Notes: Digimon battle is on a mutant digimon kick. ;.; they did mutant Dorumon, now they're doing mutant Palmon, who turns into woodmon- cherrymon → puppetmon. Awesome but time consuming as you have to get it to lvl 65 for you to keep it. God I barely got my raijinmon to level 60.

Anyway, I have more fuel for this fic now so...

Ichigo couldn't sleep the rest of the night, he could hear, drifting snippets of thought and emotion from the others who had been attacked by the curse. Several of the Kuchiki elders had come by to make sure he was alright, (and the children as well no doubt) and their own thoughts ranging from pitying to well meaning concern was only making it hurt worse.

Then Byakuya had stopped all visitors, and curled up in bed with Ichigo, healed by Orihime's attentions. Orihime fixed all the wounds of those who had been injured as a result, though all injuries were minor. There were no miscarriages, however, Unohana had spent over 2 hours scanning him with varying instruments that fortunately, were adapted to be safe for the babies, with Kurotsuchi watching their every move.

He lay back in the hospital bed, as the dawn came, and looked up at the ceiling, unsure of how to stop the barrage of unwanted, alien thoughts and emotions assaulting his new senses.

And then there was the dream. Grimmjow Ichigo hadn't minded too much, because he was someone Ichigo was attracted to, though any kind of relationship with him was definitely a bad idea, and because he'd understood that Grimmjow's capacity to make choices was diminished.

But Aizen? Even though it had been a dream, to Ichigo it had been very very real. And the sense of violation he felt was... profound. Aizen, he'd discovered, had been behind a lot of the suffering he'd experienced in his life, behind everything including his extraordinary gains of strength. And Ichigo did have some suppressed fear of the man because of that.

But the dream had made that fear very, very real.

He'd been crying on and off most of the night, tuned into the emotional suffering of everyone else who had been hit, not just his own cares but everyone else's.

Byakuya was asleep next to him in the hospital bed. Ichigo curled up against him, and he started crying again.

"There's no way to reverse it." Kurotsuchi sighed. "He's a telepath for life. It can be controlled with training, but that boy is a little short on mental capacity." Kurotsuchi growled.

"No way to reverse it at all?"

"no, and its not entirely the fault of this once incident. He inherited the basic genes for Psionics from his mother, they remained dormant but this was building for awhile before it actually happened. This was just the trigger." Kurotsuchi replied. "Probably within a few months. By the time he gave birth he would have had it emerge."

"So our curse breaking method is not a health hazard."

"no, but it is a trigger event, combined with the snakes. Our enemy had a list of targets ahead of time, each of these snakes is custom made, indeed, the one intended for Ichigo even has a mask on it. The higher the reiatsu of the target, the longer the snake. See the one intended for Yamamoto was just as long as Ichigo's, with a small plume of flame on the tail." Kurotsuchi had isolated each snake. "And the one intended for Hitsugaya is smaller, with a crystalline rattle on the tail reminiscent of ice."

"So a certain amount of the attack was planned." Unohana shivered, the one that had been used on her had a tiny shimmer of reiatsu on its tail. The idea that she'd been stalked, or that Aizen had somehow given her attacker the information necessary to make that nightmare, "Thats not good."

"unohana taichou, you should get some sleep yourself. I have to tell you I've gone down the all night working road and no matter what drug I use I've found that there's no substitute for the standard eight hours a night." Kurotsuchi told her. "I promise not to do anything to your patients while you sleep. You need to rest."

"i'm almost afraid to go back to sleep but thank you." Unohana headed for the nearest empty office, since hers had been destroyed.

She curled up on the couch, attempting to get some sleep.

A few hours later...

Ichigo had given up on sleep and gone to the shower off the part of the hospital he'd been moved to. And he'd been in their for about half an hour, trying to drown out the sound of the thoughts in his mind with the water, and maybe wash off some of the /sense/ of violation he got from the dream. His subconscious mind was having trouble throwing off the dream, he knew it wasn't real, but he /felt/ as if Aizen had actually been there attacking him.

He'd felt Byakuya coming, and Unohana had been there briefly but very tired. They'd been talking, but Ichigo couldn't hear everything, just disjointed thoughts, enough to know they were talking about him.

Byakuya entered the bathroom. "Ichigo..." He said quietly. "I'm coming in..." He stripped down, entering the shower. Ichigo turned, throwing his arms around Byakuya's neck, clinging to him, snuggling his face into the other's chest. "Unohana just gave me the results of the scans, the... the telepathy... its permanent."

"Are they sure?" Ichigo began to shake, the thought of living like this? With the /constant/ intrusion. It scared him, and it /hurt/ even more.

"There's a genetic component, inherited from your mother appearantly, and there's a chance the children will have it as well, the attack triggered the genetics so yeah, you're stuck." Byakuya said quietly, returning the embrace, hands sliding down to Ichigo's hips. He closed his eyes, resting his head against Ichigo's forehead, their lips just a few inches apart. "You've been in here awhile, the dream, where Aizen was..."

"It was pretty graphic yeah." Ichigo shivered. "It will fade eventually but I'm... I'm scared Byakuya! And the telepathy, its /painful/." His /mother/ had this? Masaki had been a telepath? That would explain a lot of things he'd experienced from his mother, how she always seemed to know certain things about him.

"There is good news, you can learn to control it, it will take practice, but you can block it all out, or project to other people. Show me Ichigo... let me feel your pain, and in return, feel my heart, take strength from me."

Ichigo hesitated, trying to figure out how to do it. Then telepathy connected with his reiatsu, and with Byakuya's, and he was able to link their minds through their Reiatsu. And he gasped, wriggling deeper into Byakuya's grip.

There was nothing else but him and Byakuya and the water from the shower. His heart began to hammer, but not in an unpleasant way, instead he was aware of just how /deep/ Byakuya's feelings for him were. His body was suffused with warmth, but there was a sad edge to it as well, as he remembered what it had been like when Hisana was ill, and something in Ichigo hurt that he was reminding his koi of past agonies.

Byakuya stumbled for only a moment, he could feel on a controlled level what Ichigo was feeling, the sense of intrusion, and then Ichigo's actual emotions hit him like a tidal wave. The sense of violation from the dream, was a dull ache on the surface of his mind that was slowly fading, but would take a few days. The confusion, as he started to realize that his mother and father /both/ would have to have known about ghosts, spirits, hollows and shinigami. Then the pain, the horrible, /pain/ and intrusion from the telepathy. "ichigooooo..." Byakuya crooned. "oh my Ichigo."

"Hold onto me, don't let me go... I feel like I'm going to go crazy!" Ichigo pleaded.

"Ichigo..." Byakuya closed his eyes, "I want you to focus just on me, just on my mind." And he projected all his warmth, all his love, all the passion that he felt for Ichigo into his mind.

Ichigo moaned, "B... Byakuya, ease off just a tad okay?" The contact diminished just a bit, but he felt an equally warm, loving response. The arms around Byakuya's shoulders tightened, he felt Ichigo starting to go hard against his thigh. Ichigo was panting, and it wasn't all to do with the shower.

Synchronized by the link between their minds, Ichigo leaned back against the wall of the shower, and Byakuya leaned in to kiss him, slow, steamy, passionate. Their tongues twined, and Ichigo moaned again into Byakuya's mouth. "I'll go gentle..." Byakuya husked.

"no, be normal." Ichigo groaned. "I don't think I can contain myself, I want you... /badly./ Your mind, in mine, it turned me on faster than the fever did." Byakuya chuckled, kissing his way down Ichigo's neck, down his chest. His fingers twisted Ichigo's nipples, causing the substitute to moan and arch his head back.

And then Byakuya pressed his head to Ichigo's abdomen, feeling the life growing there, and the blush that came over Ichigo's features was so... cute... Byakuya kissed his stomach, before taking his cock in his mouth and sucking it into his mouth, burying his nose in the orange curls of his pubic hair. Ichigo rocked back against the shower walls, digging his fingers into Byakuya's hair, trying to balance himself as the noble worked an absolutely sinful tongue over his cock.

Byakuya felt around with one hand until he found the soap, using it to slicken his fingers before pressing his first two into Ichigo's entrance. "Put the dream out of your mind, just focus on me..."

Ichigo relaxed into the touch. "B... Byakuya... oh my god I..." Then Byakuya started stroking his prostate, and words were lost to Ichigo's mouth.

When Byakuya felt Ichigo's lust, sheer unadulterated hormonal and telepathically driven lust roaring down their link, pulling his hand back. "This is gonna be a little difficult, I'll support your body." Ichigo blushed again.

Pressing his back against the wall, Byakuya looped Ichigo's arms tighter around his neck before lifting him off the ground, lifting his legs to either side of his hips, and carefully, gingerly, pressing the other down onto his cock.

Ichigo moaned, wrapping his legs around Byakuya's hips. This wasn't a position he'd tried before, and he pressed his head against Byakuya's chest, holding on tightly as the noble began to thrust into him. He started to thrust back. "Hold still if you can, I'll lose my balance." Byakuya panted, struggling to talk and keep his balance. "Ooooooooh, Ichigo..." Then Byakuya heard it in his mind. No matter how many times we do this, my body always responds like its the first time. He's like a flame, and i'm the moth drawn to it. Its incredible, my body is just... alive...

I want him to feel that way every time, his body is so naturally tight, every time, and there's... something in there... a warmth, a fire, a passion that brought light to my life. Ichigo Kurosaki, don't /ever/ leave me. Ichigo heard Byakuya's voice in his head. There was a surge, as their minds filled with the same warmth and love and it was this that brought Ichigo over the edge, screaming Byakuya's name in pleasure.

He felt Byakuya spill into him, filling Ichigo with his seed.

Ichigo probably shouldn't have screamed, because at that moment the shower turned cold and he heard footsteps running down the hall. It was Hitsugaya, Shinji and Ginrei, on their way to make sure Ichigo was alright. When the bathroom door slammed open the two of them stumbled, falling out of the shower in a heap on the ground.

Ichigo realized he had an audience, and blushed, then he realized he'd landed on Byakuya. As their bodies broke apart, and Ichigo scrambled to turn off the shower and find his towel, it took him a few minutes to register what they were saying.

"Toushiro you might want to step out."

"Are you two alright?" Ginrei covered his eyes politely.

"Q... q... quite..." Ichigo stammered. "Byakuya, are you alright?"

"yes, I specifically turned us so that you would fall on me."

"..." Ginrei stepped out, listening to the conversation through the closed door.

"I have to protect my mate, you're carrying life love... you have to be more careful." Byakuya purred, bending down to press his head to Ichigo's stomach. "You've got a lot of growing to do in a short time. You're used to being the one doing the protecting, but now its time for you to let me be the protector."

"I'm not entirely ready to be the submissive wife Byakuya." Ichigo chuckled.

"I'm not asking you to, I'm asking you to trust me."

"I do..."

"Yes but you want to be in on everything, and you can't be now, you have to slow down and take it easy."

As they dried off, and dressed, Byakuya was stroking Ichigo's stomach, lavishing attention on him in a way he knew Ichigo liked to be touched.

When they exited, fully clothed the expressions on their faces, the affection they showed, brought a smile to Ginrei's face. "aaah me, young love, Ichigo I came to see if you were alright, and to apologize for the other clan elders hassling you earlier."

"Thank you, I'm... rather... I'm tired and I've..." Ichigo sighed, the pain coming back full force. "I'm not sure if I can explain to you what I'm feeling right now, Ginrei-jiisan, the telepathy is /painful/. My body, my skin are overly sensitive, my head is pounding. I'd probably be in much worse shape if Byakuya weren't so attentive. But my body is... extremely reactive... and... and what scares me is that Byakuya says its permanent, that I... inherited it from my mother... I can't get rid of it."

"Telepathy is a rare ability among shinigami, thats why the other Elders were so curious, its usually in the oldest shinigami bloodlines, and sometimes commoners but its rare no matter what family or background you look at." Ginrei replied. "and it is genetic, so there's a chance at least one of the children you're carrying, or sired, will have it." He wrinkled his nose a bit at the thought of Ichigo's "tryst" with Grimmjow, but when it came to children, a noble was expected to care for their halfbloods, and Ichigo would have to be able to do that for Grimmjow.

"Ginrei... my father is he..."

"He wanted to come, I told him to get some sleep and get the girls to school, however, after this we are preparing a place for you in the Kuchiki compound. We also need to work on arrangements for your wedding." He pointed out.

Ichigo blushed, just a huge blush from his hair to his neckline.

"it doesn't have to be now, but the tradition is that if one's children are concieved out of wedlock, that they should be born into it."

"Yeah, just, the... image that comes to mind is the western one, and I... I saw Lurichiyo's and I... I don't really want a crowd for that. I mean... is it possible to do a small ceremony? I just want my friends there, thats all. It would be embarassing, actually, getting up in front of a huge crowd like that."

"its not the tradition to do a small ceremony but I will try." Ginrei found it amusing that Ichigo, who was so confident on the battlefield, would only want a small wedding ceremony. "I'll leave you for now. Your father is... occupied... for a few days."

"Yeah I figured." Ichigo chuckled, remembering his father making out with Ryuken, and the look on Uryu's face. He sighed, pulling Byakuya into the hospital bed with him and snuggling against him tightly. "Byakuya, I'm gonna try to sleep again..."

"Alright, rest well."

Ginrei next made his way to the hospital room where Yamamoto was asleep. "My friend, you sure know how to jump out of a frying pan."

The old Commander opened one eye. "I do try to be cautious, what happened?"

"An arrancar snuck into the soul society, used these snake like curses, they attach to a target and hypnotize them into attacking their surroundings. Wasn't your fault." Ginrei shut the door behind him and knelt by his bedside. "you will have the Kuchiki's support in this, an arrancar /sneaks/ into the Seireitei? He could have gotten into /anywhere!/ The Omnikitsudo is looking into what he did."

"Who was affected?"

"You, Unohana, Kira-fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-taichou, and Ichigo Kurosaki. However, while the psychological wounds are healable, only Ichigo has taken permanent damage. The snake, coupled with an overuse of the curse breaking technique, triggered a latent telepathic ability, and he's having difficulty coping."

"Twelfth division manufactures a special telepathic shielding material, you place it around a room and it keeps outside telepathy in, however, the downside is you cannot send from within areas protected by it. I know someone who can teach Kurosaki how to protect himself."

"Well you'd better do it quickly, poor boy, he's clinging to Byakuya like he seems to be clinging to sanity at the moment. It was devastating to him I think."

"When it becomes active, some shinigami can't deal with telepathy, and the result is very powerful depression. But training and antidepressants should help."

"Most of which he can't take because of the babies." Ginrei pointed out, hesitantly reaching out and resting his head on the old man's shoulder. "You've done your duty two thousand years over Yama, your descendants thrive, are you sure you still want to remain hidden?" he asked quietly.

"My choice." Yamamoto said quietly, looping an arm around Ginrei's shoulders. "Are you sure you don't want Byakuya to know where he gets his preference from?"

"My choice. We're both too old to be doing that kind of thing anyway. Though some company in your old age might be a good idea. I'm going to see if I can find you a pet at least. A dog maybe?"

Yamamoto let out a soft chuckle, and the wear and tear of two thousand years of life and the recent damage were reflected in his eyes. "You always knew how to make me laugh. Ah well, two old men with skeletons in their closets."

"I'm just glad my Byakuya will be able to live the life I couldn't." Ginrei chuckled. "You know before he found Hitsugaya, and his exile, Shinji was quite interested."

"The heart knows what it wants. Shinji just didn't know what his heart was telling him." Yamamoto sighed. "I'm just too old to leave the closet Ginrei, you on the other hand have station to maintain. I've lived in it all my life, and while I've occasionally peeked through a crack in its door, I've never gone outside."

"heh, lucky boy." Ginrei stood. "i'll ask Mayuri about that shielding for Ichigo. Ooooooh, its moments like these that make me think about coming out of retirement."

"you'd have to retake the captain's examination." Chuckled Yamamoto.

"no thank you..." Ginrei left with slightly more spring in his step.

"SHUHEI..." Izuru begged, the headboard slammed against the hospital room wall. "Shuheiiiii I want it please just hurry up!"

Shuhei ground his cock between Izuru's asscheeks, dragging it up and down slowly. "not yet..." He purred into the back of Izuru's neck. "I want to do this right..."

Izuru shuddered. "oh my god... Shu I'm gonna cum... NOW SHUHEI!" Izuru begged, clutching the pillows, about ready to cry in frustration. Shuhei was kissing his way delicately down Izuru's back. Izuru felt something hot and wet at his entry as Shuhei pressed his tongue inside. He screamed in pleasure, gripping the bed in a white knuckle grip and again the headboard hit the wall. "Shuhei I'm not /kidding!/" Shuhei was tonging Izuru's entry, thrusting the hot muscle in and out. Then a finger wound its way inside with the tongue, thrusting into the second entry.

Poor Izuru couldn't take it anymore, he came, hard, almost explosively, screaming Shuhei's name at the top of his lungs. Shuhei moaned, turning his koi over so that he could face him and looking right into Izuru's eyes, started to lick up his cum where it had been smeared on his stomach. "I'm going to give you the absolute /best/ sex of your life." Shuhei purred, sucking Izuru's cock in and out, in and out. "And I haven't even gotten inside you yet."

"oh my... /god./" Izuru moaned, "Just DO IT Shuhei!"

"A master, never rushes a masterpiece." Shuhei reached up to kiss Izuru, and Izuru by now was so turned on he almost fainted when he tasted his essence on Shuhei's tongue before going back down between his legs and lavishing every crevasse. Izuru threw his head back, thrashing back and forth. "Look at me Izuru, watch me make love to you."

Izuru's head snapped back down, watching riveted as Shuhei bobbed up and down on his cock before licking his way down the underside and sucking Izuru's balls into his mouth.

"SHUHEI JUST FUCK ME!"

"Beg."

"..."

"Beg Izuru."

"I've been DOING THAT FUCK IT!"

"Such a dirty mouth, beg /sexily/!"

"I HAVE BEEN IDIOT!"

Shuhei nipped the foreskin delicately, "i mean, /quietly./"

"Shuhei... please..." Izuru moaned. "I'm ready to go, put a baby inside of me... knock me up..."

"thats better. But if you keep screaming like that, you might want to have a pillow to bite." Shuhei flipped Izuru over, pressing his head into his entrance, moving /inch/ by agonizing /inch./ And just when Izuru couldn't take the wait, he turned and darted into the second entry, pressing his cock directly into Izuru's womb.

Izuru bit the pillow, muffling his screams, he came a second time, and a few thrusts later a third. It was taking all of Shuhei's strength to keep from cumming immediately. Izuru was /writhing/ around him. The rise in body heat, the pressure created by his repeated orgasms, it was /maddening./

Izuru /groaned/. The lust was not going to recede until Shuhei came /inside/ him! "I want your cum Shuhei! Fill meeeeeee!"

Shuhei groaned, growling softly and giving Izuru a little lovebite on the shoulder before he came, his release rocketing into his koi. "Izuru... ooooh my Izuru."

Outside Momo was all but salivating at the sounds she heard. The thought of the /things/ they were doing to make that baby had her face blushing and her nether regions hot.

So join them. Tobiume suggested irreverently.

Momo's face turned purple. "nnn... n... can't!" She whispered.

So find yourself someone to join. You need to get laid.

But enough of the officers are pregnant!

I never suggested it was with a man. There's plenty of eligible females... why don't you ask Rangiku?

WHATTTT?

oh come on, she's hooooott...equal ranked, she's perfect, much more so than her kitty sword.

Y... you really think I... blush.

I know you Master. Go on, try Rangiku, you won't go back to a mere /man./

"Alright alright, I'll talk to her." Momo turned, flash step carrying her away from the hospital. She found Rangiku sprawled out on a couch in her office, "Rangiku...?"

Rangiku snored, pretending to sleep.

Momo leaned in and kissed Rangiku delicately on the lips. "I want to talk to you."

Rangiku jerked awake, "Momo... what the heck did you kiss me for?"

"I... I wanted to..." she blushed. "I... I was just wondering what it was like to kiss a woman and... er... Rangiku? Would you go out with me?"

Rangiku giggled, pulling Momo down into her arms. "of course." Momo found herself face first in Rangiku's chest, and hands squeezing her own breasts making her blush and squeak in surprise before snuggling deeper into the touch. "hey rangiku?"

"Yeah?"

"I was listening to Shuhei and Izuru while they were..." * huge blush * "fevered..."

"oh dear lord, did Izuru scream?"

"Oh yeah, you could hear him all the way down the hall."

"Oh my /god/ Momo you have a perverted side!"

That was when Hitsugaya opened the door, and found Momo face down in Rangiku's chest and Rangiku's hands squeezing Momo's breasts. He turned red, then purple. "MATSUMOTOOOOOO! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS! WHY ARE YOU CORRUPTING MY SISTER?"

Momo sat bolt upright, mortified. "T... T... Toushiro!"

"Hitsugaya taichou to you. Matsumoto what are you doing TOUCHING my sister!"

"B... but... Toushirroooooo! I TOUCHED HER FIRST!" Momo turned from red from hairline to neckline to purple. "errrr... that just... sounded WRONG!"

"WHAT, are you doing?" Hitsugaya demanded.

"I CAME to ask her out! TOUSHIRO YOURE SO MEAN!" Momo shrilled. "I can't have a sex life? Is that it? Just because you're my brother, AND a captain doesn't mean you can control who's BREASTS I decide to shove my face in! You have NO right to try and control my sex life, especially when I came by your office the other day to find you /fucking/ your vizard boytoy!"

Hitsugaya's lips curled in an angry snarl. But Momo strode over to Rangiku, climbed back on the couch with her, and shoved her face defiantly back between Rangiku's breasts. "Now where were we?"

"Shiro, settle down." Shinji had been helping with the paperwork. "Your sister can date who she wants to. Momo, however, you shouldn't do it when Rangiku is supposed to be working. You want to cavort, do it in private and after work hours." He growled. "Which reminds me Shiro, koibito, remember Unohana relieved you of duty for fourty eight hours. You wanted to do that thing, we can do it without Izuru."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Someplace more comfortable Toushirou, do not do it in your office."

"my quarters." Hitsugaya agreed. His expression was grave and... frightened? Momo couldn't figure it out, just watched as his expression darkened and he took Shinji's hand, leaning against him for strength.

Hitsugaya turned on some of the lights in his quarters. "A long time ago Momo, Gin... hurt me very badly. In ways that I'm not even sure you can understand." He said quietly. "I need to show you, and Rangiku I am /trusting/ you not to brute this about or react... embarrassingly."

"I can tell this is important to you taichou, so no, I will not."

Hitsugaya turned his back so that when he did so it wouldn't show anything more private, carefully removing his haori and kimono, before slipping the edge of his hakama to about knee level. When Momo looked carefully, there were scars all over Hitsugaya's rear end, from his lower back to his thighs. "T... t... Toushiro... Gin did this?" Momo had tears in her eyes. "I... I don't understand..."

"Momo, your brother was in a relationship with Gin, who abused him. Enough that he had a very /twisted/ idea of what sex should feel like." Shinji purred, "Toushirou get dressed, your sister is very likely going to want to hug you."

Momo sat there, stunned, tears on the edge of your eyes. "He... he beat you? Oh Shirou." Momo started to cry. "Why didn't you tell me?" As soon as Hitsugaya had his pants back on, Momo ran over and threw her arms around him. "You could have told your sister... I may be lower ranked than you but we're still family! You must feel so scared, being pregnant after what Gin did!"

"Taichou... I'm so sorry, all the times I pressured you about sex and getting laid... I..."

"There's no need to apologize Matsumoto." Toushirou said quietly. "Because I knew you didn't understand what you were doing. Momo, Gin hurt someone else you know, but that someone was unable to be here. He agreed to tell you, but he'll do it separately okay?" Hitsugaya told her.

Momo nodded, hiccuping slightly, clinging to Hitsugaya's side, "T... Toushiro I... I'm sorry." She giggled nervously. "Heh, now I really /do/ have an excuse to hate Gin! Got nothing to do with Aizen's hypnosis this time!" Hitsugaya carefully pulled Momo away from him.

"I'll be fine... I'm starting to heal from what he did I just need time Momo... but I..." Pause. "Shinji wanted me to start confronting what had happened."

"of /course!/ When something like this happens, you /have/ to do that in order to move on!" Momo was still sniffling slightly, and she walked over to Rangiku and hugged her.

"We'll leave you alone now Taichou..." Rangiku said quietly. "I... I'm sorry... was there... anything I could have done to protect you?"

"No Rangiku, none, if you had tried to confront Gin about it, he likely would have hurt you in some way too."

"B..." she sighed as she prepared to leave. "You think you know someone... though I'm sure Hisagi and Komamura-taichou felt the same way about Tousen." They left, she had Momo on one arm, clinging to her for some comfort.

"yeah..." Hitsugaya said quietly as they left. "This whole thing with Aizen is one big exercise in 'You never know someone.'"