AN: Thanks for all the reviews and general readings of the chapter. Tell me if you like this last part, please!

Ichigo had to get out of the house that night since it became way too stifling. The reason he was across the city in a cafe was because he wanted to speak to Tatsuki, Chizuru, and the guys without anybody else hanging around and asking questions.

"Guys? Do I want anything?" They were all busy around two small tables with their books scattered around but he knew he had their attention even though there was an exam the very next day. A few taps of his pencil and Ichigo shook his head and leaned back into the chair.

"I don't know check the menu." Tatsuki looked over the special's list written on the wall in chalk, perusing if she wanted something to munch on herself.

"I don't mean if I want something to eat..." The girls the next table over were giving him dirty looks so he lowered his voice and tried to keep it as concise as possible. Or maybe they were just trying to get Keigo away from their table; it could be either one. He explained that someone asked him that recently. He could share pretty much anything with them but something told Ichigo to keep Aizen's interest a secret. He didn't want to be a part of another of Aizen's manipulations but it was looking like that.

"It's never really mattered with you, Ichigo, you can do things." Tatsuki put down her notes and braced him arm against the table. Chizuru was up at the counter getting a drink so Tatsuki made her point quickly.

"You've never waited for someone's okay and you've always done as you wanted. Just do as you've always done." Mizuro kept an eye on who was around them just in case.

"Yeah, and what with the whole Rukia and Orihime thing you do whatever you want. Man Ichigo, I've never seen you sweat anything out in a while. I'm so jealous!" Keigo had his two cents as well but it didn't make him feel like the question was answered. He had to help his friends, it had nothing to do with wanting it. Tatsuki leaned back when Chizuru came back with drinks for all of them- their regular fixes. The others had a kind of coffee drink but he wasn't allowed those anymore by Unohana (or his dad) after he'd abused caffeine for a while.

"One of these days I'm going to know that little secret you guys always keep from me. Did you kill somebody?" She looked almost too eager. Tatsuki swatted her with the papers and denied it.

"No, but we're helping Ichigo here with whatever's bothering him. I've heard from a couple of other people that he's been down like this for a while." She went back to scribbling a few notes down.

"I am not depressed. Just tired I guess." Keigo nodded sagely- an odd look, but Mizuro didn't hit him. They were spiritually aware but not quite ready to take part in any battles and hopefully they wouldn't have to if he had any say in it but they knew how tiring it could be.

"Well I can imagine a very good reason for you to be tired. Bow chicka bow wow." She wouldn't. Oh god she would. He didn't have a- a sugar daddy or whatever she called it but one description of Aizen would be enough to get the others angry. Tatsuki had a poster of the man on her wall she occasionally used for target practice. She'd never forgiven him for Inoue not being quite the same after he little visit to Heuco Mundo.

He had a source- and damnit, when did he start having one of those?- that Aizen wasn't the only reason she was like that. Ulquiorra seemed to still hold something over her that not everybody was sure about. Nel had hinted, though, that both of them would be really, really happy if they didn't have to fight anymore. He wasn't about to tell anybody.

"What is she talking about Ichigo." Mizuro had that creepy smile on his face that he usually got when he tormented Keigo. He knew what their friend was implying even if the other two hadn't completely caught on yet. Ichigo felt his neck and cheeks start to turn red and denied before anyone said anything else.

"Chizuru shut up." Keigo gasped and started chocking on the muffin he'd been eating. Mizuru was laughing so much that his whole body was shaking and Chizuru was there, whispering the lewd answer to Tatsuki's bafflement.

"You've got a boyfriend?" Gee, Tatsuki, could you get any louder? The girls over the at able looked at them with disgust and finally left. They looked like high school girls out way past their bedtime anyway (not that any of them were ones to talk).

"No I don't have a boyfri-" His cellphone rang. It wasn't a call from any of his friends but it had the one ring tone he'd used whenever ti was shinigami business. "Fuck, hold on a second. Hello?"

"Evening, Kurosaki-kun. We've run into yet another problem from the shinigami. It seems that the Masked Army has found out about this. There is an emergency meeting as quick as possible." Aizen sounded irritated and Ichigo's stomach dropped. There was no way that Shinji and the others, hell none of his friends would take this peace very happily. Now that they've found out...everything had been set back a few weeks at best.

"Kurosaki-kun?" It changed to worry. It was amazing how just a few weeks of talking to someone can make even phone calls clear. And people say he didn't think enough. He missed the guys looking each other and Chizuru leaning closer to hear the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm a bit far away but... see you." He shut the phone off and started packing his books up; everyone at the table was looking at him and that blush came back. He realized what this looked like.

"Uhh...I've got to go."

"I bet you do. Go get him!" Chizuru was of course cheering him on. This little drama she'd concocted for herself brought her more amusement than it should. Tatsuki was still slack jawed.

"You mean she's right Ichigo?" Go ahead, Kurosaki, fumble your way through this one. Either you tell them you're on a romantic rendevous or that you're brokering peace between Satan himself and a Old Man.

"Look, it's really not what you think but I have to leave, now." He was halfway up when Mizuru interrupted again.

"Why can't we met him Ichigo? I promise we'll be nice." Good face, he almost believed that one. That little angel had ripped some men apart with words cause they thought he was too young for his taste in women. He was proud to say he'd never had mother issues like that.

"Oh he can't do that, Mizuru. Ichigo's with an older man." He couldn't listen to this anymore. Even if none of the secrets came out just by what she was saying to them he'd never live it down for years. She'd be very sorry next week when he didn't help her with the response paper but that wasn't the most taxing thing on his mind right now.

The vizards knew about this. How much did they know? What did they think? Was another war about to start again because they felt betrayed? A slow headache was forming between his eyes.

BEEEEEEEEP.

He'd only gotten a block or two away with light running when a taxi slid up along him. The driver was unfamiliar but Aizen in the pseudo casual clothes were in the back seat, motioning for him to get in- the driver was looking irate.

"What's this about then?" None the less he slid into the back seat unquestionably. His self preservation had to be taking a nose dive for this to happen.

"This is much faster. I would rather get to your apartment before they send the Vizard representative." Both men collapsed into the seats, still more than half the city away from his apartment. He'd need another cup.

"How the hell did they find out anyway. How fucking hard is it to keep this damn thing a secret?" Dimly he was aware of Aizen's arm stretching out over the seats and somewhere behind him. His head was pounding now and he wasn't ready for this argument that would probably take epic proportions.

"They're probably going to send Shinji or Urahara. Mostly likely Shinji." Ichigo sighed again and tilted his head back. The top of the car was disgusting, discolored with things he didn't want to imagine. Aizen was nervous too. He felt the jittery taps near the back of his neck even if the other man's face didn't give it away.

"You don't seem to happy with your fellows finding out about this. Shouldn't Kurosaki-kun be excited that this is happening?"

"Oh yeah. I'm really excited about telling the others that everything they've waited a century for won't happen. It's going to be even better when Urahara finds out that I knew about this the entire time and I haven't said anything or tried to sabotage it. They won't forgive me for this." Aizen turned to look at him, a faint look of surprise.

"You don't want me dead?"

"I don't want anybody dead. It doesn't fix anything but a lot of people really hate you." Cars honked outside with people desperate to finally get home. Ichigo's voice went hoarse, like a frog got stuck in his throat and all of how tired he was came back. "It's not like you wouldn't deserve it, you bastard." Aizen blinked and had a strange look on his face.

They were both yellow washed from the older street lights around the city and the darkness of the cabs, music humming in the blocked portion of the front and trying to drown out the traffic. The silence they had was a nice one but the air was stifling but any more noise would just be annoying.

Ichigo was okay with the quiet and the warmness of the car that made him sleepy and feel all sorts of heavy. And with the fact that he was laid there, docile and open for any and all attacks without a care, even his neck exposed past the collar of his jacket. He didn't mind that occasionally Aizen's fingers rapped against his shoulder or flicked longer strands of his hair or that the close weight between the two made more heat in the already oven exhausting car.

"Thank you." Just as quietly as can be and they just looked at each other; one too tired to move and the other too fascinated. His heart didn't race and nothing cliche like his 'loins stirring' happened, thank god, but something was there. At its slow and even beat his heart had a harder thud and thud and thud...

As expected, they sent Shinji and nothing was done that meeting except for a lot of yelling and explanations. Ichigo couldn't help but feel worse and worse when Shinji leveled a stare against him completely disappointed. Matters weren't helped when there was an awkward stand off in his kitchen. You don't explain to Shinji why you can't talk because you have to sort out a life crisis moment with the man that tried to take over several worlds. In the end they both left without having a conversation they wanted.

He still didn't like the fuckery of how they were going to announce that it was over. Hell, he didn't even go there even though he was supposed to. Instead he waited it out in his apartment for the entire morning a couple of packets of instant ramen out of a coolwhip bowl.

"Ready to go, Ichigo?" The plushie hopped into the backpack and they went out of the door, and on the train to Karakura. They couldn't exactly talk on the train but they didn't need to anyway. Both of them were a little sick about going to see everybody at the Shoten, modsouls included. He didn't even want to go anywhere near his family today or any of his friends but he had to see what his teachers thought about this.

Outside of the shoten was like every other day- Jinta wasn't working and Ururu was. A perfectly normal front for a normal shopkeeper. Kon poked his head out of the backpack and bounced into the store to find his friends- they didn't say anything to him.

"Hey." Ururu paused in her sweeping but neither of them said anything, acting like he hadn't practically lived her for a couple of months. They were kids and had every right to be mad. Ichigo gulped and walked into the shop, noting how quiet it was. Yourichi was laying across the shelf as a cat, beady eyes watching him and her tail swishing around. Urahara was just behind the counter looking at him from underneath that stupid hat of his.

If this were any other day Yoruichi would have already jumped on him and played pat away at his head while Urahara hitting him with something or other. Now they weren't moving at all, not even acknowledging that he was here with a pause. Dull taps could be heard from the other room so at least Kon's confrontation was going better than his.

"It's been a while since I've been around. Sorry about that." He frowned when they still didn't say anything.

"I guess Yamamoto said everything today. Since the world hasn't really ended everything went okay." He shuffled his feet and walked closer to the counter- Tessai wasn't even coming out.

"God damn say something!" He banged the counter and got right into Urahara's face. Nothing. No flinching, no laughs, not even a hit from that fan he's become accounted with when he did something wrong.

"I'm sorry, Customer-san, did you need help with something?" Urahara said it jovially, like he'd never met him before and wanted to make a good impression. That wide and fake grin was there too and if Ichigo weren't shaking so much he'd have made a fist and punched him in the face.

"Fuck you." Kon could handle himself and find his way home and he wasn't in danger anymore. No one was in fucking danger anymore because he helped stop it. Urahara can go back home now, and Tessai, and those fucking brats but that didn't mean shit anymore.

He knew what was coming but had to see for himself anyway. Those familiar streets, even with the damages from Mayuri's mistake and the destruction from battles across Karakura, were easy to run and it would take a quarter of an hour to run down to the factory the vizards called home.

Ichigo made the run in ten minutes.

The barrier they put up had always been disregarded by him but now it simply wasn't there anymore. He got that sick feeling in his stomach and bile in his throat when the storage door slid open and no one was inside. There wasn't a trace of them left and even the training room Urahara had put in disappeared.

"DAMNIT!" He kicked one of the crates left behind and it broke into a few pieces. Now that he was coming back down from that adrenaline high the sweat clung to him and his shirt but he didn't take off his jacket. Sometimes it was preferable to be uncomfortable.

He knew that his friends weren't going to be okay with what he did but never this bad. On his own he would never be able to find the vizards again. Can't read the weekly series with Love and Lisa, can't find with Hiyori and Kensei, can't get dragged into the market by Mashiro. Can't even talk to Shinji. You'd think after years of working together and helping each other it wouldn't be that easy to just shut him out. Ichigo finished off the broken crate with a few more kicks.

"I'm sure they'll call to you in a few days." He didn't hear anyone come up behind him, though Yoruichi stood there, still out of her shinigami uniform. She wasn't smiling to even pretending to be friendly but she was gracious enough to talk to him.

"For what?" Yoruichi didn't come any closer to him, eyes narrowing in a way that was supposed to be threatening.

"You went behind all of our backs and worked with Aizen. We can't touch him now or any of the other bastards that started this-" Ichigo cut her off. He'd had it with all the worries and people being angry at him. He'd worried about this exact problem for months- late night tossing in bed wondering who was going to be there when this finally happened. Apparently that meant Kon.

"You and Urahara and Tessai and all of the other fucking vizards can go home now! And you know who did that? Me. Aizen would have been more than happy to let you fucking rot. Yamamoto doesn't give a shit about any of you." There, something else truthful. She actually flinched a little bit and couldn't seem to believe it.

"You're lying. There are too many gaps in the Seireitei's power for him to think like that..." She didn't really believe because she didn't want to, a very suspicious voice reminded him. Ichigo didn't care about breaking their hearts now, not after this.

"They asked me to be a Captain. You have been replaced a couple of times over and no one gives a fuck about you anymore. The only people that still wanted a fight were you and everybody else at the Shoten. Give it up! It's over!" He'd blamed himself for a lot of things the past few years but this wouldn't be one of them. Ichigo was sick and tired of trying to find a way to make everybody happy because he wasn't.

The Shinigami were in the afterlife where they belonged. There wouldn't be anymore 'adventures' with Renji and Rukia for along time. Chad and the others deserved their chance at a normal life too. Everybody was getting back to their life except him. He had nothing really to go back to anymore.

He wanted to not worry about someone for awhile. To not have to tip toe around everything and pretend that he was always going to do the right thing. Someone that wouldn't-couldn't judge him for the crap he decides to do.

When a picture came to and he realized who he wanted it felt like that lead weight was dropping down into his stomach again and a thud, thud, thud.

Two weeks later Ichigo still hadn't heard from anybody else but the awesome celebrations could be felt everywhere. Rukia and the others were kind of delighted now that they could get back on track. His friends were even okay with it- some more than others. He hadn't had the nerve to ask them if the others still spoke with them but it was pretty certain. Ulquiorra didn't get a gigai out of no where.

He had something to do today, surprisingly. A plain card with an address on it and the simple greeting "House Warming Party" was all that was sent over the mail but Ichigo had a feeling who it was. The address lead him to a better off neighborhood a bit away from the university stomping grounds in a high rise filled with condos.

It only took Ichigo a second to find the door- it was open and soft music was playing- and even less time to realize he was very underdressed in rough jeans and a jacket and much younger than most of the people here who were in their middle life already. One woman had the nerve to ask him if he'd gotten the cleaning schedule messed up.

"You seem to have found my last guest, Himaki-san. Hello Kurosaki-kun, you seem to be your usual self today." Aizen was dressed in pressed white- again- and passed him a drink that he shouldn't probably have. He continued, "and I believe Nadonichi was looking for you before." The woman, Himaki, excused herself after running a hand across Aizen's shoulder. First sip of the drink.

"You don't have the right to make fun of my apartment anymore. At least it looks like something." Walking into the place had brought back some memories from Las Noches. The walls were stark white with the occasional black and white furniture and the random abstract painting added a color to the rooms. Even the kitchen seemed to follow that layout.

"It's a style. Much like when it comes to clothes." Ichigo blushed and looked away.

"Well it's not like that blank invitation had a dresscode or anything on it. What're you doing here and where's the other two in your trio of evil?" They made their way into the kitchen and by habit Ichigo found himself sitting on the counter and avoiding the other people in the party. They pretended not to see him and probably assumed he was 'help' that needed to be talked to.

"Don't you know, I'm a lawyer. Opening up a firm after spending a few years in Europe and trying to mingle." Ichigo choked on his own spit and cleared his throat.

"That's what you're telling them! And they believe it?" Kick yourself Ichigo, go ahead. The man conned people who knew him for hundreds of years, what did poor unsuspecting humans have to defend themselves against him?

"They believe that I am affluent and looking for something. I am, that isn't a lie." There was a personal space violation again when Aizen stood with him watching the other people at the party talk to one another without really saying a word.

"You didn't say where Tousen and Ichimaru were."

"They have decided to remain in the Seireitei. Since leaving Hueco Mundo was one of the conditions of our armistice, they decided to go back." He wasn't looking at Ichigo and even if he was there would have been a perfectly neutral face to look at.

"So you've been dumped too?" He couldn't help it and laughed, sliding down to the ground and blocked Aizen in against his counter. Tousen and Ichimaru had something to go back to. Aizen had spent his life making sure nothing was there hold him back but nothing was there to catch him either. Going back to the Seireitei might as well be a death sentence or at least a miserable life of paranoia.

"Careful now."

"I'm never careful. I've finally got an answer to your question too." Aizen was smirking at him and Ichigo couldn't help but reflect it right back. It meant a yes.

"Oh I'm not too sure about that. I mean I did most of the work here, sliding right into your life. Just like I warned you about; you seem to let whoever likes to worm their way right into you. There wasn't much of a fight I'll admit. I bet you didn't even notice when apathy ended and affection began." An arm wrapped around him but he wasn't quite ready to slide into the comfort.

"Go to hell. You've had this planned all along." He downed the rest of his drink and reached for another. Aizen had the nerve to lean over and kiss his brow.

"Come on, let's get to the party." Ugh, Ichigo you've done it again. You've let yourself get conned into a relationship without even realizing.

"You had this planned to? Want me to wash your dishes?"

"No, no. I plan on telling them you're about ten years older and that this is a phase you're going through for your work."

He was about to walk into a living room full of people that neither of them knew and they had to act like they enjoyed his company. After that there might be some fighting between him and Aizen on just how much he wanted this relationship, mental coercion or not. It may or may not get physical in the best sense possible. Best of all he was having fun with it and not worrying about whether or not it was going to blow up in his face.

Probably the only thing he regretted was that he had now, through these twisted sort of interactions and meetings, had proven Chizuru right. He could live with that; maybe.