New chapter at last! Sorry for the delay! Life has been an evil so and so XD Thanks for the reviews, the support and the love! Enjoy!

Chapter Seven:

Ichigo sighed heavily to himself as he lifted his bag over his shoulder and left the classroom, the solid A grade on his latest paper was already burning a hole in the satchel, as well as the disbelieving glares from some of the 'smarter' assholes in his class. What was he meant to do? Feign stupidity when he actually knew the answer? Sure enough his grades had shot through the roof because of his private tutor A.K.A: Aizen Sousuke, but that wasn't to say that he had lacked intelligence for the entirety of his life. He was simply... Improved.

Nevertheless, he hardly believed that warranted the vicious death glares he was receiving in the back of his head. Simply rolling his eyes, he chose to ignore them and continued walking down the corridor, hefting his bag a little higher and smiling as he was joined by Inoue and Ishida from one classroom and Chad from another; as they walked their foursome was then joined by Keigo and Tatsuki, and later Mizuro as they all headed outside to enjoy a well earned recreational period and lunch.

It was only a few days after Ishida had stomped into his house and demanded to know what, how and when concerning Aizen's presence in the World of the Living, and he still hadn't found the right moment to explain to the others about the whole... Aizen situation. What made it more frustrating was that he could feel Ishida staring at him every time they had a moment of peace, where apparently the Quincy believed such conversation could be implanted. It just so happened that his idea of the correct timing for that kind of chat and Ichigo's idea of the correct timing were... Very different.

Running a hand through his hair as he opened his lunch box, he paused as he found a post-it note on the inside, he recognised the handwriting instantly and quickly snatched it away before wandering eyes (Inoue) spotted it. He turned slightly and read the message, having to fight insufferably hard not to flush in response.

I made you a special recipe of sushi passed down through my family, on my mother's side, enjoy your lunch Ichigo. S.

Swallowing a little thickly he smiling in spite of himself, pocketing the note and plucking one of the cyclinders of sushi from the plastic box, he sniffed it curiously before taking a bite and inwardly moaning at the explosion of flavour which erupted in his mouth. He licked his lips and eagerly took another bite, nodding to himself at how good it tasted. When he had finished that one, he hesitated to take another, sighing slightly to himself before he cleared his throat, drawing the attention of his friends.

"So, I guess I have some news," he said tersely, "Aizen Sousuke is living at my house."

There was a pregnant silence, followed by an eruption of laughter from Keigo who slapped his knee and shook his head, "Good one Ichigo! You had me going for a moment there!"

The strawberry rolled his eyes and looked at him, "I'm serious."

The laughter fell dead instantly and the brown haired teen blinked, "What?"

"Central 46, the governing law in Soul Society," he added for the benefit of those of his friends who had not visiting the separate world, "Asked of me to be a jailer to Aizen, his Shinigami powers have been stripped from him and placed into a single sword which is in my possession, and during his period of rehabilitation he is living with me, as a human, in the human world and he is doing kind of well as it happens." he spewed at a rapid, nerve invoked pace.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Inoue shudder at the thought of the man who had taken her prisoner being so close to her again; he saw Ishida finally sit back with a slightly smug expression on his face; Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuro all shared looks with one and other before staring at Ichigo as though he were somehow mortally insane; and Chad merely continued eating as though he had never spoken to begin with.

"Kurosaki-kun..." Inoue said quietly after a moment, her face slightly paler than it had been before, "Why did you agree?"

That wasn't the question he had suspected for sure, "Because I've seen goodness in him." he answered truthfully, "I know he has done wicked and cruel things, and people died as a result of his crimes... But when we fought our final battle for Karakura I saw a side to him I don't think he knew he possessed himself. I have... Always been able to sense the purpose behind someone fighting, when I fought Byakuya his motivation was pride and purpose; Renji's was strength and a need to prove himself... Aizen's purpose was to find someone like him. Someone who could prove without a doubt that he wasn't alone.

"His sword was so incredibly lonely and it mimicked his own heart, from the moment he was born he was alone in his power and his greatness... And he is great. He is powerful, influential and insanely strong and he was alone and I believe that is what twisted him. He wanted to either discover someone who could challenge him, or he wanted to quash anyone who could challenge him. But I honestly believe he was searching for someone as powerful as him and when I defeated him his willpower shattered because he had finally found his answer... And I saw that lonely little boy in the reflection of his eyes. If he had someone there for him, if someone stood by him and never betrayed him... He would have been different. Hell he might have been like me." he sighed and forced himself to cease ranting on the man's behalf, he had his own reasons for being so passionate about it, ones that he was not willing to share. Not yet anyway, and certainly not to the girl who Ishida claimed had a 'crush' on him.

He still hadn't seen the proof of that 'crush' by the way.

"I knew it would be something like that," the young woman answered with a breath, "And it is because Kurosaki-kun is doing this for a kind hearted purpose that... I will support him. If you need anything, just let me know. Okay?" she smiled at him, there was a faint waver of anxiety in that smile but there was strength as well.

"That you, Inoue." he said, reaching over and squeezing her shoulder comfortingly; he had turned his gaze to the others and never saw her face light up like a tomato in response to his touch, "What do you say? Tatsuki? Keigo? Mizuro? You only met the guy the once but he did try to squash you all with his massive... Reiatsu."

"I think you are an idiot to let yourself be fooled by him," Tatsuki shrugged, swallowing a mouthful of rice, "But you are always an idiot so I trust you."

"I'm not sure it is the greatest idea you have ever had..." Keigo trailed off, "But... Well it can't be worse than Halloween seven years back when you decided to-"

"Yes! Thank you I get the idea!" the strawberry cut him off hastily and covered his eyes with his hand theatrically.

Mizuro simply smiled and gave him a nod, and Ichigo knew he had his support, it was clear that he was just as unhappy with the predicament as the others but he was more tactful and more trusting, and sometimes more prone to telling him when he was doing something wrongly, but considering his silence Ichigo took that as a sign that things were... Roughly speaking, alright.

Chad's massive hand suddenly appeared and he patted the strawberry on the back; retracting his hand when he had his attention only to give him the thumbs up and return to his lunch. Ichigo stifled a chuckle, even after so long, Chad could still be so weird.

Relaxing into his home made lunch once again, he revelled in the taste of the sushi his house guest had made for him; making a mental note to thank him heartily for such a thoughtful gesture. He paused suddenly and considered just how thoughtful it had been, Aizen was a distinguished man who rarely did anything for anyone and was used to having things done for him. For a long time he had been a king among the Hollows, having servants, slaves, puppets to do whatever he desired. And yet he seemed so willing to do things for Ichigo, cooking for him, making him a treat for his lunch, helping him with homework, helping around the house, he had even gone out and got a job to help provide money for the food he was eating!

A small smile touched his lips suddenly as he realised Aizen was already on the road of rehabilitation. But moments later that smile faded as he realised that brought them closer to a time when Aizen would be allowed to leave his care and restart his life as he saw fit. For some reason, that thought brought a frown and a pout to his expression, and it made his heart sink into his boots with distaste. He didn't want it to happen. He didn't want Aizen to leave.

"Achoo!" Aizen dabbed his nose with a tissue and shook his head slightly, "Someone must be talking about me." he muttered.

"More than likely." his host answered humorously, making him bristle, "So tell me, Aizen-san, what brings you to my humble abode this fine afternoon?"

The brunet rolled his eyes inwardly and let out a long calming breath, "I am here about an... Affair of the heart."

"Whose heart? Your heart? You mean you have one?!"

"Your glibness does you no favours, Urahara Kisuke," he sighed heavily, "Yes, my heart."

The blond chuckled and sat forward slowly on the cushion he had taken refuge upon, sipping his tea with delight at the prospect of having Aizen Sousuke owe him something in return for his help, "So what do you want from me?"

"I want... A... Well..." he sighed and looked away as a childish blush threatened to slid across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks, "I want an aphrodisiac."

Urahara stared at him for several long moments before he snorted and started laughing, "You need an aphrodisiac?! You?!"

"Do not make something out of this Urahara! It is merely to... Provide some aid to the process..." he muttered venomously.

"HA! Aid indeed! You have never needed aid in your life! I bet you had the picking of your Espada!" the former Captain teased relentlessly.

"That would be somewhat disgusting... I considered myself a father figure to them, the idea that I had any form of sexual involvement with them is highly disturbing Urahara." he growled, glowering over the top of his own tea cup at the man, slowly wishing he had not ventured on this mission at all, he should have known he couldn't trust this man to be objective about anything, and why would he be? He was a lazy, good for nothing, time wasting, loud snoring, complaint making, interfering-

"Very well... I believe I have just the thing you are looking for."

Aizen's gaze snapped up, "What?"

"I said I have what you want." Urahara said blankly, standing slowly and disappearing for several moments before he returned with a small phial of dark red crystals.

"What are they?" the brunet asked instantly, sitting forward curiously.

"Put these in a hot drink, give them to your... Friend and let them drink it." he explained, "You must promise me one thing in return."

"What?" he sighed.

"Promise me that these are not for Ichigo."

Aizen balked for a moment and stared at him, "I promise."