Just in case it is confusing, outside of actual dialogue, Ichigo will only be referred to as 'Kaien' when its from the perspective of someone who doesn't know his true identity. I have tried to make the story mostly 3rd person, so it may be subtle which characters perspective the story is tilted in at the moment. I am sorry if this is confusing, but I just felt weird calling him Ichigo when I was writing more in line with Azien's thoughts since he doesn't know who Kaien really is.

Revised 1/9/2019

Overall, the interview hadn't gone that bad. The man, whom he still didn't know the name of, was very professional and he didn't make it seem like they had had any previous interaction, good or bad. With how well it had gone, Ichigo was sure he would be getting the job, there was no way he couldn't, he was overqualified for an IT position. So, here he was, interview over with, walking with the mysterious man to go buy him a coffee. What a weird day it had been.

"So, do you happen to have a preferred coffee shop, or should I surprise you?" Aizen looked down at him for a moment before looking towards the sky and rubbing his chin in thought.

"I suppose it's good to get out of my comfort zone once in awhile, why don't you surprise me?" Aizen was once again smirking at the boy, hoping it would get a fun reaction out of him. He was not disappointed.

"Don't smirk at me mister, I get enough of that from the blue haired bastard." Aizen's only response was a raised eyebrow. Ichigo huffed and crossed his arms, acting that of a petulant child. "You could be brothers you know, with all that smirking and that look that you know something I don't-" Ichigo looked back at Aizen for a second. "That look! Right there! Kami, I hate that look. I suppose you're all knowing aren't you?" Aizen couldn't help but chuckle, this man had not only insulted him multiple times but had also inadvertently called him a bastard. If he had any doubts about hiring him, they were certainly gone now. Maybe he would even give him the job of his personal assistant, he had just fired his previous one for dumping coffee on him.

"Why yes, I am. What would you like to know, for I will have the answer." Ichigo just glared at him before turning away with a contemplative look on his face. He turned back after a few steps with a smirk on his face.

"Fine, if you're so smart, where are we going for coffee?" The only sign that Ichigo had caught the man off guard was the temporary widening of his eyes, and even that only lasted a second at most before his smirk was back full force.

"Now why would I want to know that, I did ask you to surprise me remember? If I knew it would no longer be a surprise." Ichigo gaped for a bit, not really knowing how to respond to that...in the end he settled on pouting.

"You just don't want to admit you don't know where we're going."

"On the contrary, I know exactly where we're headed." Ichigo, who had been previously looking away, whipped his head around to stare incredulously at the taller man.

"There's no way."

"We're headed to the Leaky Bean, are we not?" Ichigo once again impersonated a fish, gaping up at Aizen.

"How in Kami-sama's name did you figure that out?"

"It's simple really, but alas, a magician never reveals his secrets." It really was simple, Aizen frequently traversed the street they were currently on during his lunch and he had noted that a few months ago a new shop had opened, he had been curious, but had not yet spared the time to try it… Not that he would ever tell Kaien that. They spent the rest of the walk to the shop in silence, Ichigo glaring at Aizen with suspicion and disbelief. He would have continued his glaring had Orihime not nearly tackled him to the ground as soon as he entered. He immediately tensed when Orihime opened her mouth.

"Kaien!" As soon as the name left her lips Ichigo let out a sigh of relief and slumped in her embrace, forgetting for a moment that Aizen was watching and noticed the odd behavior, he was just glad that Orihime remembered that when he wore his disguise, she couldn't call him by his actual name. He and Orihime had been childhood friends and had reconnected once Ichigo returned to Japan, he could trust her with his secrets.

"It's good to see you too Orihime, how have you been?" She finally released Ichigo from her hold and smiled up at him as she replied.

"I've been wonderful! The shop has been a hit so far, we're nearly always packed, you just so happened to catch us at a quiet time...Anything in particular you want to try today?" He echoed Aizen's words to him.

"Surprise me. Just coffee today though, no food." He still didn't trust the food she made, it didn't matter she had graduated culinary school, his childhood fear of her food would never fade. Shivering at the memory of the terrible food, he was brought out of his reminiscing by Aizen clearing his throat. He briefly looked at the man before turning his attention back to Orihime. "Surprise him too, he's never been here before...I think."

"Indeed I haven't, I'll take whatever you give me as long as there are coffee beans in it." Ichigo panicked slightly.

"Don't take him literally, just give him some form of coffee." He knew how Orihime's brain worked, had Ichigo not corrected Aizen's statement he would of ended up with a cup of some liquid and whole coffee beans floating around. He told Aizen as much once Orihime had turned and left to make their order. All he got was a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk. 'Haughty bastard' Ichigo thought as his famous scowl was once again in place. He huffed and stomped over to a small table in the corner, he didn't like his back exposed...even if they were the only two really in there at this time, it payed to be cautious. It only took a few minutes before Orihime was at their table and delivering their drinks. She didn't stay to chat though, the rush she had mentioned earlier had started piling in as she was headed to their table. Aizen stared at the quickly forming line of people with a wary eye and decided it best to just drink his coffee now instead of waiting for it to cool a bit, he couldn't risk yet another cup spilling on him today. He took a sip and immediately stared at the cup in surprise. It was the best coffee he had ever had. Ichigo looked worried at his silence however, knowing some of the weird things Orihime tended to do to her food.

"Is is bad?" Aizen shook his head and took another sip of the coffee.

"It's actually quite good...it tastes of dark chocolate." Ichigo let out a sigh of relief and sipped his own coffee and smiled. He loved peppermint, it always seemed to cheer him up. Deciding they couldn't just sit there in silence, Ichigo tried to think of possible things they could talk about when he remembered he didn't even know the man's name yet.

"By the way, you never did introduce yourself… I guess I'll just have to call you know-it-all." Here Ichigo smirked at Aizen over his cup of coffee. The other man didn't seem bothered, if anything he became more amused at the statement.

"Why, I'm actually surprised you didn't know who I was when we bumped into each other." Here Ichigo looked puzzled.

"Why, are you some famous criminal or something?" Aizen had to try very hard to control the snort that wanted so desperately to escape his lips. 'How funny the first thing he should think of is criminal...especially considering I technically am.'

"Close, but no. I just so happen to run the company you just applied for." Kaien's eyes looked about as big as the plate his cup of coffee now sat on, cooling. Oh, Aizen was enjoying this much more than he should have. "My name is Aizen Sousuke." Ichigo's mind was whirling.

'How the fuck did I not notice!? AIZEN FUCKING SOUSUKE! He's the owner of the hogyoku which I'm supposed to be working out how to steal. How did I not notice it was him! Granted, he looks very different from the pictures Kisuke gave me, what with his hair slicked back and no glasses on… I really should tell Kisuke to update his photos so that Grimmjow doesn't run into the same mistake…' As Ichigo continued to ramble in his head, reprimanding himself for not noticing sooner, Aizen remained unaware that Ichigo was not truly shocked to find out who he was, but rather frustrated at himself for not noticing something so important. After a minute had passed by and Ichigo had not responded, Aizen cleared his throat in an attempt to catch the younger man's attention, it worked. Ichigo looked at the man, once again pouting.

"You're still an annoying bastard." Aizen couldn't contain it anymore, he let out a laugh full of amusement, he couldn't wait until the man found out he would now be working as Aizen's personal assistant.