Gin and Aizen helped Ichigo put his clothes away in the dresser and placed his books and toys on the shelves. Once that was done it was just about lunch time.

"Ya hungry Ichi? We can go eat." Gin said with his usual smile.

"O-ok." Ichigo said quietly, shifting back and forth slightly.

Aizen looked at the boy with a confused expression before it clicked in his head. "Ichigo, would you like to go to the bathroom before you eat?"

Ichigo shook his head back and forth quickly. "Don't need to."

Gin frowned slightly. He could see now that Ichigo clearly needed some relief, but he didn't understand why he wouldn't admit it. "Are ya sure Ichi? Cuz ya don' wanna have ta get up while ya eat."

Ichigo once again shook his head, "No, I'm a big boy."

That one statement made Gin understand perfectly. "Ya know Ichi, not having to go all the time does make ya a big boy, but admitting when ya need to go makes you even bigger. Actually, I could go before we eat, and I'm a big boy, right?"

Ichigo looked at Gin for a moment before nodding, "You're big."

Gin smiled, "Then big boys go too. Now are ya sure ya don' need ta go?"

"I… I guess a little bit."

Gin held out his hand to Ichigo, "Then let's go now so that we can do some fun stuff after we eat."

He led Ichigo into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. This effectively trapped Aizen in the room since the exit was on the other side of the door that had just been locked by Gin. When the two finished their business they washed their hands and opened the door back up so that Aizen could come through.

"Ok Aizen-sama, we're ready now."

When they walked into the dining hall many of the espada were already seated at the largest table.

"How wonderful that you're all here. I would like to introduce you all to Kurosaki Ichigo. He will be staying with us until further notice, so be nice to him. Also, I will be asking some of you to watch him during the times that neither Gin or I are able to. Is that agreeable with everyone?" Aizen said with a smile that told all of the espada that they didn't really have much of a choice.

"Hai, Aizen-sama" They all chorused in unison.

"Good, then lets eat"

Aizen got himself and Ichigo settled into chairs while Gin informed the arrancars that worked in the kitchen that there were three more people ready for food. Within a few minutes they came out with lunch. Pasta with meat sauce for Aizen and Gin, and grilled cheese along with a bowl of tomato soup for Ichigo. As soon as the food was in front of him Ichigo was on it like a ravenous wolf. He ate quickly, but with good manners, never spilling a drop.

Ichigo's antics made many of the espada chuckle, but they kept quiet not wanting to embarrass the boy. Aizen and Gin ate slowly, sipping on tea as they went. Before they were done half of their lunch Ichigo was finished his. He sat there for a moment, as if collecting himself, then asked quietly, "Can I have more?"

Aizen smiled, "Of course you can Ichigo, but how about you have some fruit before you go eating more grilled cheese." He called over a servant and told them to bring out a bowl of assorted fruits so that Ichigo could take his pick. Ichigo didn't seem overly thrilled with this, but he picked out a pear and ate it anyway. By the time he had finished off the pear he was full, and Gin and Aizen were done as well.

"Well then," Aizen said standing up, "It was very nice to see you all, I hope we can have another meal together soon." He started to turn away when he thought of something. "Before we go, why don't all of you introduce yourselves to Ichigo so that he will know who he's speaking to in the future."

Ulquiorra immediately stood and walked over to Ichigo. "My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer, it is very nice to meet you." He gave a slight bow, and Ichigo bowed in return.

Next came Grimmjow, "Yo, my name's Grimmjow Jaggerjack. You can call me Grimm."

They moved down the line until Hallibel, Stark, Szayel, Nnoitra, and Barragan had all introduced themselves.

Gin gave his customary Cheshire cat grin and reached down to hold Ichigo's hand. "That was very nice of yal. Now if you'll excuse us, I believe we have some games to play."

The three of them didn't even make it to the door before a green blur came rushing through and tackled Ichigo, knocking him to the ground. "Itsygo!"

Now that he blur had stopped moving they could all see Nel, clinging tightly to Ichigo in a death-grip of a hug. "I missed ya Itsygo!"

Gin rushed to save the boy from Nel's death grip. "Nel-chan, ya got ta be careful! Ya could hurt Ichi!"

This immediately made Nel back off, "I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to hurt Itsygo."

Ichigo jumped to reassure her that he was not hurt, just surprised. "It's ok, uh, Nel. Just please don't do that again. The floor is too hard to land on."

Nel nodded, "Ok Itsygo, I won't tackle you no more."

"Well, now that that's settled, why don't we invite Nel to play with us. It will probably be better if we have someone of Ichigo's age." Aizen said.

"Yea! Wanna come play with us Nel?"

Nel jumped up and down with excitement, "Yes, yes, I wanna play!"

Aizen and Gin smiled at each other. It would be much easier to keep Ichigo entertained if he had someone of his own age there. This meant that for the most part they were off the hook for playing. At least, that was what they thought.

"Sou-san, Gin, can we play hide-and-seek?" Ichigo asked with the most adorable puppy eyes.

"I suppose that hide-and-seek would be acceptable. But, we can't play it in too many places, you guys could get lost. We need a big room with a lot of hiding places. Where do you think we should play Gin?" Aizen asked.

"Hmm, that's a good question. What do you guys think?" He asked the espada.

Ulquiorra, of course, had an answer, "Why not the first training room? It has a lot of rocks and other obstacles to hide behind."

"Yes, that's perfect. Thank you Ulquiorra."

"You're most welcome Aizen-sama."

Gin was ready to leave when he stopped and turned around with an evil glint in his every so slightly opened eyes. "Ya know, it's not much fun with only four people. Why don' we have tha espada and their fraccion come play?"

The espada cowered slightly at the thought of hide-and-seek with their superiors.

"That's a wonderful idea Gin. Come along everyone."

They all got up reluctantly and followed Aizen, Gin, Nel and Ichigo out of the room.