he had. That was rather surprising all by itself.

Over the years, he'd had his pick of partners. Some were attracted to his money, others to him personally. But Aizen had become bored with all of them after a time. There never seemed to be anything except a passing fancy on his part. Most of his lovers had accepted that and moved on. A couple needed some stronger persuasion, but all in all, the partings had been relatively amicable. He'd never invested more of himself than necessary and they had all understood that even if it was on an instinctual level. Again, that was not the same here.

There was a fire in the young man that lay sleeping in his bed downstairs. It was obvious that Ichigo felt a certain attraction but there was something holding him back. Current circumstances aside, that was somewhat puzzling. There were scores of people who would literally kill to be in his shoes. But somehow, Aizen knew that he would probably be leaving shortly. His own cynicism tugged at him. Even with what could be offered to him it couldn't be that Ichigo was as pure and noble as he looked from the outside. Could it?

Aizen had done extensive research trying to figure out his background. He'd even had others look into it. But nobody, not even Kaname who could dig deeper than anyone, had found anything more than what was readily visible. It had all started with a set of photographs anonymously delivered to his main office. They had showed an orange haired young man entering several establishments that Aizen owned. The hair had obviously caught his attention first. And then the look on his face. Such calm determination. Aizen smiled when he remembered thinking that this person would be a challenge if they ever met in person. And he'd gone about setting up that particular meeting himself.

But the physical attraction hadn't been the initial reason that he'd wanted to see him. The photos were all date coded. And shortly after Ichigo had gone into each location, there had been a sudden occurrence that sent them all out of business. It wasn't always for the same reason. At one place, an employee had embezzled nearly all of the funds. At another, the manager had been caught selling drugs out of the back room. It wasn't always a financial reason either. One of Aizen's clubs downtown had been burned to the ground. Luckily, it was after hours and nobody had been hurt. But the bar itself was a total loss.

He stopped with his hand on the doorknob to his office. All so convenient. The dates on the photos could have been doctored. Or the pictures themselves could have been altered in some way. Of course, the fact that they had been delivered into his hands at all was suspicious enough. Each business had gone down at separate times with nothing overt to connect them. Until he'd received the images placing Ichigo at each location. He sighed and opened the door. Kaname stood from where he was working at a desk off to one side and gave a small bow.

"Aizen-sama." Aizen glanced at the other man. He was impeccably dressed with his neat cornrows tied back even though it was after business hours.

"Kaname, how many times do I have to tell you not to be so formal outside of the main office."

Tosen frowned slightly. "It wouldn't be appropriate." Aizen smiled a little. He knew that the request would be denied. It was more habit now than anything else anyway. Another door opened across the room and Gin came in still wearing his shorts from the trip.

"That was quick. Did you put him down for a nap already?" Gin grinned as Aizen closed the door at his back and moved further into the room.

"He's been under a lot of stress. Fatigue on his part is to be expected."

Tosen's frown deepened. "Was it wise to bring him here with you? We still haven't confirmed that he isn't a part of this yet."

Gin rolled his eyes. "Man, if you could see him, you'd know why he's so hot to hang on."

"I can see clearer than you." Gin shrugged and turned toward his own desk. The marble hit him square in the back of the head and he whirled around, his hand massaging the growing lump. Tosen regarded him quietly with his sightless eyes, his hand lingering around the small bowl on his desk. It held a multitude of colored spheres just like the one that had been launched across the room.

Gin kept the smile on his face as he muttered and went to sit down. "One of these days, I'm going to make you eat those." Aizen ignored them both and headed to the much larger desk at the far end. He shared this part of the office with the other two. It was much easier to communicate when they were right there in the room with him. He had a separate space of his own if he wanted to work in solitude which he did on occasion.

"Kaname, have you found anything else?"

Tosen waited to sit until Aizen had settled in his chair and then brought up the files he'd been collecting. "No. He is just what he appears to be. A college student living within his means. Mother deceased, two younger sisters, his father owns the Kurosaki Clinic that deals in moderate level health care. It also operates within its means. Unless he's very good at hiding it, he's not on anyone's payroll except for the bookstore he works for." The dark man sighed, not liking that he couldn't find anything else. "I still don't like it."

Gin looked up from where he was opening mail. "You don't like anything."

"Be that as it may, I find this whole situation disturbing." He turned to Aizen. "Three more businesses have closed. The Emporium in the trade district has been foreclosed on."

Gin blinked. "Do they honestly think that Aizen hasn't been paying the damned rent? What kind of idiots work over there?"

"I've been trying to figure out if it was some sort of clerical error. But I'm having trouble with that. The hard drives at the store were wiped and all our files here seem to be missing."

Aizen turned his chair so he could look out the floor to ceiling windows behind him. His voice was quiet when he spoke and the other two men tensed slightly. That tone was never a good one to hear. "It's apparent that there's someone on the inside that seems to be playing with us. With me." If Tosen could see, he and Gin would have exchanged worried glances. Their play at mutual dislike was temporarily put on hold as they focused on the situation at hand. "I intend to find out who."

Tosen spoke up. "I've been doing background checks on all core employees and I haven't found anything so far. The electronic security division is handling the rest, but that will take some time." A rare smile pulled at his lips. "You do employ quite a few people."

Aizen's mouth quirked as well. "Indeed."

Tosen's expression turned serious again. "But the boy may still be a part of this."

"Oh, he is." Gin and Tosen turned to him as he continued before they could interrupt. "He's right at the center of it all. He just has no idea. Someone is using him." There was a hint of distaste in the last statement. It was true, Aizen had gained much of his wealth through manipulation of one kind or another, but he was very careful in his choices. Most who lost to him were deserving of it, their own actions having put their assets up for grabs. To his knowledge, he'd never used an innocent to get what he wanted. There were so many more who actually wanted to be used that he never had to resort to that.

And truth be told, he really did feel something for Ichigo. It bothered him that he had been dragged into this against his will. He hadn't been able to dig up much useful information on him other than his identity the week before. When he'd shown up at the club that night, it seemed to point out his involvement like a burning neon sign. Aizen had treated him like any other adversary and was planning to get the information he wanted one way or another. It just hadn't turned out the way he had expected.

Gin sighed heavily. "So, what do we do now?"

Aizen turned back to his desk and focused on his computer. "Keep looking. Even the most careful of people leave a trail somewhere."

Several hours later, Ichigo was pulled from sleep by a familiar sound. Blinking his eyes open in the now dark room, he tried to get his bearings. Someone had pulled all the shades while he was sleeping and the space was cloaked in darkness. The musical sound was coming from a darker lump in one of the chairs in a small sitting area that sat off to one side. Dragging himself up, he went over to investigate. He managed to find the light switch on his way there and nearly stopped when he saw his messenger bag sitting on the seat cushion.

He remembered dropping it in the alley. All of that seemed so far away now. How the hell had Aizen managed to find it? Ichigo sighed. He probably didn't want to know. The musical chirrup of his phone sounded again and he fumbled in the pockets. Keigo's number appeared on the screen. "Hey."

"Ichigo!" Ichigo had to hold the phone away from his ear at the excited squeal. He brought it closer as Keigo's voice dropped back to normal. "Man, thought you were never going to answer your damned phone." There was some sort of music playing in the background punctuated by the occasional splash.

"Are you okay?" Aizen had told him they were all at some sort of resort. Ichigo had intended to call before now but had forgotten in the rush of things. There was a happy snort on the other end of the line.

"Of course. Free reservations at the classiest spa I've ever set foot in and all the free drinks I can handle. What could possibly be not be okay with that?" Keigo's words were a little slurred but not dramatically so. Hopefully Mizuiro would keep him from making himself too ill.

"Just asking. It's been a strange weekend."

"Yeah." Ichigo could practically hear Keigo frown from here. "Dude, if you were going to take Aizen up on his offer anyway, you should have said something. We were getting a little worried when you didn't come home Saturday morning. That's so not like you."

"Sorry. It was kind of a last minute thing." Yeah, last minute. Ichigo shook his head but apparently he'd already been forgiven.

"Whatever, don't worry about it." There was a snickering laugh. "From the way he was looking at you that night, I'm pretty sure you've been busy. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. If you know what I mean. So how is he? Is he good?"

"Keigo!" There was a peal of laughter from the other end as Ichigo scowled at the phone like he could melt it with his gaze alone. There was the sound of shuffling on the other end and Keigo's sulky voice arguing.

"It was only a joke. I know, I know, hang on. . I . .ack!" There was a loud splash as Mizuiro came on the line.

"How are you Ichigo?"

Ichigo calmed himself and went back over to sit on the bed. "I'm fine. Are you guys okay?"

"Yes. It was very nice of Aizen to offer us a trip."

"Yeah, he's the generous type alright." Ichigo pressed his face into his hand. "Is my family there with you?"

"Yes, they seem to be enjoying themselves very much." Ichigo let out a little sigh. They were all okay. He'd been having this nagging fear since Aizen mentioned them. The man had been true to his word this whole time, but Ichigo still didn't really know him. He wasn't sure if anybody did.

Mizuiro caught his attention again. "Would you like to speak with them?"

"Uh, no. No, that's okay. I was just wondering." He didn't know what to tell his family at the moment and he really didn't want to dodge his father's potentially intrusive questions. There was a quiet laugh.

"I didn't think so, but I felt the need to offer." There was a small pause. "Oh look, your dad's on the diving board." Ichigo could hear a familiar whooping yell and a resounding splash followed by a few gasps and quiet murmurs. "That must have hurt. He's not very good at that. I hope he doesn't try it again." Knowing his dad, Ichigo figured he would anyway. Probably for the attention if nothing else. "We should all be home in a couple of days."

There was the unspoken question as to when Ichigo would be home as well. He'd never been a very good liar, especially around Mizuiro. So he settled on being vague. "I don't know when I'll be back. Hopefully soon."

"Alright. As long as you're okay."

"I'm fine. Really."

"Good." Mizuiro hung up just as Keigo's voice was becoming louder in the background. As the sound suddenly cut off on the phone, Ichigo could feel the quiet close in on him. What the hell was he still doing here? He should be heading for the nearest door and going home to get away from all this craziness. He flopped back on the bed and threw an arm over his eyes. But that would mean leaving without saying goodbye or even thank you. And despite the things that had lead to this moment, he couldn't make himself do that. He was saved from the decision by the door opening. Ichigo didn't need to see Aizen to know it was him.

Aizen paused on the raised landing just inside the door. After hours of searching, they still hadn't found anything. He still wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do about the situation and that bothered him a great deal. He'd considered keeping Ichigo here, rationalizing the thought with the idea that he would be easier to watch if he was close. But he would most likely disagree with that and Aizen didn't really want to hold him prisoner. And he was sure that's what it would take to keep him if he didn't want to stay.

But he couldn't just turn him loose on his own. He was far too deep in all of this and he wasn't equipped to deal with what he might be facing. Ichigo would balk at the idea of a bodyguard and most likely would refuse if the option was offered. That left more subtle surveillance. It wasn't the first time Aizen had someone watched without their knowledge but in this case, it just didn't seem to sit well. Ultimately, he knew he'd do it anyway. He'd never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Ichigo now. He hadn't moved when Aizen entered. He was on the bed with his face mostly covered, his phone clutched in his hand.

"Are your friends and family enjoying their vacation?" Ichigo's lips quirked a little. "Yeah. I guess I should thank you."

Aizen knew he couldn't be thanking him for the real reason he'd sent them away. Like his initial searches on Ichigo, his friends and family hadn't offered up any secrets. So he'd sent them to one of his spas in the country. There, he could keep a controlled eye on them while he did some more digging. And if they truly had nothing to do with this, the security there was better than they'd have at home. They might not be threats themselves, but there was still someone pulling the strings who might want to clear up loose ends.

"It was my pleasure."

Ichigo lifted his arm to catch his gaze. The warm brown eyes that watched him held curiosity and a little suspicion. That wasn't surprising. But as the look lingered, there was a little heat there as well. Aizen felt himself respond to it with his own as he came down the three steps into the room.

Ichigo snorted but didn't look away. "They think I'm being debauched by a strange, rich man."

Aizen smirked as he came to stand by the edge of the bed, but he didn't move to get any closer. "It would be a pity to disappoint them, wouldn't it."

Ichigo felt things tighten in response and he took a shaky breath. Poking amusement aside, he was still being asked first. Again, he had that little voice of reason that said he should say his thanks and go. But it was no match for the sudden blood loss in his brain as it settled in another part of his body. He felt an answering smirk curl the edge of his lips even as apprehension still tugged at a part of him.

"Yeah, they won't believe me if I told them otherwise. So I might as well."

Aizen's look remained amused. "Well, if that's the only reason, I suppose I'll be on my way then." He actually took a step away before Ichigo's look stopped him.

"Did I say that?"

"Not in so many words. You should be careful with that mouth."

Ichigo watched him for a moment and he frowned as a thought occurred to him. "You're not actually going to make me ask are you?"

Aizen lifted a brow. "Ask me what?"

Ichigo felt a tinge of anger at the edge of his arousal. He still hadn't moved on the bed and he had no intention doing so. And he sure as hell wasn't going to beg the other man to screw him. No matter how much he wanted him to at the moment.

Aizen wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the word play. He couldn't seem to help himself but at the same time, he knew he'd miss his chance if he kept it up. But it almost felt like he'd be giving in if he just went over to the bed now. Ichigo truly was a challenge even if he didn't really mean to be. Aizen felt his own competitiveness trying to get the young man to bend first, but he felt he was losing the battle. He was so deep in his own thoughts, that he missed Ichigo's next words.

Aizen blinked. "Excuse me?"

The young man's anger seemed to flare for some reason. Ichigo stilled on the bed. He'd finally given in and asked and the bastard hadn't even been listening. "Aren't you paying attention?"

Aizen narrowed his eyes, not liking having his inattention pointed out. But he settled for a half truth, hoping that it would calm Ichigo down a little. Or at least distract him for a moment. "Forgive me. Just caught up in a few mental images." Aizen deliberately ran his heated gaze up and down Ichigo's body. He was satisfied when he blushed and shifted on the bed, his eyes looking away for a moment.

His voice was quiet as if he were talking to himself. "You've so totally messed up my life." Ichigo's gaze snapped up and caught Aizen's before he could say anything in response. "The least you can do is fuck me when I ask you to." Ichigo smiled and there was nothing sweet about the expression. It held a dozen dark promises that Aizen was sure the boy didn't even know he was offering. He found himself kneeling at the edge of the bed and crawling his way toward him slowly. So they'd both give in. That he could deal with.

"Who am I to argue with that?"