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Chapter Four:

Ichigo sat down on his bed, finally having finished cleaning the house up after Aizen's rampage; he let out a sigh and offered the man a cup of steaming tea, he couldn't help but recall Inoue telling him all about Aizen's civility when it came to the beverage. He felt his heart warm at the slightly gently and thankful smile he received in return before he sat back against the headboard and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

The brunet sat at the end of the bed, crossing his legs as he rested his back against the wall as he waited for the drink to cool down somewhat before he dared taking a sip.

They sat in silence for several long minutes, Ichigo could tell that Aizen hadn't been joking when he said it would take a while for him to talk; he understood, he was a proud man who rarely if ever needed to rely on another person; having to talk to them about his feelings or his thoughts would be degrading and belittling for him until he got used to it and grew to be comfortable with it.

"How was... School?" Aizen asked suddenly, his voice was somewhat uncertain, as though he wasn't sure whether or not it was acceptable to ask such a question.

"It was good thanks, pretty mundane compared to fighting Hollows, and invading different worlds but you know how it is... Not every day can be an adventure right?" he answered gently, taking a mouthful of his drink.

"No, no I suppose that is true." He teased, "How do you cope with the mundane? After all the things you have seen and done, as a mere human, do you not find yourself longing for action?"

"Of course I do," the strawberry sighed, "Sometimes it drives me insane to think that I am sitting back with nothing more or less to do than homework for some teacher who has no idea what the real world is like. Everything I have seen, the battle's I have fought, the worlds I have travelled to and no one has any idea. They don't know what it is like and they never will..." he closed his eyes, "I wouldn't change it for the world though, this is what I was born to do. I have always wanted to protect people and now I have the strength and experience to do it. Mundane is just a small price to pay."

Aizen watched him with interest as he spoke so openly, not having expected the truth from his lip so easily, "Hm, I suppose that is true. It is hard for me to imagine because I am the exact opposite, the battles and the wars have been my whole life, and now I am thrust into a position of weakness and normality, normality which by its own nature is foreign to me in every way and aspect."

"That is understandable. You just need to learn to adapt, you are an intelligent man Aizen, I am sure you will manage it without trouble before long." He smiled courteously and drank some of his tea again, "Got into another fight outside the school..." he added as an afterthought as he recalled the bruises and cuts covering him.

"What? You were attacked?"

Ichigo stood up and removed his shirt, showing him the blossoming bruises of purple and blue that were covering his torso, "I gave as good as I got, though I take it as a personal insult when they decide to bring knives to the party."

"Knives? They meant to do you real harm then?" he questioned with a growing scowl.

"Of course they meant to do me real hard, they always do; they always bring some kind of weapon to the event in the end when they figure out that they can't beat me the conventional way." He shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed, inspecting himself cautiously.

"That is very unprofessional," the brunet muttered, "Even I have respect for my opponent, I will not strike them down unless they have a weapon to defend themselves with in their hand."

"I know, that was one of the things I respected about you," the strawberry admitted with a sheepish smile, "Not to mention your fighting style is... Awesome. I was analysing you when we fought and it was like nothing I had ever seen before, I learned a lot just from watching you fight, I think it helped me improve a bit too." He laughed.

Aizen chuckled, "Well then, in that case you are very welcome." he bowed his head, "However your own fighting style was unlike what I have seen before; I know you originally trained under Urahara Kisuke, and I have fought that man and yet you are different to him. Normally you would expect for a student to share the fighting style of his or her master, and yet you are different to him in almost every way. You seem to have a unique talent for plucking different styles from everyone you fight and gluing them together to create your own style. You should seriously consider taking a student or pupil of your own to pass your expertise onto."

Ichigo preened under the compliment of the man, his cheeks flushing very slightly, "Haha, I'm not sure that would be a good idea, I'm not the most patient of people after all. Besides I wouldn't even know where to start!"

"Don't put yourself down, you are incredibly skilled Ichigo, and you know it deep down." He said, reaching out and touching his bare back, "You should get these cuts and bruises seen to." He added softly.

He smiled at the brunet, feeling somewhat more at ease with him, "Nah don't worry about them, I'm a quick healer. Besides when I go into Shinigami form they will be gone."

Aizen retracted his hand after a moment, the memory of the youth's soft skin lingering against his fingertips and he swallowed a little thickly, "Thank you for the talk, I think you are right; it did help."

"No problem, any time." He smiled and stood up slowly, finishing his drink before he set the cup on the bedside table, "You want some food?"

"Certainly, let me help." The brunet responded and went to get up.

"No, stay there. We can eat up here. I won't be long." Ichigo offered a smile and pulled a jumper on over his head, well aware of the usual irony of the '15' scrawled across the back of the jumper as he left the room.

His shoulder was burning from where Aizen had touched him and his heart had stuttered without reason in response to the contact. He licked his lips and shrugged the feeling off, deciding that it was the reaction of getting to know the guy better than he had done before; he felt like they had a scary amount of stuff in common, they weren't as different as they had originally believed them to be. In fact it was almost terrifying to see how alike they were in personality and characteristics; he could see why they had clashed at first.

Throwing several items of food in a wok, he began making a quick stir fry, not completely concentrating on what he was doing as a scowl formed on his face as he replayed the scene upstairs several times. He sighed and shook his head, trying to clear the images and feelings from his mind as he looked down into the wok, adding several long strips of chicken into it to cook as he fetched a couple of bowls and chopsticks.

Before long he found himself ascending the stairs towards his room and his long standing house guest. When he nudged the door open he found Aizen still sat in the same position as when he had left; he was pleased at least that the man had calmed down and was no longer attempting to bulldoze his home.

"Here." He said as he set the tray of food on the bed and sat beside him, handing him one of the bowls, "Enjoy."

"Thank you for the meal." The brunet said formally before he tucked in, making a noise of appreciation, "This is delicious."

"It is just a stir fry." He shrugged.

"I have had many in my time, but this has a certain kick to it I have not tasted before." Aizen insisted, whether out of politeness or truth Ichigo wasn't sure.

"It was my Mum's recipe," he said stiffly, "One of her favourite dishes too."

"I... I see, well thank you for making it for me, it is wonderfully tasty." He said awkwardly, knowing from his years of observation that Masaki Kurosaki was a tentative subject of discussion for the entirety of the Kurosaki family.

Ichigo nodded silently as he ate his meal, sighing inwardly as he wondered what his mother would have made of all this; undoubtedly she would have been proud of him for doing the right thing and having taken Aizen on board like he had, but what would she have really said? He could barely remember her voice anymore and it was only the large photo his father kept in the house and the few photographs he had in his photo albums which reminded him of what she looked like. Well, that and his inherited hair colour.

The strawberry finished a few moments before Aizen did and set his bowl on the side, stretching out with his feet on the floor as he rested back, watching the brunet from the corner of his eye before closing them and sighing heavily.

"So, what types of music do you like Aizen?" he asked, keeping his eyes closed as he waited for a response.

"Hm, oh, I like classical mostly and I have a perpetual hatred for jazz." He said, his lips twitching downwards as he recalled the long hours of working alongside Hirako, being slowly tortured, and driven crazy by the man's constant love for the music.

He nodded, "Hm, I figured you for a classics lover, any others?"

"A little bit of operatic, some of the more recent rock music, some sound tracks." He shrugged, "What of you?"

"To be honest... I like the same as you." He laughed, opening his eyes for a moment, "I have a love of opera music, I have been to see a couple of operas during school holidays and things, no one else I know likes them though so it is a case of saving up from my part-time jobs and going to the theatre alone." He shrugged.

"Maybe we could go together some time?" Aizen asked suddenly, "Do you have any preferences as far as your operas go? My favourite has always been the Phantom of-"

"The Opera?!" Ichigo sat up abruptly to face him, "Seriously?! That is my favourite one as well, I have been to see if four times, I have bookings for another show next week, I wouldn't take much to add another ticket if you wanted to see it."

"Yes, it is my favourite of all time." He nodded before smiling, "Thank you yes, I would love the see it with you."

The strawberry grinned at the news and grabbed his phone, making a quick phone call to arrange another ticket to be purchased before he handed over his bank details and paid for it straight away. A smile fixed itself on his face the entire way through the call and when he hung up he looked around at him, his chestnut coloured eyes alive with enthusiasm and excitement at the prospect of sharing the experience with someone as passionate as himself.

-/-

It was a curious thing to sit back and observe the youth as anything but an enemy, for that was all he had been for the years Aizen had spent watching his growth and progress; yet now he was able to watch him as a young man, as a person and as an equal on both an intellectual; emotional and physical level.

More than anything it was interesting to see his mannerisms, to learn his routines and the way his mind worked. Ichigo seemed a creature of habit, eating at the same time every day; going to bed and getting up at the same time morning and night; doing homework at the same time every day; having some time to himself the same time every day. The only time his schedule seemed to be disrupted was when he received a call through his Combat Pass and went off to deal with a Hollow nearby. Even then that just seemed like another part of the strawberry's daily life.

It amazed him to see someone so young being so committed to duty and purpose, yet at the same time it suited Ichigo so perfectly, it was like he had been born to be a Shinigami.

He ceased his contemplation as he considered the truth about the boys' father; Isshin was a Shinigami after all, so it made sense that he was such a dedicated Shinigami as well.

Shaking his head inwardly, the brunet looked up as they arrived outside of the theatre; he glanced at the young man beside him who had been quite for the majority of their journey and he could see Ichigo was literally buzzing with excitement.

The week which had passed since his aggressive assault upon the family household had passed without incident and he had indeed sunk into a familiar pattern of life, even having gone to the extent of finding himself a job at a large company on the outskirts of the town; although he bristled at the thought of taking orders the money was good and it meant he could offer something in return for Ichigo's kindness.

The theatre was smaller than some he had visited, yet it was cosy and warm, they had excellent seats about five rows back from the actual stage. Taking to his seat, Aizen brushed his trousers down and crossed his legs, they had about half an hour before the opera was to begin and the people were slowly trickling in to fill the remaining empty seats.

His eyes narrowed as he saw a gathered group of attendants near one of the doors, which was conveniently beside the route to the bathroom, providing the perfect distraction as far as Ichigo was concerned.

"I won't be a moment, I need to use the facilities." He told the strawberry before he stood up and exited the row with haste, a quick glance back at the young man revealed that he was far to engrossed in the aesthetics of the theatre and the props to even really notice that he had gone.

A pandemonium of swift steps led him to the group of attendants he had spied previously; a few careful words, a collection of sultry smiles and a nice bundle of cash later and he watched as one of them scurried off to do his bidding before he disappeared into the bathroom. It was nice to know he still had 'it' in him.

Only a little while later, he returned to his seat to find Ichigo examining a copy of the programme which had 'mysteriously' been signed by all the members of the cast during his absence. He smiled slightly before he hid it and sat down, getting comfortable just as the lights began to dim.

"L-look at this!" Ichigo exclaimed quietly, "It is a signed copy... A signed copy! The attendant man just came and dropped it in my lap! I didn't even pay for it!"

"Oh how nice!" the brunet said, looking over the signatures with inner pride, "Did you already have a signed one?" he questioned, already knowing the answer.

"No... No I didn't I've wanted one for ages but..." he paused and looked at him suddenly, "Did you-"

Aizen glanced away for a moment as he considered whether to lie or be honest, "I... Requested it." He admitted as he looked back at him after a moment.

"Why would you do that?" Ichigo frowned, nevertheless clinging to the programme as though it was his whole world.

"Because I saw your collection of programmes in your room, you have one or two of them signed but yet not this one which is your favourite. Long story short, I thought it would be a nice thing to do." Aizen smiled weakly, "If I have offended you then I apologise, it wasn't my intention."

"No, you haven't offended me I..." he went slightly red in the face as he stumbled over his words, "Thank you. I... It means a lot."

"Then I am glad." He said simply before he sat back in his seat as the curtain rose and the opera began. He felt the young strawberry haired man tense beside him as the overture thrummed through the room; he could almost feel Ichigo's heart skip a beat in response.

He wasn't sure when it happened, he became so engrossed in the performance and the angelic sounds coming from the performers, but he realised after a while that they had moved closer together, Ichigo's hand was clenched in the material of the jacket Aizen was wearing, just above his wrist, so tightly that his knuckles were white.

A smile tickled his lips as he watched how Ichigo's lips mimicked the lines spoken by each actor and actress, the youth knew every word by heart and by song, he even managed to successfully mime the songs as they came and went, and Aizen found himself wondering what Ichigo's real singing voice was like, if he had one.

A chuckled very nearly escaped him but he silenced it in lieu of circumstance and returned his attention to the next part of the play, deciding most certainly that one way or another he would hear Ichigo singing one day.