Review Replies for Chapter 5

Clio1111 - Oh god I have to say, every time I read your reviews I end up cackling like Shiro. It's very funny. You made my day! As for answering your review... You'll see. (;

Kichou - Oh no he won't. He will be infuriated.

GrimmIchisgrl - Thanks, I know nothing really happened last chapter but we're getting there. Consider these the calm before the storm. (:

PlaidPajamas01 - It was bound to happen. (: she's the kind of person who wiggles into your heart no matter how long how it takes or how hard it is. I know everyone is excited to hear of this. Also don't worry it will happen eventually and as for Ulquiorra who knows maybe, maybe not.

Crimson is back with another chapter and I apologize for taking forever, my senior year in high school started! :D Yay!~

Shiro: ... Lazy ass.

Me: ...*clears throat* Well Aizen is very happy to have Ichigo join the Espada!

Shiro: ...you're a fuckin' bitch ya know that..?

Sosuke: I think she's a very nice, young lady. Hello Miss Crimson.

Me: *smirks evily at Shiro before smiling sweetly at Aizen* Hello Aizen I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Sosuke: *chuckles* I'm sure I will.

Shiro: *leaves in a rage*

Me: *snickers* ...On with the chapter!

Chapter Six

...previous chapter...

..."We all wish Isshin was here. But no one can change the past. Shiro is heartbroken. And apparently according to him, our dear Ichi is perfectly fine without him. I tried to tell him it's not true, but he insisted that Ichigo would rather be with the Espada than him." Yoruichi explained. Kisuke raised a brow at the mention of his rival's team.

"Oh I'm sure Ichigo isn't having any type of fun in the Espada head quarters." Kisuke scoffed. There was no way that Ichigo would ever think of anything that happens there as fun...

..."...Actually the last time I remember sitting down and eating was... the day before yesterday. I had Tesla's amazing food. I don't remember eating since." He shrugged off, but Nel wasn't letting it go that easy. She felt the sudden urge to take care of the boy until he had someone to do it for him.

"Join the Espada. You need it."

"...Okay, Nel. I'll join the Espada."

~-::-~

Aizen was just getting out of bed in the morning when the door to his room was practically slammed off its hinges. He looked at his friend with amusement and curiosity as the silver-haired male panted from the run he just had. Gin had both of his palms planted on his knees as he gasped and sputtered for air. The sight was ridiculously funny. The brunette shook his head before going over to his closet and looking for an outfit for the day. He didn't have much to do today.

"Whats got you so excited, my friend?" he asked as he looked between the two shirts in his hands. He heard the other inhale deeply through his mouth before all the information spilled from his lips.

"Ichi-chan just told Nel he would join the Espada and I overheard it when I went to the sauna last night." The fox man stood up straight and panted slightly before rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish expression. "I didn't tell ya 'cause when I heard it I was so shocked I fainted. I just got away from our lovely scientist and medic," he grumbled in embarrassment. Gin looked up when the soft sound of fabric falling and bunching on the floor filled his ears. Sosuke stood in front of his closet doors with his spine stiff as a board. His friend couldn't see his face but if he did shock was clearly on it. Sosuke slowly forced his emotions down before turning to his colleague with a casual smile.

"He did?" When Gin nodded to his question he couldn't help the warm feeling of happiness that washed over him. Luckily for him, it didn't show on his face. His friend nodded his head rapidly with a big toothless smile stretching on his face. Sosuke didn't think there was a word to describe how he was feeling. He did know that he was beyond cloud nine, though.

"He was down in the training room with Nel, but I think he was taken back to the recovery rooms last night." Gin informed happily. It seemed even his foxy friend was extremely excited for the young man to join from the way he was rocking on his feet. "Ya should go say hi, Sosuke-chan. Maybe give him a full tour and get him settled in a room," The fox man said with a hint of suggestiveness and waggled his eyebrows.

"Gin, there are a few problems and obstacles with your very perverted suggestions. First, Ichigo needs to at least want a relationship. Second, he needs to be healthy, not near skin and bone with bruises, cuts, and the threat of keeling over on his sprained ankle because of his blood loss episode. Third, he may or may not be gay. Fourth, he may not like the boss and employee relationship. As you can see, my friend, there are quite a few things that need attention first." As Sosuke finished his reasons, and picked up the shirts from the floor, he turned to see his friend had already abandoned the room. Talk about eager. The brunette sighed to himself before getting dressed for the day. He had a certain berry to talk to.

~-::-~

The vibrant haired male was trying to snooze away. The keyword being trying. Something was pulling him into awareness. There was a heavy weight settled around him and a rumble vibrated his body. It would be relaxing if there wasn't a very heavy thing pressing on his shoulder and something sharp pricking his skin. He growl and cracked open an eye to see who he would need to beat the shit out of. What he wasn't expecting was to see a wild panther's face directly in front of his own. The orangette froze and then noticed that the rumbling was a purr and that the heavy object on his shoulder was a very large, white paw with claws poking through the shirt that Szayel gave him. The white panther was standing over him on his bed looking down at him intently. Ichigo just stared into two deep, blue feline orbs. First night as an Espada and he was about to be mauled by a big ass cat. Was Ulquiorra behind this? Was this how he would die? Not today he wouldn't!

The lithe male lay very still as he slid his hand slowly to the nightstand. Szayel, when Ichigo had first woken up after his brother's visit, have given him a call button if he needed something for the pain or if something went badly. Well...something had gone very badly. A tan hand wrapped around the object before throwing it across the room. Automatically the large cat whipped around and dove for the small device. Throwing himself out of the bed, Ichigo ran out of the room and down the hall. He could hear the panther give chase to him and he nearly cried as pushed himself to run faster. His ankle throbbed as he ran and he was positive he would be limping if he survived this.

They ran out of the research and healing facility as Ichigo bolted to the actual mansion. The thuds of the wild cat were intimidating as they stayed directly behind him. Pushing through the doors and hearing a bang when the panther hit the door, Ichigo ran into the lobby. Once at the lobby, the young man ran to the first pair of stairs and was half way up when he heard a growl. He turned to see the predator at the bottom of the stairs. He ran up the stairs three at a time. He got to the top of the steps when he was tackled by the big, white beast. Brown eyes squeezed shut, expecting the worst...when a large rough tongue licked its way from his jaw to his temple. He cracked open an eye to look up at the panther. Playful eyes stared back at him as a white tail swayed around mischievously.

"Seems like Pantera likes ya, Strawberry. Thanks for playin' with her," a familiar voice commented. The vibrant boy turned his head to see Grimmjow leaning against a door with a midnight black, gothic six on the white wood. He was in bandages with only sleeping pants and stood there with his arms folded over his chest.

"Playing?! I thought I was going to die!"

"Oh, cut it out! She won't kill ya. Bat ya around? Yes. Kill ya? No," the blue haired man brushed off while chuckling. Brown eyes just glared at him. Grimmjow shrugged before whistling and obediently 'Pantera' got off of Ichigo, then sat next to him. The blunette got off the door before opening it and letting her in before closing it. With a sigh the Sexta walked over to the berry still on the floor and offered a hand that was hesitantly taken.

"Well, this is not one of my best mornings...but not the worst. I thought Ulquiorra put that thing in my room." Ichigo laughed nervously and wiped his sweaty palms on his pajama pants after he was standing on his own.

"Why would he do that?" asked the curious blunette.

Ichigo looked at him and sputtered for a reply for a moment before settling on a blunt, and nervous, "Nothing." Grimmjow stared him down for a moment with narrowed eyes, before shrugging and digging in his pocket. He pulled out the necklace from the bathroom and handed it over.

"This yours?" He watched as chocolate eyes widened and the necklace was practically snatched from his hand. The older raised a brow at the vibrant male.

"Um, yes. T-Thank you. I was wondering where it was," Ichigo said sheepishly as he hooked it around his neck and slipped the yin yang under his borrowed shirt.

"Whatever. Ya hungry? I could introduce ya to everyone," the blunete offered. The strawberry considered it for a moment before shrugging.

"Sure, why not?" he answered and followed the man downstairs with extra pressure on the rail due to his now throbbing ankle. When they got downstairs, Grimmjow led the way to the dining room. Upon entering the dining area, there were eighteen seats, but four were empty. The seats that were empty were the head of the table, the two seats on the sides, and lastly an extra seat next to the other empty one. When the two entered the room everyone turned to see who walked in with the Sexta. The expressions on people's faces ranged from curious, uncaring, ecstatic, to a dark look from Ulquiorra that no one noticed. Ichigo just ignored it as Grimmjow spoke.

"Say hello to the new Espada. This is Ichigo Kurosaki. He doesn't have a ranking number yet but he'll be joining us." With that said, the blue haired man patted him, with more force then necessary, on the back, for which Szayel glared at him from across the table for before he took his seat. Ichigo stood there awkwardly, not knowing where to sit when a hand grabbed his own. He looked up to see Nel there, a big grin on her features.

"C'mon Itsygo!" The hyper woman practically dragged him to the two seats, plus the one she abandoned, he saw earlier. She sat him between her and an empty seat. He heard the chair next to him move and saw a blonde woman sit down next to him, plate in hand. Not two minutes later the two of them got a pile of steamy pancakes. Ichigo's eyes closed in bliss at just the smell and when he opened them Nel was giving him a knowing smirk. The orangette blushed before looking down at his plate.

"You're not use to this type of treatment, are you?" asked the blonde woman. Ichigo's blush grew deeper and Nelliel giggled next to him.

"Nope, this is his first time being spoiled in years. Right, Itysgo?" She tugged on his arm, embarrassing him further. Thankfully for him, Hallibel politely asked Nel to release him. After a pout, he was let go and they ate along with the rest of the occupants. A murmur filled the room as conversation was quietly offered. Ichigo glanced at the two big breasted women next to him and cleared his throat lightly to get their attention instead of the whole room. Wheat and green eyes immediately turned to him and he awkwardly asked his question.

"Um, do you two know everyone around here?" he asked quietly to them in order to not draw attention to himself. Nel smiled brightly.

"First, this is Hallibel Tier, my girlfriend, and she used to be the Tres Espada. You already met Grimmjow, Szayel, Nnoitra, Ulquiorra, Starrk, Tesla, Gin, and Aizen-sama, but me and Hal will tell you about them." He looked to Hallibel to see a slight smile on her face. Enthusiastic poking on his shoulder made him turn to look at the green haired woman. She hugged his arm to get closer and leaned closer to talk.

"The little girl sitting next to Starrk, the brown-haired guy you met naked yesterday, is his daughter, Lilinette Gingerback." He followed her gaze that landed on a petite girl with light green hair. She sat at the table that came up to her chest. From his view he could only see she was wearing a camouflage tank-top with a short black leather jacket. She wore an eye patch over her left eye that was fashionably decorated in flames. Her eyes were a bright shade of pink and she wore a frown on her face as she glared down at Starrk's sleeping and snoring form. Ichigo raised a brow. Why did they look so different?

"Why does she look so different from her dad?" he asked and saw his friend shift in her seat. She cleared her throat a bit uncomfortable.

"She takes after her mother."

"Where is her mom?"

"That's not a story for us to tell you, Ichigo," Hallibel cut in. Ichigo saw her look a bit uncomfortable and angry, though she didn't shift around like Nel had.

"Okay," Ichigo replied hesitantly. Nel cut in, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"She's a very hot-tempered girl so try not to comment on her height or age. She may look like a child, but she's actually fifteen and training to get into the Espada." Nel looked around the table. "Who should be next, Hal?" There was a hum from the woman in question.

"I'll tell him about my apprentices." As if on cue, there were two women screaming at each other. Others ignored it, while Ichigo stared at the women who were yanking each other's hair. The dark-skinned woman was practically ripping raven locks out of the other's head, while the second one was clawing at her hands. There were insults being thrown back and forth, until a third girl tapped them on their shoulders. They both whipped around and snarled "What!?" to the green haired woman. She just held up a hand and pointed towards Ichigo, Nel, and Hallibel's direction. They turned around and saw Nel shaking her head, Ichigo looking at them in shock, and lastly, the one they froze at, Hallibel's stern gaze. The two women immediately took their hands off of each other and went to eat while the third giggled into her sleeve, making the two glare at her. Hallibel cleared her throat and motioned to the three women for Ichigo.

"These three are my apprentices. I can't be the Tres Espada anymore due to my injuries. Nel took my place after some training. I am responsible for training them for the Espada in case of situations like my own or a member's passing. The woman with the green hair is Sun Sung Cyan. She is the one who keeps the other two out of trouble. They tend to find it a lot. The one with brown curls is Mila Rose Franceska. She's a little more... controlled than Apache, but she still gets angered quickly. The last one with mismatched eyes is Apache Emilou. She is very easy to anger and loves to get under people's skin. She may come across as rude, but deep down in her violent heart is a soft spot for those she cares about."

The women mentioned were now eating calmly and peacefully. Sun Sung had long, olive-green hair that somehow managed to compliment her lavender eyes. She was wearing a long white dress with baggy, extended lace sleeves along with a black furred collar. She had delicate, pale skin. Apache sat next to her and was glaring at her plate. Her left eye was a burning amber while her right eye was an icy, pale blue. Around her left eye was red eyeliner. Her raven hair was cut at chin length. She wore a black, sleeveless tee with a long-sleeved fishnet shirt on top of it that went well with her slightly tan skin, and skinny jeans that were hugging her legs. Mila Rose sat next to the raven haired woman. She had brown skin and brown curls that flowed out like a lion's mane with green eyes. She wore a white crop top with jean shorts.

"Next is... Oh! Next is Aaroniero Arruruerie." Nel giggled as she pointed to a raven haired male sitting at the table. His hair was spiky and he had deep, bright green eyes. He wore a long sleeve shirt with a white cape attached and baggy warm up pants. He looked like a psycho.

"Don't worry, he's always like that," Hallibel commented quietly from the side as she finally started on her pancakes.

"Yeah, he is. He's the 'Dance freak' I told you about. All he does is dance when he's fighting. He's super weird, but he's very nice and polite when he wants to be. Just don't catch him on a bad day." Ichigo nodded at the information and let his eyes watch him for a bit before turning to Nel.

"Anyone else?"

"Um, Oh yeah. There's Yammy and he's really rude and awkward. He's the big, ugly guy down there," she whispered behind her hand as if he would hear and pointed down the table. Ichigo looked down the table to see the big, bald, muscled man with orange eyebrows and make up on his face. The strawberry raised a brow at the girls next to him and they both shrugged. He continued to examine him. He had black sideburns that leaded to a bushy, black beard and a long, black ponytail. Weirdo.

"He got kicked off the team for his violence. If I were you, I would avoid him. He only knows his place when Aizen-sama, Ichimaru, or Kaname are around." The Amazonian woman added from Ichigo's left side. The orange head nodded and then looked at the two empty seats at the end of the table.

"Tosen is Aizen-sama's closest friend along side of Gin. He's blind, but he knows his surroundings very well here." Nel then tapped her chin. "I don't think there's anyone else."

"No, there isn't. Now, Ichigo, please eat your food," Hallibel demanded; though it came out nicely Ichigo could here the underline warning in her tone. Nelliel must have told her about him not eating a lot. He quickly nodded and then turned to his breakfast. Everyone seated had a moment of silence, save for the clinking of forks and knives on glass plates. Ichigo noticed Hallibel stand from her seat next to him and move down to sit next to Nel. He opened his mouth to ask why when he noticed three men walking into the dining room. Aizen walked in wearing a white button up with the first few buttons undone, navy slacks, and a pair of black Moccasins on his feet. Gin was wearing a white tee, light blue sweats, and blue and black athletic Nike slippers. There was a third man, who Ichigo assumed was Kaname, who was wearing a tan button up, black slacks, and fresh, shining dress shoes. Kaname was dark skinned, had his hair in cornrows that hung down to his upper back, and wore shades that hid his eyes. Ichigo could think of a few reasons why the man would wear them indoors.

The three silently walked to the free seats at the end of the table. Gin sat himself next to Ichigo, in the seat Hallibel deserted not even a second ago, and the shaded male sat across from him. Sosuke sat at the head of the table. The room was strangely silent. A throat being cleared broke the silence.

"Good morning, my dear Espada," the brown eyed man greeted everyone.

"Good morning, Aizen-sama," everyone in the room, except Ichigo, Gin, and Tousen, greeted in sync like this was a daily occurrence. Ichigo decided not to be the awkward one and say it when no one else was. He didn't want to draw attention to himself.

"Heya, Ichi-chan." The fox man smiled widely next to him. Ichigo looked at him.

"Hey, Gin." The younger smiled slightly back. Gin leaned his elbows on the table, using his fist to prop his head up as he grinned at Ichigo.

"Did my tour make ya join?" he questioned. Ichigo cleared his throat and shifted a piece of pancake in the syrup on his plate.

"No. Get over your ego. Nel asked me to and told me it would be better for me." The strawberry scoffed and held in an amused laugh at the playful pout he received for the harsh comment. Breakfast passed peacefully with no problems.

~-::-~

Everyone exited the dining room to go about their business. Ichigo, however, was stuck with his current boss, Gin, and Tousen. Ichigo was walking between the two colleagues while Sosuke led them in the front. Before the leader could take the first step on the stairs a certain pink haired healer blocked the way. Aizen raised a brow, Gin tilted his head in curiosity, and Tousen stood there uninterested. Szayel cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry Aizen-sama, but I can not allow Kurosaki to put more strain on his body. No rooms on the second floor or in the basement. He worsened his condition this morning by 'playing' with Pantera," Szayel reprimanded.

"Something is wrong with his health?" The brown haired man asked, suppressing the urge to worry over the orangette by checking him physically for new wounds and skin Grimmjow's oversized house cat. Szayel sighed and handed his boss a roll of bandages.

"No, not yet, but I saw when he was walking into the dining room a while ago he was limping. I want him to rest his ankle and recover. In a few days I could take out the stitches. Oh, and Kurosaki, please relax yourself. Either that or I will." With that, Szayel walked away, most likely to go back to his research. Sosuke cleared his throat and turned to the three behind him. They all were watching him waiting for his decision on Ichigo's resting place.

"Well, Ichigo, I'll take you to a guest room. It's not by the training room with the new sauna, but it will be on this floor and much more comfortable. Follow me," he assured and started walking away from the stairs in general. The three behind followed him. "A few years ago, someone I was doing business with refused to have rooms away from the skylight. So, to please her, we built in a additional room to the pool, which was already made with a skylight. It's fully made of glass just like the pool area, just to warn you, but unlike the pool area you have an option to fog the glass so no one can see in." As he explained, they ended up in front of two wide, glass doors. Behind said doors, which they could obviously see out of, was a enormous pool with six lounge chairs along the side of said pool. The chairs had umbrellas attached to them, for those who didn't want the sun in their face, and glass side tables in-between each seat. The floor was tiled with tiny, white tiles with a light gray one here and there. From the floor to the ceiling were glass windows and the ceiling held glass in a dome shape. Some of the glass in the dome was stained glass in the color of gold. The golden glass made rays of color lay on the ground of the area. Ichigo stared in awe as they stepped in.

"Wow." Came a breathless comment from the orangette's mouth. Gin chuckled at the face Ichigo had while Sosuke smiled.

"You will be staying in the room right there until you have Szayel's permission to go up and down stairs. When you have permission we will show you to your new room and we will also find what your ranking is. It's tradition to get your rank tattoo'd on you but you don't have to." Aizen, after explaining, brought Ichigo over to his temporary room. Opening the wooden door, with glass in the center of it, the guest room was revealed.

The room itself was pretty big, not too small like his apartment, but not too big to the point he was annoyed. The room had a queen sized bed and two nightstands on each side. One nightstand held a stained glass lamp, one of the fancy lamps where each tap makes it brighter until it turns off, while the other held an alarm clock. The bed was a canopy bed made of golden silk with slightly transparent rolls of fabric hanging off its white wooden frame. The sheets were golden and the covers were white, while the pillows were ranging from white and gold, some with tassels and others bare along the edges. In the two corners of the room by the bed stood lamps. They stood straight and looped down like an upside down 'J'. The lamp itself looked like paper lanterns hanging down from a string. On the left side of the room lay a long dresser. It blended with the theme of the room being white and gold. The dresser was pure white wood, a long mirror on top of it, and the four drawers opened with indented grooves that were outlined with gold. The only thing in the room that wasn't white or gold was the black carpet. The orange head raised a brow and looked at Aizen.

"The woman I had business with requested the carpet not be white." He answered simply.

"What's wrong with white carpet?"

"She hated imperfection, so I'm guessing any stain would drive here insane."

"Ah."

"Now, this here," Aizen pointed to a switch on the wall, "Is the switch to fog the glass for privacy. Right now you can see in and out. Now," Sosuke flipped the switch making the glass turn smokey, "They can't see in. The ceiling doesn't fog so you can still see the sky."

"...This room is amazing," Ichigo breathed as he walked over to the bed and let his hand run over the soft covers. The orange head barely heard the quiet comment that slipped between his boss' lips.

"It suits you."

"...What?" He turned around but Aizen was already walking out the door. Deciding to ignore it, Ichigo looked around the room with a small smile that he would deny later. "Maybe... just maybe, this isn't so bad," he said to himself as he sat on the bed. For the first time, in God knows how long, Ichigo wasn't thinking about any troubles. Instead he was thinking about the future.

~-::-~

Two Espada entered Aizen's office and shut the door behind them. The brunette smiled at them and waved a hand to the seats in front of his desk. They seated themselves and waited for him to speak.

"Jeagerjaques, Jiruga thank you for coming. I have a job for you two and a favor for you as well." The two men leaned forward in their seats to receive the information.

I know nothing really happened this chapter but don't worry it will get better! I will try to get the chapters out as fast as possible, now that I have a beta things will go much much smoother. I am currently writing the third chapter for Rich Pet.

Grimmjow: *snorts before muffling his laughter.*

Me: ...? The hell are you laughing at Grimm..?

Grimmjow: I don't think Aizen would like you talkin' about a GrimmIchi on his AiIchi fic.

Me: ...That's is just to bad now isn't it?