Whoo, Bleach story!

Idea behind this short: Ichigo beat Ikkaku and then went looking to find Ganju again. What if he didn't find him as quickly as the manga suggests, but instead got to meet someone much more sinister? (And handsome. That's right, devious man, I'm talking about you. And the readers don't know who you are... yet.)

…I don't own this wonderful series, Kubo-sensei does. But I tried to make it as authentic-sounding as possible for this fic. Yeah. So… shall we begin?

Where the hell is he?

Kurosaki Ichigo had turned and ran left upon catching a hint of Shiba Ganju's spiritual pressure, but it had vanished just moments ago. Did that mean that the blustering man was in trouble?

No. Shiba was a Soul Society resident. He knew what he had been getting into more than Ichigo and his friends had known. He would be fine.

Thoughts of the others crossed his mind, and his scowl became more pronounced as worry came to the forefront of it.

Chad... Ishida... Inoue.

He could vaguely sense their spirit energies and a little of what they were feeling right now. Chad was serene; Ishida was nervous; and Inoue was panicking. Ichigo wanted to see them again (even Ishida), wanted to protect them all from the captains he knew were undoubtedly hunting for them. Unless he found Shiba, though, that possibility was looking less and less likely.

So. He would go back to searching for Shiba. It was his best bet, too, for learning his way around Seireitei - some knowledge was better than absolutely none.

That doesn't stop me from feeling really... lost.

But Ichigo would not let desperation come over him. He kept racing down the path, and then stopped briefly as waves of spiritual pressure rushed over him. A group's coming. He could just barely sense them, which meant that they were pretty far off. Still -

He started running again, to put distance between himself and them. Soon after, he made a costly mistake - he turned left into a set of barracks with no other exit, and forgot to look where he was going in the process.

FWAP.

A smaller body collided with Ichigo from the abs down - they both yelped and tumbled to the street. Ichigo was stuck there for a while coughing (the collision had robbed him of breath), enough time for the other person to let out a decidedly-feminine squeak, get to her feet, and back away from him.

Ichigo opened his eyes to a dark-haired girl with her hair in a bun staring at him with wide, frightened eyes.

A girl?

So far he'd only seen men. Really, the only females he knew from here were Kûkaku and Rukia...

Next thing he knew, the girl had drawn her zanpaku-tô and pointed it at him, with an expression that wavered between suspicion and fear.

"Wh-who are you?" Her voice shook.

Groaning, Ichigo got to his feet. His side stung, but he didn't move to defend himself. Not yet.

"Hey. I'm not going to hurt you - "

"Are you one of the ryoka?"

Ichigo sighed. So, then, she's a captain or a lieutenant. He really, really didn't want to fight her. He introduced himself quietly: "I'm Kurosaki Ichigo... and yeah, I guess I am."

Her round, childlike face hardened. "Then... as Lieutenant of Fifth Company, I am obliged to defeat you, here and now." She shouted loudly to the sky, "Snap, Tobiume!", and, moments later, leveled her now-released zanpaku-tô at his head again.

Ichigo protested. "Wait. We don't have to - I'm just here to rescue - "

"It doesn't matter!" She was shaking, but her voice was loud and strong now, as though to mask her fear of him. "Ryoka don't belong in Soul Society, much less in Seireitei. I'm sorry, but your journey stops here."

The girl looked so fragile. For all Ichigo knew, she could be ten times his age, but all he could focus on was her tight grip on her sword (too tight), the youthful appearance of her face, and her large dark eyes.

Please don't. Don't make me fight you.

"I'm Hinamori Momo," she said, but softly now. "And I'm sorry that I have to hurt someone with reiatsu that's as gentle as yours."

And with that said, she sprang.

There was nothing else for it. He pulled Zangetsu from his back - I need you! - and charged the lieutenant. But their swords never got the chance to meet.

"Oh, dear. I think that's quite enough."

Ichigo found that his sword's swing was halted in midair by... absolutely nothing. It was if the wind had suddenly become thick enough to stop his attack. For a moment he panicked, thinking of Hinamori's impending strike - but when his brown eyes leapt up to meet hers, he saw that she, too, was seemingly paralyzed, with her zanpaku-tô frozen in the air above her head.

What the - ?

Reiatsu was wrapped around him like a blanket, so snugly that he could only blink and breathe. To Ichigo the spiritual pressure was unfamiliar - however, when he looked again at Hinamori, the expression on her face was absolutely peaceful and relaxed.

Bad news for me.

Someone flash-stepped right into the middle of the almost-battle, chuckling. Ichigo would have flinched if he could have. The source of the constricting reiatsu was this man, the one who had straight brown hair and glasses that gleamed in the sun and a kind smile. He let out a sigh, and both the girl and the boy breathed again - the spiritual pressure had let them go at last.

Hinamori gasped, "Captain, this is - "

He held up a white-robed hand and she went quiet, blushing. All the while, his face was turned completely toward Ichigo.

"It looks like this is our lucky day, Hinamori-san. Fifth Company gets to show some hospitality... some which has previously been lacking."

"Sir?"

But the man's eyes, warm and chocolate-brown, were fixed on the orange-haired young man, and he didn't seem to interested in what his lieutenant had to say.

His voice was a cool murmur. "I am Aizen Sôsuke, ryoka boy. Put your zanpaku-tô down. We are all friends here."

Ichigo hesitated; his grip tightened on Zangetsu for a fraction of a second, and Aizen noticed, but all the captain did was raise an eyebrow. Spiritual pressure lanced through Ichigo then, and he decided to sheathe his overlarge sword before he was overwhelmed.

"Good," the older man purred. "I wouldn't want to have to hurt you."

Somehow, Ichigo thought, I know you could. He remained still, in a fighting stance. "You're not... going to stop me?"

"Why would I?" Aizen blinked, as if the idea were completely foreign to him. "Helping a friend is a noble endeavor. While I may have been charged with arresting you, personally I have no quarrel with you. To that end, I would invite you to rest a few moments in Fifth Company's barracks - you don't look as though you've gotten a moment's peace since your... unceremonious... arrival."

The girl called Hinamori Momo stared at her superior incredulously. "What? C-Captain Aizen - !"

"I know we're supposed to be capturing him," Aizen informed her, smiling again. He seemed to be enjoying himself. "But there is no fairness in taking a weakened enemy, is there?" And he refocused on Ichigo. "Come, ryoka boy. Kuchiki Rukia can wait."

Just like that, determination was back on Ichigo's face, and a frown with it. "No." His friend was being executed - how could he rest, not knowing if she was safe?

The smile on Aizen's face slipped, ever so slightly. As it did, his spiritual pressure spiked. "Please don't make me force you. There is nothing to be gained in fighting me - and should you choose to do so anyway, I would have you before the Captain-General in an instant, in chains."

That made Ichigo's mind up for him. Fighting another battle in his current condition, especially against this man, would kill him - and then where would the others be?

He looked to the lieutenant and captain and muttered: "Fine."

Hinamori went pale.

Aizen, however, smiled in a very triumphant fashion. "As I hoped."

Ichigo yawned loudly and stretched. When the action was much easier than expected, he frowned and rotated his arms around a few times. When that didn't hurt, he took Zangetsu from the side of the cot he'd slept on, and swung it in a few complicated motions.

Nothing.

That drink Aizen gave me... whatever was in it really worked wonders.

There could, however, be no thanking him. Though the hour Ichigo had slept and whatever Aizen had put in that tea was life-saving, the man had warned him against seeking either himself or Hinamori out upon awakening.

"Simply leaving will do best," he'd said. "Your thanks are understood, ryoka. Now, I suggest you stop wasting the time I've given you."

As he focused now on leaving the Fifth Company barracks, Ichigo couldn't help but look back with mixed feelings on the last hour.

I wish he'd stop calling me ryoka. Still... at least he isn't trying to stop me from saving Rukia. That's one less captain - and lieutenant - I have to fight.

He turned toward the streets of Seireitei, and then set off in a sprint toward where he had last left Ganju.

Heh, hopefully that moron hasn't gotten himself caught in one hour...

From the roof of Fifth Company's barracks, Aizen Sôsuke watched the orange-haired boy roam Seireitei, looking for his benefactor. - Well, the one who appeared to be his benefactor.

Momo's voice was in his head. "I don't think this is a good idea, Captain Aizen... but I trust you."

He laughed at that. What other choice did she have? What choice did any of them have? All was going splendidly according to plan, and this day had only just begun. He had even been given a gift...

Ah, yes.

He could not stop smiling. Even better, there was no need to let any of the other captains know about this little transgression. Keeping Momo quiet about the affair was hardly a hitch.

The orange hair had vanished entirely from view.

Aizen sighed almost wistfully.

"Farewell for now, Kurosaki Ichigo," he murmured. "It was a pleasure to meet you at last."

So, what do you all think Aizen did to Ichigo? The most entertaining review may inspire me to write out the scene you describe...