Characters: Ichigo, Orihime, Urahara

Ichigo scowled as he strode briskly down the street toward the clinic, his body still shaking from anger and the delayed reaction to his capture at Aizen's hands. He had finally realized that he was in way over his head. Ichigo had always been a direct sort of person; he didn't plan ahead much, but charged straight into situations, relying on his native intelligence and strong will to carry him through. And that had always worked before.

But now, he was facing a different type of opponent. One who required a different set of skills to defeat. Ichigo had no idea how to avoid losing in this situation. He was in a terrible trap, and soon the jaws of the trap would close completely about him and Orihime.

Before Aizen had released him, he had bent down to whisper in his ear. "If you go to the police, I will find out. I have many agents in law enforcement. And Orihime will suffer for it."

"Don't you dare hurt her, you bastard!" Ichigo demanded.

"She will not be physically harmed, of course," Aizen continued. He straightened, and gazed out the window over the expansive view. "However, as I'm sure you're aware, she is... psychologically fragile. As a result, it would be simple to damage her mind beyond repair with a few carefully chosen actions." His voice dropped and he almost purred, "Believe me, I would hate for that to be necessary. I… care… for Orihime… and don't want anything unpleasant to befall her." He ignored Ichigo's look of scornful disbelief. "So I very much hope that you will be cooperative."

"I said that I'd do what you want, but only if you leave her alone!"

Aizen smiled coldly. "Very well. We understand each other then."

Ichigo clenched his fists, his thumbs twinging again to remind him of his current state under Aizen's control. Aizen had been very clear about what he wanted. Ichigo was to obey all his orders in the future or Orihime would suffer. He would have to quit his job at the clinic and apply for a position as a research scientist at Las Noches. There Aizen would set him up with a well-equipped lab, would supply him with the latest equipment, and any devices, chemicals, or tissue samples he wanted, but he would only be able to research the questions that Aizen wanted studied, those having to do with Orihime's anti-aging process. And Orihime would be there too, working in the same lab, as the purchase of Gotei by Las Noches was almost complete.

Aizen lidded his eyes suggestively. "Think of it, Ichigo. You can work with Orihime every day. That's surely better than your situation now, when you hardly see her at all." His voice dripped with mock concern. "You really should be more careful about your fiancée – she's such a lovely, vulnerable girl … anyone could make a move on her, and then where would you be?" He chuckled softly as Ichigo's face turned beet red. "It would be a shame," Aizen breathed as he brushed his lips across the rim of his captive's ear, "for you to lose someone so delightful in bed." Ichigo growled with insane fury and made a sudden, abortive movement toward his tormentor, but his bonds held. Aizen sat calmly beside him, smirking as the movement caused Ichigo's thumbs to burn in renewed agony.

Ichigo fumed again with outrage as he remembered his helplessness before Aizen. The most frustrating part of it all was that even after he had been untied and set free from Aizen's building, he was still helpless. His actions were constrained as effectively as if Aizen still had him tied up in his office. And the worst of it was that Orihime was in the trap too. They were both completely under Aizen's control. Ichigo balled his fists in rage, unable to think clearly, his mind full of a red haze. There had to be a way out. There had to be.

He suddenly changed his mind about returning to the clinic to turn in his notice immediately as Aizen had ordered. He crossed the street and turned in the other direction. He had something more important to do; he was going to see Orihime. He had to get her out of this. Somehow.

XxXxXxX

"Ichigo, I can't just quit my job!" Orihime said in disbelief. "What are you saying? Why do you want me to do that?"

"Aizen is blackmailing me. And he's threatening you to keep me from reporting it. He wants to get control of both of us. I want you to get away from him. You need to quit and take a long vacation. I can give you money if you need it. Just get away from here."

She backed away from him slowly, fear written on her face. "Aizen… is blackmailing you?" she asked. "How…?"

"I did something stupid and he got it on tape." Ichigo made a wry grimace. "But the main hold he has over me now is you. He's threatening to hurt you if I don't do whatever he wants. That's why I want you to get away." His eyes were pleading now.

Orihime shook her head slowly. "Ichigo, you don't understand. There's a termination contract in place with the Las Noches takeover, and they've set up non-compete contracts. I can't afford to quit now with the penalties that would be levied on scientists who leave. Besides –" She smiled up at him suddenly. "I'm not afraid of Aizen… not if we're together."

"Hime –" Ichigo's face gentled. He moved closer to her. "I –"

There was a sudden rattling at the lab door and Kisuke Urahara, Gotei's brilliant chief scientist, walked into the lab. His shaggy blond hair was uncombed under the trademark green-and-white striped hat that he wore everywhere. "Hey, Orihime, Ichigo, how're ya both doin'?" he said in his cheerful drawl, his eyes going warily from one to the other. "Did I interrupt a heart-to-heart?" When no one said anything, he tilted his head in inquiry. "What's wrong?"

Orihime smiled at him, nervously twining a strand of long red hair around her finger. She said, "Urahara-san, it's fine. Ichigo and I were just having a nice chat. But I think that he was about to be leaving, Urahara-san, if you need to talk about work."

"No way, Orihime," cried Ichigo, "I'm not going until you agree to go on a vacation at the very least!"

"Have you been overworking again, Orihime?" asked Urahara solicitously. "He's right, you do need to take a break every now and then. Especially with this change of control coming up. There's going to be a lot of tension around the company." He peered at Ichigo from under the shadow of the brim of his hat. "You look pretty tense, too, Ichigo. Your job at the clinic not going too well?"

Ichigo frowned. "I suppose I should tell you." He shot a glance at Orihime. "I'm going to quit my job at the clinic."

"What?" she asked in shock. "You love your work! Why?"

He grimaced. "Aizen wants me to come work for Las Noches."

Urahara gave a low whistle. "Hmm, you'd be quite a catch for Aizen's research lab. But why? I wouldn't think you'd be the type to work for someone like Aizen." He narrowed his eyes. "Does he have some kind of hold on you?"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, wincing as he hit the bruise on his thumb again. He had noticed before that Urahara was annoyingly perceptive. But Orihime said he had a good heart despite his infuriating exterior, so Ichigo decided to answer. "Well, uh… he's blackmailing me."

Urahara's eyes widened. Then he caught sight of the large discolored area on Ichigo's hand and said, with a sidelong glance at Orihime, "Ichigo. That's not a good situation to be in."

"Tell me about it," growled Ichigo.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't really know what I can do."

Orihime dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry that I got you into this, Ichigo. It's me Aizen wants."

"No, damn it, he has plans for my work with him too. He wants me to start running human trials on your process." He scowled more ferociously as he wondered once again how he could get out of this trap.

Urahara's mouth opened in a soundless "O" of surprise. Then he said, "Well. That's very interesting news."

Orihime brought a hand up to cover her mouth. "But… it's not even ready for animal trials yet! We have no idea if it's safe, much less effective."

Urahara waved his hand. "Nothing like that would matter to Aizen. I'll bet he's salivating at the thought of a practical immortality process under his control. It's not just that it would be wildly profitable. Aizen wants more than just money – he wants power. He gets off on having people groveling at his feet." He sighed. "That's just the kind of man he is."

Orihime gazed at him intently. "Did you see him at the all-hands meeting the other day? I thought everybody in the company seemed to like him."

The older scientist grinned ruefully at her. "Ah, but I can see through his mask, just like you. The three of us will have to stick together. I see some bad times coming ahead." He shook his head and glanced at Ichigo. "Tell me what happened. Maybe I can help."

Ichigo grunted, but decided to trust him. He sat down in one of the lab chairs, and explained what had happened that morning. The other two listened in growing shock.

"No," Urahara said, as the younger man finished detailing Aizen's plans for Ichigo and Orihime to work together in his lab. "You two can't give in to him. If he gets his hands on your work, Orihime, can you imagine what he'll do with it?" His voice was unusually sober. "Think of all the people who would do anything to extend their lives… Aizen would have them in the palm of his hand. He'd set himself up as a god with the power of life and death. He could go to anyone, government leaders, generals, judges, and tell them, 'Do what I say and I'll extend your life.' It'll just be another way for him to control everyone. And can you imagine what the world would be like under Aizen's control?" He made a face and Orihime shuddered.

"We can't let that happen!" said Ichigo. "Which is why I want Orihime to quit and get away."

Urahara tugged the brim of his hat down further over his eyes. "Ichigo. It's not going to be that simple. We have to think this through carefully. Remember what just happened to you. Don't you think Aizen knows you're going to do this and has something planned for it?"

Ichigo subsided with a scowl. "Yeah – I guess you're right. But then – what do we do?"

The blond grinned under his hat. "We outthink him."