Bleach 1. On the Battlefield

**Sakura Tsuiraku**

**(Originally posted on Shadow-Eyes-01)**

**Chapter 1: On the Battlefield**

Aizen Sousuke stood at the edge of the battlefield, studying the path of destruction. The scattered remains of hollows and shinigami littered the ground ahead of him, and he walked the edges, looking for signs of what had allowed the hopelessly outnumbered shinigamis to escape. For despite the large number of dead arranged haphazardly on the ground around him, he knew there had been many more…but also far more than enough hollows to level them all. It had to have been one of the stronger taichous…

He leaned over and checked the uniform of one of the fallen shinigamis and was rewarded with the news that the division involved in the conflict was none other than Squad Six.

Aizen sighed.

It wasn't likely then that _he_ would be among the fallen. It would have taken much more than this to take down one such as him. Still, it didn't hurt to be thorough. Ever since that day…the day he left the Sereitei…he had been left to wonder about Kuchiki Byakuya.

The Squad Six taichou had done the unexpected…showing more emotion than Aizen Sosuke had ever seen in him. It left him to wonder if he had been wrong to overlook the noble when choosing whom to acquire before the move to Las Noches.

_Kill her…Gin!_

_There was a harsh, hissing sound as the zanpakutou was released and he felt it close in, heading for Kuchiki Rukia. He felt a sharp rise in reiatsu and the sudden intense pressure of a brutally fast flash step. But it didn't make sense. _

_Why would he…?_

_But when he turned and looked, Rukia was in someone's arms and that someone was impaled through the heart on Gin's blade. _

_A taichou…_

_Kuchiki Taichou?_

_But…why?_

_Wasn't the man completely heartless? Hadn't he callously stood by and allowed his own sister to be charged with questionable crimes and not done anything to assist her, despite the fact that her sentence was far too harsh considering the nature of her crime and the fact that she was not a seated officer? Wouldn't any reasonable man defend his own sister…protect her from such obvious unfairness? _

_But Kuchiki Taichou wasn't just anyone._

_He was one of the nobles, the favored of the spirit king…and part of the reason that Aizen Sosuke was betraying the Gotei 13 and striking out on his own. He would bring down the spirit king and take down the noble houses. The great would fall and everyone would have a better life…not just the favored ones. It was that kind of favoritism, that kind of preferential treatment that had denied him the respect he deserved for being a shinigami of such power._

_He pushed the memories away with an effort and stepped toward the fallen taichou, beginning to draw his zanpakutou. It was a fluke…some kind of mistake. Kuchiki Taichou had stood by and watched as Rukia was nearly killed by the Sokyoku…and had fought with Kurosaki Ichigo to win the right to execute his sister himself! Certainly, it was true that he had lost, but a heartless man would simply have removed himself from the entire situation. He wouldn't throw himself into the path of a zanpakutou…throw away his life for someone he had threatened to kill…_

"Impossible…"

It hadn't made sense at all. And after leaving for Las Noches, it had continued to return to his mind, time and again…nagging at him. Could it be that he had been wrong? Could there be a member of the noble class who could actually have a heart? Could it be that Kuchiki Byakuya had found his heart that day? Or had it existed all along? Had he merely been hiding it from everyone? If so, then everything Aizen Sosuke knew was wrong…

"Aizen Sousuke…"

The voice was familiar, but it was thick with pain…strained with the struggle against death. It was, in fact, the man who had been plaguing his mind. And he rested beneath a scattering of bodies, nearly hidden from view. But why hadn't he attacked? Why had he spoken? He moved cautiously toward the voice, prepared for the attack that would most certainly come.

"Aizen Sousuke…" the voice said again, "why have you not attacked? You have been staring at me for some time. Did you simply not believe your eyes?"

He stepped past the fallen bodies, careful not to slip on the blood that pooled on the rock underneath his feet. He closed in on the sound as it disappeared into a pained, barely coherent moan. His senses extended, fully expecting that the Squad Six taichou was merely drawing him in…that he was going to attack as soon as he drew near. Strangely, there was no rise in reiatsu. In fact, the taichou's reiatsu was startlingly drained…something that suggested he had sustained life-threatening injuries.

Kuchiki Byakuya was badly injured…dying…

And Aizen Sousuke could only stand there and stare.

He looked down at the pale skin, bathed in crimson splashes…the shredded shihakushou, the torn and bloodied haori fluttering in the breeze. The beautiful face was drawn and tired, the dark, gray eyes shadowed and filled with pain. Raven black strands of hair lay plastered against his skin and there was a fevered look to his features. Aizen Sosuke stepped forward and dropped to his knees next to the Squad Six taichou, his senses extended and ready for anything. He was extremely surprised when Byakuya merely looked into his eyes and asked a question he was completely unprepared to hear.

"Are you going to stare at me all afternoon…or are you going to kill me?" he asked softly.

He leaned forward and brushed the hair away from Byakuya's face. As he did, the remains of the noble's kenseiken crumbled and fell away.

"Now, why would I do that?" he asked the Squad Six taichou, gazing intently into the depths of his startlingly beautiful eyes, "You have made no move against me, Kuchiki Byakuya. Why should I kill you?"

"We are enemies, are we not?"

"We are," replied Aizen, nodding, "but that does not mean that I must kill you on sight, Kuchiki Byakuya. You are a person of some importance. Wouldn't you expect that I might instead consider your usefulness instead of killing you out of hand? You could be a valuable hostage…a source of information…at very least, a source of some entertainment. To kill you without first determining your usefulness would be quite short-sighted of me, don't you think?"

"How foolish of me to forget…how wrong I was to mistake you for an honorable man."

"You are a fine one to speak to me of honor, Kuchiki Byakuya. What man of honor would assist in seeing his sister convicted of serious crimes…given an unfairly harsh sentence? Is that what honor is to you?

"I sought to support our laws. When I knew how they had been manipulated…I no longer supported them."

"As was proven by your ill advised attempt to sacrifice yourself to save Rukia…" Aizen acknowledged.

The dark eyes were fading, losing awareness. Aizen sensed that if he was going to affect Kuchiki Byakuya's fate, the critical moment had arrived. The noble's words faded into incoherence and his head fell back. Aizen knelt next to him and extended his hands, calling his healing power to life. He first made certain that the noble would remain asleep, deepening that sleep so that he would not wake until the next day, if he woke at all. Then, he moved his hands slowly over the length of the noble's body and halted the outflow of blood and reiatsu that threatened to end the noble's life right there where he rested. He then moved on to the most life threatening injuries, carefully healing each. He sensed other injuries, particularly to the noble's back and legs that would leave him unable to walk…or even stand, for some time.

Useful wounds…not that I could heal damage like this even if I wanted to…No, these will have to heal on their own. But I will make use of the time…

He scanned the noble's body one final time to make certain that he was stabilized, then carefully lifted him and flash stepped back across the sands of Hueco Mundo…back to his fortress at Las Noches. He carried his unconscious charge up the stairs to a room at the end of a long hall.

Inside the room, he removed Byakuya's ruined shihakushou and haori, then gently washed away the blood and grime from his pale skin. He gazed down at the deep bruises and, as an afterthought, healed them as well. When his body was as clean as Aizen could manage, he slipped a robe around the deceptively slender and fragile looking form, amazed that something so powerful could look so delicate…so vulnerable…

He tied the robe at the noble's waist and eased him into the bed. He then set a kido field in place over Byakuya, not really expecting that he could escape, considering the injuries to legs and back, but because he was an extremely cautious man. He had to be if he expected to remain alive.

He remained late into the night, sitting at the noble's bedside, quietly monitoring his condition, occasionally giving small infusions of reiatsu to bolster him. Byakuya's chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm, growing stronger as the night wore on. As morning neared, Aizen breathed a sigh of relief and retired to his room. The noble would live. All that Aizen Sosuke had to do now was to figure out how to use him.

He immediately discarded the idea of using him as a hostage. At this point, there was little the Gotei 13 had to offer that Aizen Sousuke wanted…or that they would be willing to trade for the return of the Squad Six taichou. No…there would be no bargaining for his return.

There was also little in the way of information that he required that he couldn't discover using other, more reliable resources. Besides, he wasn't one who enjoyed the prospect of torture as a means of gathering information. He wasn't above using it, but there were places and times for such things and this did not appear to him to be one of them.

He considered the idea of using the noble for sexual pleasures, but the injuries to his back and legs meant it would be some time before he would be useful in that manner. Perhaps once he was healed…but what to do with him in the mean time?

He didn't actually need to have a plan. Sometimes, he thought, it was better to proceed without one. It left the way open to many possible choices. As long as Byakuya's spirit energy was sealed away and he couldn't walk…he was no threat. And he had always piqued Aizen Sosuke's curiosity. He wondered what lay beneath the calm exterior. Could he really be the ice-cold bastard everyone believed him to be? Or was there something hidden beneath all of that coldness…something Kuchiki Byakuya hid from the world?

So perhaps there was information he wanted from Byakuya…personal information.

It was not something that the Squad Six taichou would yield to him easily. But they had plenty of time. Yes, there was time to engage him in a slow peeling away of layers…a gradual reveal. And his chosen tool? Finesse…

It was so much cleaner than torture, yet it would leave its mark just the same.

But now was not the time for games. He needed to rest before the Squad Six taichou woke, before he realized the precarious nature of his situation. There would be time for games later.

Before he left, however, he scanned the noble's body one more time. He found nothing life threatening, but there was an oddity. When he focused on the noble's spirit centers, the points in the body through which reiatsu was channeled, the centers did not respond to the touch of his reiatsu. Even with his spirit energy sealed away, the spirit centers should have responded to stimulation. That they did not suggested they had been significantly damaged. The thought intrigued Aizen.

He had in his possession a powerless Kuchiki Byakuya…

A Kuchiki Byakuya who could not walk, or even stand…

One who would require a long period of healing and rehabilitation…

That would leave Aizen Sousuke with plenty of time to explore the depths of the Squad Six taichou…to take him slowly apart and study what was hidden inside. There were sure to be secrets. He would search them out, find them, know them all. And once he unraveled the mysteries of Kuchiki Byakuya, he could then decide how best to use him.

Aizen lay in bed, struggling to fall asleep. He rarely had such trouble drifting off, but his mind kept returning to the Squad Six taichou who slept in the well-guarded room at the end of the next hallway over. He chided himself for his childishness at allowing himself to be distracted by the taichou's mere presence. Certainly Byakuya was intriguing, but why did he seem to have such a hold on his mind?

At first, it seemed to be the thousands of questions he found himself wanting to pursue. But that faded as he considered other things…the delicate, yet powerful body, the soft-looking, pale skin…dark, sensuous eyes, a pretty mouth and fine features. He wondered if the hair and skin were as soft as they looked, if the eyes were as depthless…and always, if the heart that beat within was as cold as he had been led to believe. So many questions…

They brought him to his feet and carried him down the next hallway, and into the taichou's room. He sat down next to the bed, watching Byakuya sleep and wondering…

He reached out a hand and touched the silken hair, brushing the long strands carefully away from his face. He gazed at the pale skin until his hand crept forward and stroked the noble's face gently. It truly was soft…and seemed to radiate with a soft glow. He smelled the scent of sakura and breathed it in deeply, closing his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, deep gray eyes looked back at him, studying him closely. He was surprised at the intelligence in those eyes, at the way they met his without any hint of fury, distaste or fear. There was only a sense of dark curiosity, a certainty that he would, at some point encounter unpleasantness of some sort at the hands of his captor. He stared into Aizen Sosuke's calm brown eyes and attempted to see his fate.

The traitor's eyes revealed nothing. They looked deeply into the eyes of the Squad Six taichou and left him uncertain. Kuchiki Byakuya did not enjoy facing the unknown. He would much rather know his path, even if it was to be a painful or disastrous one. Dwelling in uncertainty had never been his way. But Kuchiki Byakuya knew well that he was not in control anymore. His body lay frozen beneath the kido field, and his spirit energy was sealed away. And he could feel the dull ache in his back and legs that slowly increased as his senses returned. Whatever Aizen Sousuke planned for him, it would not end quickly.

He found himself wondering why…why he had spoken…why he had drawn the man's attention instead of calmly and quietly allowing himself to expire on the battlefield.

_Why?_


	2. Setting Boundaries

**Chapter 2: Setting Boundaries**

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_**I awakened among enemies and I felt no fear. Because being with my enemies offered me a known fate, one I could make peace with. Although it was a pathway lined with pain, I followed it without reservation. I did so because there were rules. And although I was a person of some importance, I made certain that I was of no use to them. It seemed a way to assure myself a swifter death…an honorable death. I could have accepted that. I could even have accepted living somewhat longer and being made to suffer. But to have my enemy look into my eyes with no hatred, to have him care for me as if I was his own, to be held close by him and treasured…that was a far more painful fate than any I could have imagined.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Are you comfortable, Kuchiki Byakuya?"

The question surprised him…not so much the words, but the sincerity beneath them. He would have expected the question to be delivered with smooth sarcasm, to be punctuated with a stinging reminder that he was no longer among his allies.

Not that he needed a reminder…

No, he was well aware of his exact position. Although his mind was still his own, everything else lay at the feet of his enemy. Aizen Sousuke controlled the circumstances of body and fate. Byakuya had no choice but to wait for his fate to be revealed. And his enemy seemed content to let him wait. It made sense. The longer he waited in doubt, the more fear would creep into his heart. And the more fear he took on, the more the pressure on heart, mind and body. In the end, his enemy expected that everything would crumble and he would succumb to madness. And when his heart lay wasted and empty and his mind was gone, his body would slowly follow. It was the most wicked of fates, a cruelty he would expect from one such as Aizen Sousuke. But Aizen Sosuke had never before encountered the full force of Kuchiki Byakuya's stubbornness. He answered the traitor's question with stoic silence. Aizen nodded, acknowledging his lack of response.

"I see the mistrust in your eyes, Byakuya, and it is certainly deserved, but let me assure you that my question was sincere. I do not wish for you to be uncomfortable."

More silence…and unblinking eyes.

Aizen sighed softly.

"You sustained significant injury in the battle. It will require a lengthy period of healing and rehabilitation. I hope that you will prove to be more interesting than this. I don't find the prospect of months of silence interesting at all, Kuchiki Byakuya. Can you offer me no response?"

A fluttering of eyelids…a flash of uncertainty…

Aizen was inexplicably encouraged.

"You are, as of this moment, a prisoner of the war. You will be kept alive and your injuries will be healed. As long as you do not attack me or try to escape from this fortress, you will not be harmed. But I must offer you this warning. I do not enjoy defiance or disobedience. I do not tolerate it in those I command and I will not tolerate it in you. When I give you an order, I expect to be obeyed."

A slow blink…a look of challenge…

"I expect that as you heal you will become encouraged to test my resolve on these things. I would warn against that. Such a thing would be met with appropriate punishment. You need to make peace with your situation, Kuchiki Byakuya. In your current condition, your situation is unlikely to change any time soon. Rest…eat…heal. These are my only commands for now. All else can wait until you are well again."

The door opened and a young hollow entered, carrying a tray of food. He set it on the nightstand, bowed to Aizen and left the room silently.

"I will remove the kido field on the upper half of your body so that you may eat. The lower half of your body is heavily damaged and must remain immobilized."

He extended his hands over the noble and watched as the release of the kido field freed his captive's upper body. Byakuya slowly stretched his cramped muscles, careful to avoid straining his aching back. Aizen pulled him into a raised position and carefully arranged the pillows behind his back. He watched as the noble took several slow breaths, wincing as his body registered having been moved.

"Do you require something for the pain?" Aizen asked.

Byakuya shook his head silently and watched as Aizen set the tray of food in front of him. His stomach clenched painfully. The draining of blood and reiatsu left him in need of replacement energy…but he didn't want to cooperate too easily.

"Is the food not to your liking?" Aizen asked, "If you have preferences, I would be willing to relay them to my cooking staff."

He answered by slipping a hand under the tray with the intent of toppling it, but the move was met with a pair of restraining hands that took hold of the tray and returned it to the nightstand. Immediately, the kido field recaptured most of his upper body, leaving only his head mobile. Aizen frowned in annoyance. He leaned over Byakuya, taking hold of his upper arms and bringing his face close to the captive noble's. Angry brown eyes locked on defiant gray.

"I know that you heard me when I told you that I do not enjoy defiance," Aizen said in a cold voice, "I have attempted to see to your comfort, so that your wounds can heal properly, but I will not allow you to be defiant."

He released Byakuya's arms, but the noble could still feel the grip of the traitor's hands on his arms.

"As you have decided to be stubborn, I will have to keep you restrained and someone will come in to feed you. We will try this again later."

Aizen turned and left the room. A moment later, the door opened and Ichimaru Gin stepped into the room. He smiled charmingly upon seeing the noble.

"Kuchiki Taichou, this is a surprise. Sousuke said he had captured a rare prize, but I had no idea."

He studied the taichou appraisingly.

"Looks like you ran into trouble, ne?"

Byakuya glared at him and refused to answer.

"I see you're as talkative as always, Kuchiki Taichou. Well, I'm not here to talk anyway. Sosuke asked me to come in and see that you eat properly. Got to heal you before we decide what you are worth to us, you know."

He sat down next to the bed and offered the restrained shinigami a bite of food, which was accepted only to be rather forcefully spit back in the former taichou's grinning face. Gin was less than amused. His grin faded.

"Aizen Sousuke is not fond of defiance," he said in a low, cold voice, "and I like it even less."

He leaned over Byakuya and whispered in his ear.

"And really, Byakuya, you have more to fear from me than you do from him anyway. He may content himself with toying with you as long as you behave…but if you disobey him, that's when he turns you over to me."

He released a puff of hot breath on Byakuya's ear and throat. The noble turned his head away sharply.

"I don't have the same boundaries he does," he went on, brushing his lips against Byakuya's earlobe and throat, "If you fuck with me, it will be you who ends up fucked…you understand?"

He let his hand slide slowly down the immobilized taichou's body and lingered on his thigh. Unable to move, Byakuya met his eyes with a deadly, hateful glare.

"Apparently, you don't," Gin hissed softly.

The hand slipped beneath his clothes. He told himself to ignore it, but something inside him broke and suddenly, he simply reacted without thought.

"Stop!" he gasped, "Stop!"

Gin smiled widely. His hand stopped moving, but remained rested dangerously close to areas no man had ever dared to touch.

The door opened unexpectedly and Aizen Sousuke stepped back into the room. Byakuya did not miss the surprised look on Gin's face at the other's entrance. There was something significant in that…but for the moment, he resolved to just be thankful that Gin's invasive touches had stopped. He sighed in relief as the hand was removed from beneath his clothes and Gin stood, looking back at Aizen questioningly.

"Gin," Aizen said quietly, "leave us."

Gin stole a glance back at the noble and gave him a sly, knowing smile as he left the room. Byakuya noticed that Aizen was accompanied by another man. He motioned to the other and the old, gray-haired man moved forward and leaned over Byakuya, releasing the kido field. The noble took him to be a healer and held still as he was examined.

"You are correct, Aizen-sama, there is heavy damage to his back and legs, as well as to the spirit centers. You must keep him restrained to prevent…"

He was interrupted as the noble turned and surged to his feet. The healer stepped back in surprise. Byakuya shoved him into Aizen and forced his screaming limbs into motion, half-stepping and half-falling over him as he reached for Aizen's katana. Aizen twisted suddenly, pulling the noble off balance, then he drove his elbow down into the small of the noble's injured back. Byakuya could not hold back a scream of pain as the blow connected. The pain was so intense that it froze him in place, facedown on the floor, chest heaving and spots dancing before his eyes. He heard a deep groan of pain that he was sure couldn't have come from him.

"That was foolish," Aizen said in an unusually shaken voice, "There was no way you could hurt me with my own blade, and no way you were going to escape, so why did you do that? And why now?"

"Ichimaru…Gin…reminded me…that I have no future here…just…pain and death. I would do…my best…to end things…more quickly," Byakuya panted.

Aizen's eyes widened with understanding. He stared into the noble's wide, pained eyes, wondering at his courage, his recklessness.

"Is being cared for by me truly such a trouble to you that you would take your own life, Byakuya?" he asked softly.

"I…will not let him…put his hands on me…again!" Byakuya gasped, "I would rather…die!"

Aizen's eyes studied him curiously for a moment, then he nodded.

"Very well, then. If you will agree to eat and rest as I have asked, then I will not allow Gin to come near you," he said quietly, "Will this keep you from further attempts to spill your own blood, Byakuya?"

The noble let his face rest against the cool floor and raised his eyes to meet Aizen's. Slowly, he nodded in agreement.

"We must get him back into bed and immobilize him," the healer said, "every move exacerbates the damage and means a longer rehabilitation. In addition, every move also threatens to worsen him beyond our ability to heal him."

Aizen nodded.

The healer leaned over Byakuya, touching his hands to the noble's lower back and sending pulses of healing energy into it. Byakuya sighed in relief as the pain eased and the muscles in his back relaxed. Aizen and the healer gently turned him and lifted him back into bed. The healer examined him a final time and gave him an injection.

"This will help relax you so that you can sleep," he said, watching until the noble's eyelids grew heavy and he started to drift off.

He left the room and Aizen moved to sit in a chair beside the bed. He gazed at Byakuya in silence as the noble resisted the impulse to fall asleep.

"What is it?" he said, finally, "Why won't you allow yourself to sleep?"

The weary gray eyes met his tentatively.

"He could come back," Byakuya said quietly.

Aizen leaned forward and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"I will not allow him to come back in here."

"You cannot stay here forever…and Gin is a snake. He will slither back in here as soon as your back is turned."

Aizen considered Byakuya's words for several long minutes. There was truth in what the noble said. Gin was inclined to take advantage of situations like this. It would be short sighted of him not to expect it now. But, what to do about it? He pondered the question, focusing heavily on the exhausted noble that awaited his response.

"There is one place I can take you where Gin would not dare to go without my leave. I warn you, though. You may be displeased with what I suggest."

Byakuya looked up at him in askance.

"The one place Gin will not dare to go without my leave…is into my bedroom. Before you misunderstand…realize that I am aware of your injuries and I will not take advantage of your situation. You must decide whether or not you feel that you can trust me in this. I won't force the issue either way. I will only say that there is no safer place for you in all of Las Noches."

Byakuya closed his eyes for several minutes, considering. He couldn't bear the thought of Gin touching him again…but…Aizen Sosuke's bedroom? It was fine while he was healing, but…would he be expected to remain there after? Aizen had only promised not to take advantage of his current situation. All agreements were nullified as soon as he was well. It was dangerous…but in absence of a way to finish what the hollows on the battlefield had started, he was left with few choices. If he left himself vulnerable to Gin, he was likely to regret it. He was already vulnerable to Aizen's will. It didn't matter where he slept.

"Very well," Byakuya said softly, "I will accept being moved to your room…for my protection."

Aizen betrayed no emotion. He simply nodded and released the kido field. He slipped his arms under Byakuya and lifted him. The noble looped his arms around his captor's shoulders and rested his head on one shoulder as he was carried out of the room and over to the end of the next hallway.

Aizen pushed the door open and stepped into the room. It looked much the same to Byakuya as the room he had been in except for warmer colors, the stand where Kyoka Suigetsu was kept, the feel of protective reiatsu, and what looked to be a sinfully soft, comfortable bed.

Aizen set him on the end of the bed, arranged the pillows and pulled back the covers. He returned to Byakuya and helped him to settle comfortably before immobilizing his lower body to protect it as it healed.

"Are you comfortable now, Byakuya?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, Aizen Sousuke, I am."

"You may refer to me as Sosuke while you are here, Byakuya."

"Hai, Sousuke."

It was, Aizen thought, a beginning…


	3. Tormented

**Chapter 3: Tormented**

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_**You look into my eyes expecting to see a monster. I understand. You have that perception because you are my enemy, and I have carefully cultivated this expectation. But there is more to me than meets the eye. If you could see beneath the surface, you would not be so quick to brand me a monster. For hidden beneath the monstrous face I wear beats a heart like your own…struggling…wanting…and desperately lost.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya shifted his upper body uncomfortably and moaned fitfully. The pain had returned in full force, and was pulsing down his lower back and into his legs. He steeled his mind and fought to bear it quietly, but his chest heaved with the effort. He lifted his head slightly and turned it. Aizen Sousuke was not next to him. It was late at night. Although he was not pleased about sharing Aizen's bed, being left alone made him feel vulnerable. He couldn't erase the feel of Gin's hands from his thigh…couldn't forget how close he had come to touching him in ways no man had ever dared to touch him. The thought chilled him.

Of course, it was a given that anyone made prisoner had best accept that he or she was likely to become a victim of rape. Byakuya had no trouble accepting this…except where Ichimaru Gin was concerned. The white haired shinigami had always given him the feel of spiders crawling beneath his skin. There was something unnerving in the way Gin looked at him, even back before his departure from the Seireitei. He hadn't ever been afraid of Gin before…but then, he had never been powerless, helpless, vulnerable to whatever the snake might try. And it seemed that Aizen Sousuke didn't trust his slimy colleague. The look of surprise on Gin's face when Aizen stopped what was happening, told Byakuya that Gin hadn't expected Aizen to intervene when Gin was establishing boundaries with a prisoner. He was fairly certain that Aizen had expected him to submit to Gin to avoid his sexual advances. When Byakuya did not back down and Gin prepared to sexually assault him…Aizen, for some reason, had felt compelled to stop him.

But what had caused him to stop Gin?

He couldn't actually care what happened to an enemy…

But that left him to conclude that Aizen had stopped what was happening because he wanted Byakuya himself. That wasn't a place the noble wanted to go. But better to be his victim than Gin's…better to be anyone else's!

A sharp, gripping pain shot down his back and into his legs, forcing him to clench his teeth and stifle a gasp. His chest heaved with shortened breaths as the pain flared and deepened until he couldn't quite hold back a groan. He was no stranger to pain and he normally bore it in silence, betraying no weakness…but he had never been unable to use his power to cut off the impulses, to disconnect his mind from it, to escape it. In reality, he had never experienced the full force of uncontrolled pain.

He was feeling it now…

And soon, the fact that it continued to eat away at him left him feeling nauseous and dizzy. He began to feel uncomfortably warm and pushed the blankets away, moaning as the flashes of pain continued to break over him in wave after unbearable wave.

He tried to focus his mind on something else, anything else, to latch on to memories of home…of long walks under the full moon, of sitting beneath the sakura trees, of enjoying the cool breezes of a new day. All Hueco Mundo had offered him was blood, pain and sand. There was nothing to comfort him as the pain slowly wore him down.

He thought he heard a door open and close…footsteps growing closer…

_"Aizen Sousuke is not fond of defiance," Gin said in a low, cold voice, "and I like it even less."_

_He leaned over Byakuya and whispered in his ear._

_"And really, Byakuya, you have more to fear from me than you do from him anyway. He may content himself with toying with you as long as you behave…but if you disobey him, that's when he turns you over to me."_

_He released a puff of hot breath on Byakuya's ear and throat. The noble turned his head away sharply._

"_I don't have the same boundaries he does," he went on, brushing his lips against Byakuya's earlobe and throat, "If you fuck with me, it will be you who ends up fucked…you understand?"_

"Stop…" Byakuya moaned incoherently, "Stop…"

_Gin let his hand slide slowly down the immobilized taichou's body and lingered on his thigh. Unable to move, Byakuya met his eyes with a deadly, hateful glare._

_"Apparently, you don't," Gin hissed softly._

_The hand slipped beneath his clothes._

"Byakuya?" a concerned voice called.

"_If you fuck with me, it will be you who ends up fucked…you understand?"_

"Stop…stop…stop!"

_"…understand?"_

"Byakuya, what's wrong?" an echoing voice said.

He felt the bed move slightly and pain shot through him again. He moaned and tried to move, but the kido field still held his lower body.

"If you were in this much pain, then why didn't you call for me?"

A cool cloth brushed against his forehead and over his face.

"I told you that you were to be healed. I told you that if you were in pain, I would have the healer ease it. Why do you still not trust in that?"

The door opened and closed again and he felt the bed move as Aizen left his side. Soft voices sounded across the room, then he felt the soothing hands of the healer, a flare of healing power, then the sting of an injection.

"The pain should ease quickly…but he'll be out for a while."

The pain was falling away and Byakuya was losing awareness. He felt the kido field release and turned instinctively. He suddenly found himself lying in someone's arms. Relieved to no longer be alone and in pain, he settled into the warm arms and rested his head on a waiting shoulder. Someone was speaking softly in his ear…and calming hands slipped beneath his robe and traveled down the length of his back, soothing it with gentle, healing touches. Fingers stroked his hair and soft, reassuring whispers echoed in his fevered mind.

"Rest now…just rest…"

He was drifting off, but as his awareness faded, he felt warm kisses touch his brow, his cheek…and his lips.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aizen Sousuke found himself entranced by the warm body that rested senselessly in his arms. If he had thought the noble's skin soft when he touched it before, the word was redefined as he encountered much more of the petal soft skin in contact with his…somewhat by accident.

He had lifted the kido field to allow Byakuya to stretch his cramped muscles. He hadn't been expecting the noble to turn in his direction, to curl so readily into his arms, to grace his skin with soft brushes of warm breath. He hadn't expected to drift off with his nose buried in the sakura scented hair or to feel the noble's robe fall open and to feel even more of the pale skin in contact with his own.

His lips had moved of their own accord to touch Byakuya's brow, cheek, and finally his lips. But the noble had been too senseless to object. Not that an objection would have stopped him. Aizen Sousuke was one who never asked permission…for anything. He took what he wanted…when he wanted it. And now he found himself wanting Kuchiki Byakuya. Of course, a full conquest could not be made until he was fully healed, but they could certainly begin working in that direction now.

He pulled the sleeping noble close and removed his robe, then ran his hands slowly down the length of his back, releasing healing energy, but also deeply enjoying the feel of that soft skin against his hands. He buried his face in the raven black hair, breathing deeply. He rested his chin on top of the noble's head and tried to ignore the ache in his loins as he forced himself to drop off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Byakuya woke next, he realized that his robe had been removed and he was naked and burrowed deeply in blankets, resting in Aizen Sousuke's arms. He allowed himself a moment of relief at not feeling the heavy weight of pain then fell to worrying about exactly what had happened while he was out.

Aizen's eyes opened and met his sleepily. He noted the noble's look of distress and calmly released him. Byakuya started to pull away, but winced as the motion sent a bolt of pain through him.

"Move slowly," Sousuke said quietly, watching as Byakuya turned onto his back.

He was watching Aizen with a significant amount of anxiety in his eyes. Aizen sighed and sat up, turning to face the noble.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," he said, hoping he wasn't about to start any major unpleasantness, "You seem to be very focused on my intentions toward you. While circumstances make it understandable, I have already tried to reassure you that I will not take advantage of your current situation. You are in no condition for intimacy. It is important that you focus on your healing so that you will get well soon."

"And what good will it do to get well?" Byakuya asked in a low voice, "You haven't said anything about your intentions toward me after I am well."

"And you are that concerned that I will seek intimacy with you?" Aizen asked, looking him in the eyes.

Byakuya flinched slightly at the suggestion.

"Would that be such a terrible thing, Kuchiki Byakuya?"

"Of course it would!" the noble insisted, "I am a Gotei 13 taichou…"

"As was I…"

"But you chose to leave. I have no wish to abandon my post or my allies," Byakuya said firmly.

"You have not abandoned your post or allies, Byakuya, but you have become a prisoner of the war between the Seireitei and Hueco Mundo. As a prisoner, you must hope for the end of the dispute."

"Sousuke…this conflict is not one that will ever end. So what you are saying is that you are planning to keep me here permanently."

"I could have simply killed you. I can't let you go back to them. I have taken your strength from them. Strategically, it would be foolish to return it."

"I can't stay here," Byakuya said earnestly, "I have a home, family…I lead the Kuchiki clan…"

No one even knows you survived that battle. You see, I had Gin go back and burn all of the remains he found there. If anyone returns, they will find bits of the kenseiken among the debris and they will think that you perished.

Aizen suddenly noticed that Byakuya's face had gone a shade paler.

"Sousuke, I cannot remain your prisoner forever…"

Aizen gently placed a hand on Byakuya's face and leaned forward, bringing his face close to the noble's.

"Byakuya, I cannot help the way things are. The facts here are simple. I captured a strong enemy. I must keep him here to deny his strength to his allies. But, Byakuya, I don't wish to kill you or even hurt you. I assure you that as captivity goes, yours will be more bearable than most…I am hoping that perhaps, with time, you may grow accustomed to living here…that you could find some level of contentment."

"Contentment?" Byakuya said, mystified, "Sousuke…how am I supposed to be content with being taken away from everything I know…all of the people I care about? Am I never to see my sister again? My clan? My friends? My squad? These people mean something to me. I cannot simply leave them behind…"

Aizen studied him intently.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," he said softly, "You never struck me as one given to deep attachments."

"That simply proves that you know nothing of me, Sousuke…" he said, turning his eyes away.

Aizen's hand slipped underneath his chin and brought the gray eyes back to meet his.

"I understand you better than you think…Byakuya," he whispered.

He closed the distance between them and captured the noble's lips in a slow, gentle kiss. Byakuya started to pull away, but Sousuke's hands took hold of him and held him still as he deepened the kiss and slipped his tongue into the noble's mouth. He kept the contact gentle, but firm, as his arms tightened around Byakuya, pulling him closer. His tongue caressed the noble's tenderly, then slowly explored his mouth, lingering over its surfaces and sinking into the sweetness he found there. He held Byakuya and continued kissing him until a sigh of resignation passed through him and the tension in his body released. As soon as he felt the noble stop fighting him, he pulled slowly away, keeping his eyes on Byakuya's.

"We are both trapped in the reality of things, Byakuya," he said softly, "I am no more able to allow you to leave than you are to get up and walk out of here…but this does not have to be a completely unpleasant thing. You can make of it what you will. But you must be cautious. You must not become defiant with me again. You must follow my orders and respond to my wishes. If you do not, I will be forced to punish you. I do not desire it. The idea of it causes me great displeasure, but it is out of my hands. I must maintain order among the hollows. If they see me allowing you to transgress without penalty, then they will be encouraged to test me. It would cost large amounts of time and countless lives to regain the status that I have worked so hard to obtain, to again hold dominance over them. I am sorry. I will do what I can to see to your comfort, but there are lines that cannot be crossed."

He held Byakuya's eyes for a moment longer, then released him and turned away. He settled onto the pillows and closed his eyes. He could feel the noble's eyes still staring at him…filled with uncertainty, with loss, with the beginnings of desperation. He sensed that, at some point, Byakuya would act on that emotion, but he assumed that such a thing must wait until he was well again.

He couldn't have been more wrong…

The noble waited until Aizen slept, then forced his aching body to move slowly to the edge of the bed. The medication in his system kept the level of pain bearable as he managed to stand. He reached back and picked up his robe, slipping it around himself and tying it at the waist. Leaning heavily against the wall, he worked his way to the window and he settled onto the window seat, staring out into the darkness. The crescent moon rose overhead and stars winked down at him. It would have been a beautiful night…if he were at home in the Seireitei.

But home was far away. And he was slowly being mourned and forgotten. The clan would select a new leader, Renji would honor his request to watch over Rukia. A new taichou would wear the haori of the Sixth Division. Life would go on without him. And although they all would think he had died an honorable death…he would linger here in this dead place, surrounded by enemies, with no hope of rescue.

_But it is my own fault. I could have remained concealed among the fallen until I bled out on the cold sand with the others. But I opened my eyes and he was there…and something made me say his name. Could I have been so desperate to live…so desperate that I would forget honor and cling to my enemy, just to avoid death? Or was it something else?_

He looked into the depths of the darkness outside and spotted a light from the distant shinigami base. To think of the ones he knew there, of the warmth and familiarity of even that lone outpost…

A breath of wind touched his face and he realized that the window hadn't been properly closed. He reached up and cautiously eased it open. With agonizing slowness, he slipped outside onto the roof and turned back to close the window behind him. Feeling the pain in his back returning, he dropped onto his hands and knees and crawled forward to the edge of the roof.

He couldn't see the ground, but he judged the distance to be enough that falling without his spirit energy to break the fall would be more than enough to kill him. He pushed himself slowly to his feet and rested his eyes on the light from the shinigami base. His eyes locked on it and his mind thinking calmly of home, he relaxed his body and let himself fall.

There was a sudden flash of light and strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back. He fell with the other onto the rooftop and found himself looking up at the spirit of his zanpakutou.

"Senbonzakura," he whispered.

"Master," the zanpakutou replied, pulling Byakuya up so that they sat facing each other, "I know things are difficult. Your powers and mine are sealed away. You think that you have been forgotten…but you are wrong. I have felt traces of friendly reiatsu. Renji and Rukia do not believe that you are dead. They have not given up…and neither should you. Our hearts must remain strong. Hope has not been lost yet. You must allow your body to heal and then we can find a way to escape. I will come to you when you need to remember what you are fighting for. I will help you to keep a strong heart. And when you are strong enough, you will find me and we will escape this place together. In the mean time, do not give in to your fears. You have not been forgotten."

He stared into the masked warrior's determined eyes and felt hope rising up inside. Slowly, he nodded.

"Arigato, Senbonzakura," he said softly, "for bringing me to my senses. I let my emotions get the best of me. It…was a foolish thing to do. I don't know why I called out to Sousuke when I lay on the battlefield…or why he preserved my life…or why any of this is happening. But I do believe that all things happen for a reason…and sometimes we must proceed through uncertainty to know what those reasons are."

"So you will return to him for now?"

Byakuya nodded.

"I will return to him. I need him to keep the others away until I am strong enough to attempt to escape."

"You do know that he is falling for you…" the zapakutou said quietly.

Byakuya hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"And your own heart is conflicted when it comes to him…"

"No…I cannot love Aizen Sousuke, Senbonzakura. Such a thing could never be. He is my enemy. I cannot fall in love with my enemy."

Senbonzakura was wise enough not to say any more. He merely nodded and faded away.

Byakuya remained sitting on the roof, gazing out at the moon and stars, thinking wishfully of home. After a time, he heard the window behind him slide open and footsteps crossing the space behind him. Aizen sat down next to him and followed his eyes to the sky over them.

"I am glad he stopped you," Sousuke said quietly.

Byakuya blinked in surprise.

"You…were watching?" he asked, staring.

"Yes."

"And you would have done nothing to stop me?"

The dark brown eyes fixed on his.

"No…I wouldn't have stopped you."

He turned his eyes to the sky again.

"It is difficult sometimes, doing what I have to do…I could not let you go. But I did not wish to see you so tormented. If being a captive here is so painful for you, who am I to deny you an honorable death? It would allow you to escape without forcing me to recapture you."

"No…Senbonzakura is right. There would have been no honor in taking my own life in this way. Such sacrifices have their times, but they should not be made out of despair. One must persevere with a strong heart, even when things seem hopeless. I have to trust that there is a reason I spoke your name when I did, that you brought me here and, instead of mistreating me, you chose to heal me. I am certain that as my healing continues, the reasons will become more clear and I will come to understand and accept my fate."

Aizen nodded and continued to gaze up at the stars.

"I am glad you feel that way."

_You do know that he is falling for you…_

Byakuya sighed softly and closed his eyes.

_I cannot fall in love with my enemy._


	4. Gifted

**Chapter 4: Gifted**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_I was alone among my enemies and without safety. I promised myself that I would never give in to fear or despair, but my heart was weakened with memory. No matter how I tried to forget, still I longed for the wind on my face and in my hair. I longed for the light and warmth of home…and cool breezes, stars and moon at night. I needed to feel something besides sand beneath my feet, something besides loneliness in my heart. I expected nothing of this from you. You weren't supposed to notice the way I turned toward the sound of the breeze outside, how I gazed at the lights of home in the distance, how I used the motion of the stars to mark time. You were only my guide to eventual destruction. Your heart reached out to mine…and mine was shattered._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya sat in the window seat, staring blankly out at the sand that spun on the breezes. His eyes were distant and unfocused, his mind much the same as the minutes turned to hours and the days seemed to drift by somewhere beneath notice. His back ached more dully now, and did not require so much medication. His legs were still weak and shook when he walked, but he stretched them and walked every day to speed their healing. And his progress, according to Aizen's physician, was commendable.

He felt a growing concern. As each day passed and he grew stronger, he felt Aizen's eyes watch him more and more closely. He knew that Byakuya would eventually try to escape. They were both aware of it. Byakuya hoped this would happen before Aizen acted on the feelings that were never spoken of, but that Byakuya sensed more and more strongly every day. The leader of the hollows wanted him badly. And he was having increasingly more difficulty in holding back the emotion. Before they slept each night, he would lie next to the noble, trying to draw him into conversation. Byakuya had barely responded at first, but as the days went by and Byakuya felt the absence of Rukia, Renji and all of the others who had shared the pathways of each day with him, he found himself wanting to talk to someone…anyone. Aizen Sousuke was the only person who regularly spent more than a few moments with the noble. He was the only one to exchange words with. And Byakuya was finding that he did need badly to interact with someone. Unfortunately, Sousuke always ended the conversation with more than a few long, lingering kisses before drifting off to sleep with Byakuya in his arms. He never asked Byakuya's thoughts about the kissing or whether or not he wished to spend every night with his body pressed up against his enemy's…he simply did as he wished and because he needed to save his strength for his escape, Byakuya did not object. He accepted the kisses without comment and did not flinch at the feel of Aizen's body being close to his. Byakuya knew how to tune out the unimportant realities of his situation and how to focus on what was most important…getting well enough to escape, but feigning more weakness than actually existed to stave off the unavoidable…a head-on confrontation over Aizen Sousuke's lust. He knew now how to get outside the fortress undetected, but once he got outside, he would have a difficult time remaining free unless his powers were restored. And not only were his powers sealed away, his spirit centers were still not responding to normal stimuli. He had to keep up the façade until his powers were restored and released from the seal.

"Byakuya…"

"Hai, Sousuke," he responded without turning.

He continued to stare at the place where he knew the shinigami base stood in the distance. Aizen moved to his side and rested a hand on his shoulder. Knowing that to ignore him now would earn a reprimand, Byakuya looked up at him.

"Now that you are up and around, there are some places I would like you to see. Do you feel up to walking a little? I promise you, you will enjoy what I am going to show you."

There was nothing to be gained by refusing to go…

"Hai, Sousuke," he said, slowly climbing to his feet and standing on unsteady legs. Aizen stepped closer and slipped an arm around him.

The made their way out of the bedroom and down the main stairway, then turned into another hallway. Halfway down the hallway, Aizen turned him into one of the doorways.

"This is the training room where we will begin training when your body has healed enough."

Byakuya was immediately impressed. The training ground was actually a huge arena, boasting numerous fighting areas that contained varied surfaces, available weapons, and fighting environments. He had never seen its equal. He felt Aizen's eyes watching him closely.

"It looks as though you appreciate the usefulness of this place," his captor commented.

"It offers quite a range of experiences," Byakuya answered, suddenly uncomfortable with how well the other seemed to read him now.

But they had been in close contact with each other for several weeks now. It was to be expected that he would have picked up on Byakuya's responses to his environment. What unnerved Byakuya was how Aizen seemed to notice everything about his responses, how he retained the information in some part of his mind and at unexpected times, he indulged Byakuya in small things of his liking…foods, textures and pleasant verbal exchanges. He expected Aizen to manipulate him, but the small gifts of indulgence were never followed with any request or order. They were simply given and Byakuya was carefully observed for his reactions. He knew his captor had an agenda and each positive reaction, each small bit of himself that he betrayed to Aizen was being catalogued and saved to be used against him somehow.

What he couldn't figure out was why Aizen was going to the trouble. It was clear enough that he wanted to begin a physical relationship with Byakuya…but that did not require any attention to Byakuya's mindset at all. And from what Byakuya observed in his time at Aizens side, the man never troubled himself with whether or not others were comfortable with what he wanted. What Aizen wanted, he took. Byakuya expected that as soon as he judged the noble well enough, he would take what he wanted…with no consideration of Byakuya's comfort with idea. And he would simply expect Byakuya to give him what he wanted without argument.

"You look troubled," Aizen said suddenly, startling Byakuya out of his thoughts.

It suddenly occurred to Byakuya that when he observed Aizen with others, he rarely seemed to notice when things bothered them. Why was he noticing everything about Byakuya? Why was he bringing it up? If he didn't care about anyone's feelings but his own, why make an issue of Byakuya's every change of expression, his every like or dislike, his every move? Why?

"I am fine, Sousuke," he answered, trying to adjust his expression to reveal less of himself, "I merely became distracted for a moment."

"You seem quite prone to melancholy, Byakuya," the other commented, studying him for a moment.

Byakuya blinked slowly.

"I am a captive. I am being kept away from everything I know and love. Isn't it expected that this would cause me pain? Wouldn't it be painful to anyone?"

Aizen turned and stopped him with a touch on his arm.

"Byakuya, what is it that you miss the most about home?" he asked.

Byakuya considered the question for a moment.

"Rukia," he said quietly, "I miss my sister."

Aizen looked surprised.

"Byakuya…the whole time I knew you in the Seireitei, you barely looked at Rukia. In fact, I grew to wonder why you ever adopted her into your family."

Byakuya felt himself being cornered.

"I brought her into the family because it was my late wife's final request."

"But that wasn't enough to make you miss her. In fact, one would think her presence would make you uncomfortable."

"That would explain why I appeared to ignore her…why I avoided her."

"Appeared to ignore her? Avoided her?" repeated Aizen, furrowing his brow, "I don't understand."

"No," said Byakuya quietly, "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

He turned to continue walking, but the hand tightened on his arm, stopping him. Byakuya felt a twinge of discomfort.

"If you are attached enough to miss her more than anything or anyone else…why hold yourself away from her? Why make her think she was beneath notice?"

Byakuya stood and stared at him in silence.

"Byakuya…I asked you a question. I expect an answer."

The noble did not move or utter a sound.

Byakuya felt a sudden shift in Aizen's reiatsu, then gasped in surprise and stared as Rukia suddenly appeared in front of him. He knew it was an illusion. Aizen could make him see whatever he chose. But that didn't make it real. And yet, when he reached out and touched her hair, her head turned and she smiled. She looked and felt and acted like Rukia.

_But it is a lie…_

Byakuya stepped back, struggling with an unfamiliar emotion that threatened to overtake him. He backed away until he felt the wall behind him, and then closed his eyes. Slowly, his legs gave way beneath him and he slid down the wall. He curled his arms around his knees and buried his face in them. He felt Aizen watching him. He sensed the confusion at his response.

There was a long, painful silence between them.

"Byakuya," Aizen said finally, "I thought that you said that what you miss most about home is your sister. I made her appear to ease your loneliness. Why does this not please you?"

Byakuya remained silent and frozen…nearly breathless with agony.

"Byakuya?"

He couldn't make himself move or breathe. If he moved, he would shatter.

"Byakuya, answer me!"

Aizen dropped to his knees next to the noble and took hold of his head, forcing him to raise it, to meet Aizen's eyes. He got a fleeting glimpse of startlingly wet eyes and a shattered expression, then Byakuya took a quick breath and all emotion disappeared. He blinked to clear his eyes and his body relaxed visibly.

"Don't do that," Aizen said warningly, "Don't hide this from me! I know you are in pain. Tell me why."

Byakuya stared into his eyes with a tired, blank expression.

"I gave you an order, Byakuya," he said, his voice low and angry, "You will answer me. I will inflict punishment if you refuse to do as I say."

"Go ahead, then," the noble said in an exhausted tone, "There is nothing you can do to me that is worse than what you've already done."

"Then…perhaps Gin can think of something…"

Byakuya's head dropped down onto his arms again.

"As you wish, Sousuke," he said softly.

There was a long silence, then Byakuya felt a surprisingly gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Let me take you back to your room," Aizen said quietly, "I think you've walked enough for now."

Byakuya started to climb to his feet, but found himself lifted into Aizen's arms. He calmly looped his arms around his captor's shoulders and rested his head on Aizen's shoulder as he was carried back down the hallway, up the stairs and to Aizen's bedroom. Aizen set him on his feet next to the bed and pulled back the covers. Byakuya slipped into bed and closed his eyes, anxious to avoid eye contact, desperate to distance himself from the ache he was feeling.

He wondered why Aizen hadn't done anything to punish his disobedience, why he hadn't called Gin in as he had threatened to do. It wasn't like Aizen Sousuke to fail to carry through on a threat, to tolerate acts of outright defiance, to show mercy to one who refused to obey him. Why, then? Why?

"Are you in any pain?" Aizen asked, "From the walking, I mean."

Byakuya shook his head silently.

There was another long silence between them, then Byakuya heard footsteps and the bedroom door opened and closed. As soon as he sensed the retreat of Aizen's reiatsu, he fled to the widow seat, resting his face against the cold glass and letting his eyes become distant and unfocused. The heavy emotion slowly retreated and he felt calm return. He sighed softly, glad to be able to breathe again.

He would be fine if he could just forget…

He would be able to handle remaining here among his enemies if he forced his mind to remain calm…if he didn't become distracted with his longing for home and all of the people he had grown so used to seeing. It was strange to him that he could see their faces so clearly. And it wasn't just Rukia. Even those who one might judge to be beneath notice were present and acknowledged in his mind. He could see the old wrinkled face of the housekeeper as she quietly bid him farewell upon his leaving and greeted him warmly upon his return. He remembered the cook and the servers who prepared and served him his meals. He remembered the gardener who knew and cared for every plant, tree and flower around the manor…and who greeted him cheerfully whenever he walked the garden path beside the koi pond. He knew and could visualize every step on the way to the Squad Six Headquarters and could see Renji's grin…could hear his warm greeting.

"Good morning, Taichou!"

He felt the warmth of both the tea deposited near his arm and the hand that delivered it.

But the strongest memories were still the memories of Rukia. In his mind, he could hear her cheerful, "Good morning, Nii-sama," and he could see the smile that reminded him so much of Hisana. He could feel the small ache he still felt when he looked at her, but also the affection…at her sweetness, her awe of him, her respect for him…and the way she madly backpedaled at the slightest hint of his displeasure. The sharpest memory, of course…was how she clung to him. Whenever she needed him and he pulled her out of harm's way…how tightly she held on to him. And every time he looked down at her and reassured himself that he had protected her, he felt reassured that his promise to Hisana was being kept. But how was he supposed to honor that promise now? In his current state, he couldn't be anything to Rukia…not a protector, not a brother…nothing.

No…he was no longer a protector, a brother, a taichou, a noble…He was a captive. And even if he could escape, he was weak…powerless…useless.

He pressed his face harder against the cold glass and listened to the wind howl as it drove the sand on wild swirls of air. He felt tears burning in his eyes and allowed one to escape. It felt odd, but strangely comforting to feel it travel down his face.

He felt exhaustion of spirit sweep over him and let his mind drift as he leaned against the bay window. He was sleeping peacefully when the door opened and Aizen Sousuke returned.

He wasn't surprised to see Byakuya asleep in the window seat. Neither was he surprised that the noble remained asleep as he was lifted and returned to bed. What was surprising was the way he turned so readily toward Aizen, how he settled into his captor's arms and calmly rested his head on the warm shoulder, pressed more closely to him, and when Aizen turned his head and brought his lips to the noble's to kiss him good night…for the first time, Byakuya didn't just accept his kiss…he returned it.


	5. Barriers

**Chapter 5: Barriers**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**You were a mystery that I wanted to unravel, so I isolated and watched you. I questioned and toyed with you. But your barriers were strong and I could not pass through. Your heart was carefully guarded against all kinds of force. It took me a long time to realize that the only way to unmask you was to reveal myself.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Aizen Sousuke lay quietly with Byakuya in his arms, watching the moonlight fall on his skin, making it glow softly in the darkness. It touched on his hair, giving it soft highlights that Aizen found to be quite enchanting. He admired the fine lines of his body, the sleek perfection that was capable of releasing huge amounts of power. He had always thought of Byakuya as beautiful.

But he had secretly despised him because he was one of the noble class…

Everything he had ever known of nobles rang of snobbishness, disdain and a careless disregard for others who they deemed beneath them. They were the favored of the royal family and they were given preferential treatment. They never had to struggle to gain the respect of others. They demanded it. For as long as Aizen Sousuke had known Byakuya, it had seemed to him that this noble was another like all of the rest.

But his impression appeared to have been completely wrong…

He realized now that Byakuya might have acted like the rest at surface level, but there was much hidden beneath the surface of those deep gray eyes. And it was only now, living in close quarters with him, observing him carefully, that Aizen was able to see the signs, the little clues to what really lay beneath that perfect, pale skin. It was in his eyes when he stared out the window across the wide expanse of sand to the distant shinigami base. It was in the half-hidden reactions that most were not watching closely enough to see. It was in the looks of surprise when his enemy treated him with unexpected kindness. And when Aizen looked back on the actions Byakuya had taken prior to the departure for Las Noches, the signs were there as well. He was not so heartless, so unaffected, so falsely superior as the rest. It should have been clear to him before, but he had never looked closely enough. Like the nobles he despised, he had judged Byakuya based on surface impressions. He had overlooked so many of the signs, everything from his desperate attempt to save Rukia all the way back to the woman he married.

He hadn't given a great deal of thought to Byakuya's marriage to Hisana. At the time, he had written it off as a case of the man's loins overtaking his thinking, or as an act of rebellion. But hearing Byakuya speak of his feelings for Rukia…of his reasons for adopting her…

It touched a nerve.

It made him intensely curious.

But he had been too eager, too insensitive in his questioning and he had caused the noble pain. And he had than compounded the pain with threats. He had been stupid. He wanted to make amends, but he wasn't certain how to go about it. He gazed at Byakuya in the moonlight and wondered.

The thought that came to him was something surprisingly simple…something he could do without the noble even being aware he had done it. While not desiring an illusion of his home or his sister to comfort him, Byakuya might well appreciate returning home in a dream. And with his power, Aizen could increase the sharpness of the experience, making the dream feel very, very real. And if the connection between Byakuya and Rukia was as strong as he was now convinced it was…it was just possible that the two could actually encounter each other in a shared dream.

He placed his hands very gently on the sleeping noble's face and focused, sending him into a deeper sleep. He reached over and drew Kyoka Suigetsu, quietly calling forth the blade's illusory powers and sending images into the noble's mind. In moments, the dream took hold of him and Aizen Sousuke watched as his sleeping face took on a beautiful, peaceful expression.

He might not be able to send Byakuya home in reality, but he could give him some contentment in his dreams.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Byakuya awoke buried deeply in the comfort of a bed that could only be his own. His eyes opened and blinked several times._

_He was at home…_

_He looked around the room, studying every detail and shade. He rose and walked around, touching his belongings to make sure they were real. He was certain he must be dreaming, but Byakuya had never dreamed in so much color. His dreams had never had so much life._

_He was sure that it was a dream…but…he needed it. There in the darkness of his life in Hueco Mundo, he needed to remember what he was fighting for. If he could remain focused on that, he could endure his captivity until it became possible for him to escape. So he wrapped his mind around this beautiful dream and willed it forward with all of his heart. He knew what waited for him outside his bedroom door. It was the life he had left behind that day, the one he hoped to someday return to. It was everyone who made a difference in his life, no matter how small._

_Byakuya pushed back the covers and sat up. Immediately, there was a tap on the door and his personal attendant's voice floated through the door._

_"Good morning, Kuchiki-sama, is there anything you require?"_

_"Not at the moment…arigato, Michi."_

_He slipped out of bed and moved into the dressing area. There was something deeply comforting about the feel of the shihakushou, the fingerless gloves, the ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu, the kenseiken and the haori. It felt like forever since he had worn them._

_He stepped out of the dressing area and walked slowly across the room to the large French doors that opened into the gardens. He took a breath and pushed them open. He felt his breath catch as the doors swung back and the gardens appeared before him. He stood quietly, breathing the distinctive scents that told him that this was his garden…so different from any other. He walked slowly around the garden trail, surprised that every detail was just as he remembered it…even the newest cuttings, planted just before he had been called away to Hueco Mundo. He exchanged greetings with the gardener and continued down the trail, around the koi pond and past Rukia's room. He felt the swish of a flash step and she was at his side._

_"Good morning, Nii-sama," she said, smiling up at him._

_"Good morning, Rukia," he replied softly._

_She tilted her head questioningly._

_"Is everything all right, Nii-sama? You…your voice sounded sort of…"_

_"I am fine, Rukia. Come, it's time for breakfast."_

_They walked the rest of the garden path together, stopping several times to admire new additions to the gardens or to breathe in the calming scents. Finally, the trail returned them to the central area of the garden and the small garden patio where they ate their meals when the weather was good. The weather, it seemed, was cooperating._

_They sat down at the table and the serving staff arrived with their food. He took in the sights and scents he had missed and felt tears burn in his eyes…because despite how beautiful it was, it was also a dream._

_"Nii-sama," Rukia said, startling him out of his reverie, "you look sad."_

_She stood and stepped closer._

_"I know I must be dreaming this…I know they said you died in Hueco Mundo. But I don't believe it…and Renji believes me, even if no one else does. We will come to you, Nii-sama. We won't give up on trying to find you."_

_And then, Byakuya knew why the dream had come to him. They were dreaming it together. He had heard it was possible, that strongly linked shinigamis often shared dreams…that even far apart, their hearts reached across the distance._

_He reached up and touched Rukia's face gently._

_"Rukia," he said quietly, "you will do no such thing."_

_He leaned forward and pulled the startled girl into a warm embrace. He rested his face in her hair, breathing deeply._

_"You are to remain with Renji. You are not to come to me. I am recovering from injury, but I will return to you. Stay in the Seireitei. Stay safe. I will come home to you when I can…"_

_The scenery around them was fading. A deep mist was rising and pulling them apart again. Byakuya cupped Rukia's cheek in one hand and looked into her eyes._

_"I will come home…you have my word."_

_"Nii-sama," Rukia whispered, "don't go!"_

_Everything was growing bright again and Rukia was fading from his arms. He had time for only a few more words…so he made them count._

_"You must listen to me, Rukia. Do not come to me in Hueco Mundo."_

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya's eyes opened suddenly and Aizen Sousuke was enchanted by the life that had returned to them. It was there as the dark eyes opened and he studied the room around him…but as soon as his surroundings registered in his mind, the beautiful look of happiness and contentment gave way to a heartbreaking look of deep disappointment, then returned to the dull, lifeless expression, the heaviness of heart that had plagued him ever since he was taken captive. Aizen took hold of his face, staring into the dark eyes.

"Don't do this," he said very quietly, almost pleadingly, "don't lose yourself in hopelessness, in emptiness."

Byakuya stared back at him with a tired, confused expression.

"Why would my enemy waste a moment caring about whether or not I am content? If you truly wished for me to be content, as an honorable enemy, you would have killed me rather than bringing me here. That, at least, would have been merciful. As things are, it doesn't matter what you do. Even if I could leave…I…"

He stopped, seeming to catch himself revealing more than he wanted to.

"Even if you could leave…what, Byakuya? You mean…you are not unhappy simply because you are imprisoned here? Why then?"

Byakuya's brow furrowed in frustration.

"I don't understand why you wish to know. Need I remind you that you are my captor…a man who has resorted to lies, treachery and murder to get what he wanted? You made it clear that you want to overthrow the spirit king…that you would bring down the noble houses. And I lead one of the very houses you would topple. Why would I believe for one moment that you care about my contentment? What do you expect me to think of the man who would destroy my family? What fate would I expect you to deal to the head of a noble clan? In addition, I lead one of the Gotei 13 squads that seek your death. You should have been pleased to rid yourself of an enemy. Aizen Sousuke, your actions confuse me because they make no sense! Nothing you are doing makes sense! Why are you doing this? Is this some odd kind of torture? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer, wanting to believe what you say?"

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Aizen said, still staring into the misted gray eyes, "you may well be the head of one of the clans I would topple, but you are nothing like them."

A flash of fear appeared in the noble's eyes, then disappeared.

"There…you see? The nobles, as I know them would have laughed in disdain…but you, you know you are not like them, Byakuya. You wear their name…their title, but you are different. You have to conceal yourself, to lie constantly to yourself and everyone else about who you are. And why? I have watched you because I wanted to know this about you. And do you know what I found?"

Byakuya stared, but did not answer.

Aizen placed a hand on the noble's chest, over his heart.

"What rests beneath here, makes you different. You have something they don't, something that they would deprive you of if they could. It led you to marry a peasant, because she was the one you loved. It made you break the rules to honor her last request. It made you make promises that collided and tore you in two…and it put you in the path of Gin's blade, because it made you care more about protecting your sister than preserving your own life."

"And what difference does that make? I am still the head of a noble clan and an enemy taichou. It doesn't matter what is underneath as long as it never emerges…"

"But it has. It is always there for those who wish to see it…for those who care enough to look."

Byakuya blinked in surprise.

"And you cared enough to look," he said softly, "Aizen Sousuke…why?"

Aizen Sousuke said nothing. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips warmly to the noble's. Byakuya froze. Aizen's lips moved slowly against his, teasing them gently until they moved tentatively in response.

It began as a light brushing of his lips against the other's, a soft nuzzling response that set Aizen Sousuke's heart beating faster. Byakuya's soft lips registered the response and he was not taken by surprise, nor did he resist when a hot tongue stroked his lips questioningly. He granted entrance with a soft sigh, leaning back against the pillows as Aizen moved forward and brought his body to rest against the noble's. He slipped his tongue into the warm, accepting mouth and tasted the sweetness of its surfaces, soft and smooth, then stroked Byakuya's tongue until it curled around his.

He pressed his body more firmly against the noble's and his hand slid down and pulled free the tie holding his robe closed. He pushed the edges back and bared the pale, petal-soft skin beneath, bringing his body down to sink into it, to move against it, moaning lightly in contentment at the way it felt to touch it so intimately. He felt a sudden tension in the body beneath him as his thickening member brushed heatedly against one just as aroused. A soft shiver ran through the noble.

Aizen stopped moving for a moment and returned to simply kissing him. He was rewarded with another gentle sigh and the release of tension that invited him to move things forward again.

He didn't want to do anything that might bring a stop to what was happening, but Byakuya had made it clear that he had never been with a man before…and had deep reservations about the idea of taking such an action with him. He was relaxing…but Aizen knew that he did need to be clear about his intentions. He ran a line of kisses down the side of Byakuya's face and nuzzled a soft earlobe.

"Byakuya," he whispered, sending another shiver through his body, "I know you haven't done this before. Will you trust me?"

The body beneath his trembled with the weight of indecision. Aizen waited breathlessly, his heart pounding with anxiety and anticipation. Finally, the noble's head turned slightly and the dark gray eyes came to rest uncertainly on his. Aizen felt the floor falling away beneath him as Byakuya's breathy reply fell on his ears like sakura blossoms falling to the ground.

"I will trust you, Aizen Sousuke…"


	6. More Powerful than Words

**Chapter 6: More Powerful Than Words**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**My captor's eyes aren't supposed to be gentle. His voice shouldn't fall so softly on my ears or be able to reach my deeply protected heart. If his aim is to imprison me and to wear me down with pain and hatred, I can fight him with a strong heart. It is when he treats me with tenderness that my barriers are broken and my defenses are shattered. I cannot fight him with a heart that has been made vulnerable, with a mind that is taken with thoughts of him, with a body that longs to feel his touch…**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_I will trust you, Aizen Sousuke._

He had never thought he would hear those words, any more than Kuchiki Byakuya thought he would ever offer them. It was impossible, of course. There was no way that the two of them should be together, their bodies locked against each other, but not to do battle with each other…only to do battle within their hearts, to fight the feeling that there could ever be anything wrong about surrendering to love.

But surrender was the only thing they could do.

There was no more fighting it.

It was as dangerous for Aizen Sousuke as it was for his captive, if not more so. For if their love was ever revealed, it could be said that Kuchiki Byakuya was forced, that he was manipulated, that he was seduced against his will. But Aizen Sousuke could never claim that he hadn't wanted this. He had been longing for this almost since the noble fell into his hands. It was the most reckless of things he could do…to fall in love…not just to fall in love, but to fall in love with his enemy.

But Kuchiki Byakuya had never been like his other enemies. So beautiful and incredibly powerful, Aizen realized that his feelings for the noble had always been strong. At first, he had hated Byakuya…hated him, but hated him with passion, because of his status as a noble, because he judged that even being the most beautiful among them, Byakuya was untouchable. He was unreachable. His heart could never be taken by one so far beneath him. It was doubtful that the bastard even had a heart.

Yes…he had doubted that Byakuya even had a heart until Gin's blade pierced it and the blood that spilled from it was as red as anyone else's.

It confused him.

A noble's heart, if one existed, would be too well protected to be cut by an enemy's blade…or by an enemy's kindness.

But here it was again, revealed in honesty and offered to him freely. He hadn't told Byakuya that he must yield or that 'yes' was a given. And Byakuya couldn't know that Aizen's affection wouldn't allow him to use force to make the beautiful noble surrender to him. But why had he stopped fighting it? Why was he not just embracing, but clinging to a man who could only be his enemy? Why was he, against every instinct and every bit of training and wisdom, trusting one who could do him irreparable harm?

Kuchiki Byakuya trusted him.

Why?

He couldn't understand why. But the truth of it rested calmly beneath him. It was in the calm, dark eyes that looked up into his, no longer fearful and mistrusting, but misted and wanting. It was in the way the tension drained from his body, leaving it light and pliable in his enemy's arms. It was in the peaceful expression, brought on by acceptance of the inevitable and it rested in the words that cut through to the very core of Aizen Sousuke's heart…perhaps the one heart in the known worlds that was more deeply hidden and protected than the noble's own.

Kuchiki Byakuya trusted him…

He smiled warmly in acceptance of the words, letting them ring in his mind as he kissed Byakuya repeatedly, with increasing pressure, with greater and deeper passion. He kissed the noble until his body was no longer tensed with anxiety, but until it weakened and shivered softly with repressed desire. Every instinct he had told him to take Byakuya quickly, before he came back to his senses, before he realized what a dangerous and reckless thing they were doing.

But, he realized, it was already too late for that.

No…he needed to do this the right way. Because as much as his mind screamed that it was a fluke, that it was impossible, that it made no sense, suddenly Aizen Sousuke saw the reason that it was not only possible, but inevitable.

For him, it lay in the heartbreak of being trapped among the nameless commoners, blessed with power, but cursed with a lesser name. It meant that he had to work twice as hard for half the respect, that every step forward must be fought for and won and that even when his power was finally acknowledged, his lack of a noble surname would continue to plague him.

And it wasn't just the struggle for recognition. It was the lack of connections. Born in the Rukongai and left without his parents, he had always wondered what it was like to sit down to meals with a family, to have a mother and a father…siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. In the Rukon, families were strung together haphazardly, and no one wanted to be with one so different as him. He didn't belong there. His own kind knew this…but the nobles would never accept him. So he hated them.

But he couldn't hate this noble.

Not this one who also grew up without his parents and among those who somehow sensed he was different and tried their best to control him. Blessed with great power, it was a given that he would lead him, but they realized early on that his deviant views, his tendency toward rebellion was a threat. So they slowly cornered him and educated him until he realized how different he was, until they made him hate himself for it.

That was why he treated others with disdain as he was taught to do. That was why even though he felt the aching wrongness of it, he walked and talked and acted like them. No one among the nobles was actually fooled by his behavior, but it looked good publicly. So long as he kept to the rules. That worked for a while.

Then he met Hisana and his heart couldn't take it anymore. There was undeniable truth in love, truth that Kuchiki Byakuya could no longer hide or hold back. It escaped him forcefully, causing him to break the rules, to marry one beneath him, to take a peasant, and later, her sister into the noble family.

The nobles were quick to respond. When Hisana died, they saw their opportunity and lost no time in pointing out where his disobedience, his reckless behavior had led him. Without his anchor, he couldn't fight them. He buckled under the weight of his grief and gave in to the wishes of his elders, allowing himself to be cornered again and forced to present a penitent heart, to be brought back in and made obedient again. He said the words they wanted and made an empty promise because they promised it would help him find peace again. But it set him on a course for disaster. His promises to his wife and to his parents collided and Kuchiki Byakuya was caught in the crossfire.

They had more in common than Aizen Sousuke had realized. They were both incredibly powerful, gifted with high intelligence and made strong by heartache. They had both walked painful pathways before those pathways crossed. They both languished under rules not of their making. And both were acting in full rebellion now, breaking every rule that had bound them.

He devoured the noble's perfect mouth hungrily now, plunging in deeply, tasting every bit of hidden sweetness, touching every surface. And Byakuya did not passively accept his offerings, he meet them eagerly with his own. He still didn't know why…what force had released him from his tight controls, but Byakuya was not responding to anything he had ever been taught by them. He was at the mercy of his heart now, surging forward with the same recklessness that had led him to first find love among the people of the Rukongai…and was leading him straight into the arms of a man who could never be anything to him but an enemy.

Aizen could feel the hard cadence of the noble's heart beneath his hands and felt the powerful body beneath him straining against him. The dark eyes had caught fire and the hardened member that moved against his was leaking as furiously as his own. Things were in danger of ending before they had really begun. With an effort, he slowed their kissing and broke away for a moment, allowing both to breathe.

He rested on top of that wonderfully soft and powerful body, catching his breath and regaining some control of his mind. He felt Byakuya's chest heaving softly beneath his and met the dark eyes warmly.

"I think," he said softly, "that it would be good for us to adjust to each other slowly. You need to grow comfortable with being touched by me. You may be used to kissing me now, but you don't know what you will experience when we take this farther."

There was a short pause as the noble considered his words, then Byakuya nodded and relaxed against the pillows. Aizen found himself more than a little breathless at the sight of all of that perfection spread out beneath him, open and waiting for him. He swallowed hard and lifted his body away, turning and coming to rest with his body stretched along Byakuya's side.

He began with a return to soft, slow kissing, letting his fingers sink into the soft, silken black hair. One hand curved around the noble's head, supporting it gently, while the other traced the lines of his face and throat. Aizen's breath caught softly as he realized that Byakuya's hands were moving as well, reaching up and taking hold of him…pulling him closer. He released the noble's mouth and followed the path of his fingers with soft touches of his lips, then slow, wet caresses of his tongue. He felt a tremor move through Byakuya and looked into his eyes. There was still a healthy amount of uncertainty, but there was also rising confidence and the steadily growing spark that threatened to ignite everything.

He nuzzled beneath the noble's chin, loosing a rush of light kisses and wet strokes that left the pale skin flushed and the dark eyes riled. He nipped gently at a soft earlobe, then began a slow descent down the length of Byakuya's torso.

He sensed immediately, a drop in the noble's reiatsu and slowed his movements to allow him to adjust. He met Aizen's eyes calmly, but there were signs of doubt, of fears rising up again to deny him the bliss he so longed to achieve.

"Relax," Aizen whispered, stopping for a moment and resting his head against the noble's heaving breast, listening to the fast beating of his heart, "just let yourself adjust."

"Aizen Sousuke," Byakuya whispered back, "if this is a lie…then you have perfected the art of deception. I won't be able to bear it if it is a lie, so if it is…just bury your blade in my body now. I don't want to feel this and have it be a lie."

The eyes that met Byakuya's were touched with regret and he returned to the noble's lips and caressed them into silence.

"Don't say such things, Byakuya. My heart is as open as yours right now. I am as capable of being hurt by this as you are. Just tell me if you can't go on and I will stop. But honestly, if we continue beyond this point, then there will be no turning back. So tell me, Kuchiki Byakuya, do you want me to stop?"

The dark eyes flickered with indecision and he shivered softly. Aizen waited wordlessly. He would not surrender to impatience and ruin this now. If he had to wait, then he could resign himself to it. He wanted Byakuya to give in to him, but he didn't want such a thing to be forced. No, if the noble wasn't ready, he would wait. He would make himself wait. He looked into the depths of the deep gray eyes and waited for an answer.

His patience was finally rewarded with a soft shake of his head and a barely audible answer.

"No, Sousuke, I do not want you to stop."

Not daring to allow the smile he was feeling to be seen, he dropped down and tilted his head so that the noble could not see it as he kissed and touched his way over the strong, proud chest, pausing to tease the surface of each erect nipple and sending tremors of pleasure through his lover's body.

His lover. Kuchiki Byakuya was his lover.

The thought almost made him forget his restraint. But he fought down the urge and moved very slowly down the length of the noble's body, pausing now and again to look up at him, remaining aware of the disturbed reiatsu coming from the other, and growing in confidence and breathlessness as the reiatsu swelled between them, wrapping around them and bathing their bodies in light and warmth.

A sudden flare of power stopped him for a moment and he stared at Byakuya in wonder as he felt the reopening of the noble's spirit centers, and the return of power that was held back now only by the seal placed on it. Looking into Byakuya's eyes, Aizen released the seal just enough to enhance their lovemaking…to deepen the sensations and emotions, but not enough to allow the noble to attack him. It was still too dangerous to hand over that kind of power.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya whispered.

"Shh," he replied softly, "relax."

He dipped his tongue into the noble's navel and sucked at it gently until Byakuya released a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a passionate moan. He was beginning to lose himself in the pleasure now…pleasure enhanced by the exchange of touch and reiatsu between them. They had reached the point of no return and Byakuya was not stopping him. Now Aizen was the one touched with doubt. He had everything he wanted. Byakuya was calm and relaxed beneath him, waiting for him to continue. And he wanted nothing more than to take him. But he was feeling the danger now. It was as he had told Byakuya. His heart was open now, too. And if they allowed themselves to continue, there would be…complications.

But he could manage them…

He could work through them…

And besides, the perfection of this moment would not come again. He really had no choice but to move forward.

He continued moving downward and finally reached the that had most eagerly awaited his touch. He turned his head slightly, watching Byakuya's face as he slowly began a slow stimulation. The noble shifted and a tremor went through him, but the eyes remained steady and calm. Aizen smiled up at him and felt more warm liquid leak out of the already wet appendage.

Byakuya's head dropped back and he moaned, his hips moving to encourage the contact. Aizen brought his lips to join his hands in pleasuring the noble. Byakuya moaned more heatedly and Aizen's own member twitched hungrily in response.

The sound that rose from Byakuya was indescribable and it moved through Aizen Sousuke forcefully, telling him in no uncertain terms that the time for restraint had passed. He continued to move his mouth up and down, alternating warm suction and long strokes. He placed a hand on Byakuya's hip to keep him from thrusting too forcefully. At the same time, he reached up with his other hand and slipped three fingers into the noble's mouth, enjoying the soft motion of the warm tongue against his fingers as it bathed them in saliva. He removed the fingers from his mouth and slid them back down the length of the noble's body then increased the intensity of his ministrations as he began a careful preparation.

Byakuya's breath hitched sharply.

Aizen sucked harder, taking his attention away from the invasive feeling of what he was doing. Aizen felt that he was close and slipped a second finger inside. Byakuya shivered and tightened around him. He released the noble and whispered a few soft reassurances, nuzzling warmly against him and returning to pleasure his navel, while continuing the motion of his fingers until the noble's body relaxed and began to move with him.

He wrapped his mouth around the noble again, distracting him as he added the third finger. Byakuya's body tensed sharply now and began to pull away from him. He calmly took hold of one hip to hold him in place and treated his sensitive skin to several long, slow licks. He was still shaking and moaning in a mixture of pleasure and pain. Aizen rested his head gently on the noble's lower abdomen, releasing him again to whisper reassurances. Sensing that things weren't likely to change for the better, he removed his fingers and moved into position above the noble, trying not to notice the uncertainty that had returned to his eyes.

He nudged the pale thighs farther apart and entered him slowly. The noble's body shook harder and his fingers dug painfully into Aizen's shoulders.

"It's okay, just relax. I won't move until the pain goes away," the brown haired shinigami promised.

Byakuya's heart still pounded hard enough for Aizen to feel, but he forced his breathing to slow. The noble relaxed slightly and the pressure slowly released. Aizen pushed forward again, thrusting slowly in and out until his full length was buried deep within Byakuya's body. He leaned down to kiss the flushed throat, waiting for some kind of signal from the noble.

For several long moments, Byakuya remained frozen and trembling softly beneath him, his dark eyes unreadable. Then, gradually, tightness around him eased slightly and the noble's body moved warmly against his, rising up to meet his thrusts and falling away. They fell into rhythm, moving as one and Aizen couldn't repress a smile as the sounds of pain gave way to moans of pleasure. His heart throbbed painfully as the noble's hands slid down his back and curved around his bottom, encouraging him to thrust in harder and faster. Byakuya's lips parted and released his name almost feverishly.

"S-sousuke!"

The sound went straight to his loins, igniting him and making him forget all restraint. He needn't have worried anyway, because the noble was already lost in the gripping sensations, the friction of skin on skin and the soft binding of reiatsu. Aizen's body struck his relentlessly now, the heavy thrusts deepening until he found the bundle of nerves inside the noble that forced a scream of pleasure from his throat and sent him careening into hard pulses of delight. His fingers clenched painfully and his breath came out in hard moaning gasps.

The sudden tightness around him sent Aizen tumbling into the oblivion. He thrust in one last time, emptying himself into the depths of his lover, his beloved, his Byakuya. He was shaking nearly as hard as Byakuya had been and his heart ached painfully with sudden happiness. He met the noble's eyes with affection and gratitude, but his heart suddenly froze and then shattered.

Because for some reason that his shocked mind couldn't fathom, there were tears running down Byakuya's face…and the eyes that met his were filled with unbearable pain.


	7. Captivated

**Chapter 7: Captivated**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Love and torment seem to live side-by-side in you. I only sought to love you, but my love was destructive. It filled your body with pain, your mind with guilt and all of the depths of your heart with regret. I see now that you have no choice but to run from me. And the worst of this is…I cannot run from myself.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya turned his head quickly, brushing away the offending tears and clamping down on his reiatsu. Aizen Sousuke continued to stare in stunned silence as, with an effort, the noble silently called upon his considerable strength to help him regain control. But there was no hiding the fact that he was shaking, that despite his attempts to stop them, the tears fought their way onto his face against his will. He tried to pull away, but Aizen gripped his body tightly, pulling him close and bringing his head to rest on a warm shoulder.

"What is it?" Aizen asked gently, "Is this my fault? Did I hurt you in some way?"

The noble's body shook softly, but he took another quick breath and fell still. He lay silently in Aizen's arms, gathering himself. After several long, silent minutes, the tension in his body eased and he grew calm again.

"Byakuya…won't you say something?"

The noble sighed and burrowed more deeply into his shoulder.

"I am sorry, Sousuke," he said finally, "I behaved foolishly. You did nothing wrong. You did nothing that I did not want…and I was wrong to act as I did."

Aizen kissed his lips warmly.

"But why did you react that way? I had hoped that our lovemaking would please you. I thought that if you understood what I felt for you, you might feel more comfortable here."

Byakuya sighed softly.

"You have made me more content here than I would have thought was possible. But, don't you understand? Sousuke, until I fell on the battlefield, I was a taichou, a noble, a brother and a protector. I am none of those things now. Even if my body regains its full strength and my power is completely returned, I can never return home. I can never be any of those things again."

He swallowed hard and took a shallow breath.

"Use me as you will then, for I do not wish to become useless. If all I have left is the power to please you, then I would do that."

"Byakuya," Aizen said reprovingly, "You are going to get well. And I know you felt that your powers have returned. Beneath the seal, you have powers equal to my own. It is part of what made me desire you so. And even though you remain a captive here, you are alive and well. As long as you remain so, there is hope that you will return home someday. You must try to remain hopeful."

"You don't understand," Byakuya said quietly, "I can never return home. I have given myself to the enemy I am sworn to kill, in a way that will never be accepted by Soutaichou or by my clan. I have failed as Rukia's brother and protector. And even though I have not betrayed them in my mind, I have betrayed them in body and heart. I am nothing to them now. It is better for them to believe that I am dead than for them to know how far I have fallen. This is not your fault, Sousuke. I made my own choices. And I will learn to live with the consequences. But you need not worry that I will run from you and bindings are no longer necessary. Even if my powers were not sealed away. Even if you opened the doors for me and set me free, I have nowhere to go now. I must simply adjust to life here."

Aizen found himself at a loss for words. He held Byakuya close and brought a hand to his face, focusing for a moment and waiting as the noble's body relaxed in his arms, and Byakuya drifted off to sleep.

"You need to rest now. Your injuries and your captivity here have placed you under great strain. Sleep for a while. Things will look better after you rest a bit."

But he didn't know how to make things any better. It had been difficult enough for Byakuya to be hurt and surrounded by his enemies. To compound that with his guilt over sleeping with his enemy had to be crushing.

As he laid, quietly holding Byakuya in his arms, he wondered if he had made a mistake by making love to the noble. It had been wonderful during. He could still feel the beautiful sensation of that slender, powerful body moving with his. He could hear the wonderful sounds of pleasure he made. Yes, Byakuya's heart had been in the moment…and had remained there alongside his until the very end, until he regained his senses and realized exactly what he had done. But what had he done, really? No matter what Byakuya said, he hadn't done anything to betray his family or the Gotei 13. Although he had committed an act that would certainly be looked upon as wrong, it wasn't as though he had changed sides. Byakuya wasn't going to turn traitor. Aizen's certainty of Byakuya's commitment to family and squad was part of the reason he had not pursued the noble as an ally before leaving the Seireitei.

But Byakuya's estimation of himself, it seemed, was built, not on his intentions but on his suitability to serve the ones he had made his promises to. By capturing the noble, he had interfered with that perception of self and had shattered it. His body being broken with injury and his imprisonment took away all that defined him. And being taken into his enemy's bed only redefined him in his mind as a mere servant used to sate the lust of his master. The thought of Byakuya holding himself in such low regard sickened Aizen. No wonder he was in such a poor state of mind.

But the damage was done.

He had the feeling that even releasing his bonds would not be enough to undo what had been done. Byakuya felt that he couldn't go home. He believed himself to be trapped. And he wasn't going to be himself again unless someone acted to help him. It was insane that the one most responsible for shattering him should also seek to rebuild him…but then, maybe in some odd way, it made sense.

He glanced at Byakuya and realized that the noble was awake again. His head still rested on Aizen's shoulder and his beautiful, but tragically distant eyes stared blankly ahead. Aizen turned and eased him onto his back.

He remained silent and began kissing Byakuya's face, touching every inch of it with soft touches of his lips. He kept his eyes open and gentle so that every time they caught the noble's, they flickered with warmth and affection. He left Byakuya's face and moved down to his throat, then slowly down his torso, gracing it with the same soft touches. Byakuya was calm and relaxed, but Aizen could see the pain still in his eyes. He moved down the length of the noble's body, showering it in his offerings of affection and now whispering loving words as he went.

"Your skin is beautifully soft, Byakuya."

"I love the feel of your reiatsu when it touches mine."

"I love the way your body seems to glow in the moonlight."

Byakuya said nothing, but Aizen could see the emotion slowly growing beneath the pain in his eyes.

He bathed his precious lover's body in kisses until he had kissed his way down to his very toes, then back up his legs before intensifying his kisses as he returned along the soft, inner thighs. His kisses turned to playful nips and his hands stroked the area until he pushed them apart and moved upward to address the noble's growing arousal. His hands continued to lightly stroke his skin, while his mouth slowly pleasured the soft, warm skin with kisses, strokes and gentle suction. Byakuya moaned lightly and his eyelids fluttered softly. The beautiful sound of his voice coursed through Aizen and he felt his hardening member throbbing in response.

He continued his manipulations with very light strokes of his fingertips. The sounds the noble made in response deepened deliciously.

Soon, Byakuya's hips were moving with him and the noble's panting breaths were interspersed with incoherent gasps and moans of pleasure.

Aizen looked up and caught his eyes again, and he felt a deep warmth in his heart at Byakuya's beautiful expression. His face had relaxed and the look of torment in his eyes had given way to one of affection, of want, of need. His lips were almost smiling now.

Aizen moved more quickly, alternating deep suction and longer, slower strokes with his tongue, watching closely as pleasure overtook Byakuya and he neared release.

He watched closely as Byakuya's eyes widened, his body shuddered and the warm pulses of his release erupted. He devoured the warm fluid before returning to Byakuya's mouth and sharing an exchange of deep, slow kisses.

He pulled away for a moment and turned the noble onto his stomach, then began at the back of his neck and worked his way slowly down his body, treating every inch he could with kisses and feeling the warm body beneath him relax into the touches as he slowly caught his breath and his racing heart slowed. When he finished this, he returned to the top and rested his body along the length of Byakuya's back. He brought his lips to the noble's ear and nipped it gently.

"You're so beautiful, Byakuya," he whispered and he felt a shiver of response pass through the noble, "You are the most beautiful of all the nobles…of all of the shinigamis. I always thought so, even when I despised you for being one of them. I've never known perfection like this…but I want to feel it in its fullness."

Very slowly, he released the seal on Byakuya's power. The noble's breath caught sharply. He hadn't been expecting this.

Aizen smiled and released a string of kisses that ran from the back of the noble's neck, down the length of his spine. He felt the power building beneath him. As their reiatsu swelled and wound around each other, Aizen slid down between Byakuya's thighs, moving into position and entering the noble with slow, unhurried thrusts. As he sank into the noble's hot core, Byakuya's head turned to the side and his body rose to meet the one above it. Aizen lowered his body and stretched warmly along Byakuya's back, bringing his lips close to Byakuya's ear as he began thrusting.

"You're so beautiful, so powerful, Byakuya," he whispered, "You should always remember that. And no injury, no loss of powers, no bonds of captivity can ever change that. Byakuya…you are precious to me."

He could see that his lover's eyes were still troubled, still tinged with regret, but his body continued to move with Aizen's, trembling softly in response to the loving words and the deep penetration. The strong pulsation of their reiatsu raised the spiritual pressure in the room until it tremored as well.

Aizen's breath shortened and became ragged as he neared release, and the way Byakuya's hips rose up into his thrusts sent dizzying waves of pleasure through him. The spiritual pressure swelled around them until he could hear the guards outside retreating down the hallway to escape it. He had never felt anything like the feel of Byakuya's power wrapping around him, mixing with his own, and increasing the sensations of body and mind to unbearably beautiful levels. He moaned heatedly into Byakuya's ear and thrust harder and deeper into him until the pleasure exploded inside of him and he tightened his body against the noble's releasing in hot, wonderful pulses as the power flashed in the air around them. He brought his body to rest along Byakuya's back and let his face rest between the noble's shoulder blades.

"Byakuya," he whispered, "you could kill me now and I wouldn't care. I've never felt anything so perfect. Byakuya…_aishiteru yo_."

Byakuya didn't answer, but Aizen felt warm fingers lace into his and felt an answer just the same. They rested quietly together, enjoying the calming of their reiatsu and the peaceful lassitude of post-coital bliss.

"Are you going to leave me now, Byakuya?" he asked softly, "There is nothing holding you back now. I won't stop you if you want to go."

There was a long silence.

"I told you, Sousuke. I can't go home. I would be given the soukyoku for giving myself to you. I have no reason, nor desire to leave now."

"But I thought that you missed your sister…your home…"

Byakuya sighed.

"I will simply have to adjust to thinking of Las Noches as my home," he replied softly.

"Can you really do that, Byakuya? Can you really just give up everything like that?" Aizen asked rubbing his face warmly between the noble's shoulder blades, "Of course I would love it if you stayed…but you know you could go back. No one needs to know what is between us. It needn't interfere with who we are to the others in our lives."

"Sousuke, you know I would be carefully examined and questioned if I did return. I would be watched and treated with suspicion. I do not wish to face something like that. If being isolated among enemies is difficult, then being isolated among my loved ones would be intolerable. I can learn to make myself content here. You have seen to my healing and you have released the seal on my powers. It will take some time yet before I reach full strength, but having your support will see me through."

"Are you sure this is what you want, Byakuya?"

"I am sure, Sousuke."

Aizen turned and came to rest on his back. Byakuya turned toward him. Aizen's hands rose and caught the noble by his shoulders, holding him away for a moment.

"Byakuya…"

The noble looked down at him questioningly.

"Like you, I have never been taken before now. I've never allowed it, because I have needed to keep distance between my subordinates and myself. You are not, and will never be my subordinate. You are my equal, my chosen, my lover. I want to feel your power wrap around me and I want your love to fill me."

Byakuya stared down at him in surprise.

"Sousuke…are you sure?" he asked softly.

Aizen smiled warmly.

"Byakuya, my beloved, I have never been more sure of anything."

There was a long, breathless pause as Byakuya stared down at him, then he nodded almost imperceptibly and smiled.

"I think perhaps it might be best," Byakuya said quietly, "that because of my inexperience, that I let you lead. I have no wish to cause you unnecessary pain."

"But Byakuya," Aizen laughed softly, "I am your enemy. You don't want to hurt your enemy?"

Byakuya's smile widened.

"Even an enemy deserves merciful treatment…and no unnecessary pain, Aizen Sousuke."

Aizen suddenly realized that it was the first time he had ever heard Byakuya laugh.


	8. My Beloved

**Chapter 8: My Beloved**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Your love shattered me. But I was already broken. They bound me with lies and surrounded my heart with guilt. Slowly, the life was fading from me as they drained away my power, my spirit…until I was nearly dead inside, until the warmth could no longer sink beneath my skin anymore. I didn't understand the pain I felt when you tore away the bindings. I expected you to cause me pain. I never expected you to loose the bindings around my spirit, to give strength back to my body, peace to my mind, or that you would surround my heart with love. I understand now. You weren't shattering me. You were only shattering the bonds that were slowly destroying me. Once I was free, I could see that you too, needed to be unbound.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Aizen Sousuke suddenly found himself in the most vulnerable position he had ever been in. It was of his own accord, but that he would not just allow it, but would want it so was beyond even his comprehension. It was done though. His heart had been captured, his mind ensnared and now his body lay beneath a man sworn to kill him. And the man holding him down and tormenting every inch of his body in the most passionate of kisses was no longer bound in any way. He was free to act of his own accord. He was the only creature that Aizen had ever allowed to get close enough to actually kill him.

But if he were to die, Aizen Sousuke would want to die in this man's arms.

He looked up into the dark, smoldering eyes that gazed warmly down at him, at the slender, powerful body that wrapped around his and moved so enticingly. He could feel the spirit energy growing and swelling around them. It occurred to him that they should take some precaution. Both of them were incredibly powerful shinigamis and with the rise of passion, with the intensity of the moment of his taking, it was very possible that the two of them could bring down the entire fortress. He started to reach for Kyouka Suigetsu, but a hand slipped into his and laced their fingers together.

"Allow me," Byakuya's deep, tranquil voice said quietly.

He was finally returning to himself, finally pushing away the despair and the sense of loss and finding his strength. And looking up at Byakuya, at peace again and surrounded in his power, was intoxicating. So beautiful, so powerful and dangerous…perfect…

Somehow Senbonzakura had returned to his hand and had been unsealed. Now the feeling of danger increased and Aizen's heart began to race wildly beneath his skin. It would only take the slightest shift of his body, and Byakuya could bury that blade in him…could end everything. Luckily, Aizen thought to himself, Byakuya seemed to have other plans.

Power exploded around them as Senbonzakura was released. All at once, a sphere of petals rose around them. He flinched as they brushed against his skin, then realized that they were not bladed, but soft…real petals.

"That should keep us from destroying everything around us," Byakuya said softly.

Aizen barely heard. He was lost in the scent of sakura, in the touch of the noble's hands, held down by his body and pleasured by his searching mouth. And around and through them, the power was building, growing and flaring. Death in these hands, he thought, would be terrifyingly lovely.

He was relaxed and calm, held fast and treasured by his beautiful lover. Byakuya seemed to glow with power now, looking almost angelic as he traveled the length and breadth of Aizen Sosuke, touching and tasting him until both were nearly breathless with delight. If not for the sphere of petals, they would already have leveled the room they were in. The guards would have been crushed as if from within and the hollows he had gathered to him to bring about his rise to power would be screaming in pain and beginning to die. It was a horribly reckless thing he had done, allowing this. Byakuya could easily undo everything…everything he had worked so hard to achieve. But Byakuya was lost in his exploration of Aizen Sousuke's body…tracing the lines and curves of it, teasing it into motion, bringing it to life in a way no one ever had before. There was no stopping this. If it was the end, then so be it, he thought.

_I have chosen this…and I will not deny myself. I feel as he did when I took him. If he is going to kill me, I would die this way, buried in his arms and looking up into that lovely face as I perish!_

A powerful burst of adrenaline confused his senses and for a moment, Aizen didn't know if it was pleasure, or if perhaps the noble had driven home his blade and the leader of the hollows could be falling. But the feeling was so perfect that it didn't matter, and a moment later, he regained his senses as Byakuya's body sank down onto his, and the heavenly body lifted away from him, straightening and bringing his open palms to rest on Aizen's chest. The powerful hips moved up and down and his own rose up to meet each heady, grinding thrust. He looked up into the noble's blissful expression and felt the power around them surge again.

There was a sudden deep resonance that pulsed sharply as their reiatsu linked, and Aizen noticed a momentary look of surprise cross the noble's calm expression. He looked uncertain for a moment, and there was a breathless hesitation in the motion of his body, then a shiver of wonder and acceptance passed through him. Aizen furrowed his brow, realizing that something unusual had happened. He tightened his hands on the noble, thinking to stop him for a moment. He wanted to know what had just happened. But pleasure was overtaking him again. It exploded through his body and pulsed, uncontrolled, out of his body and into Byakuya, stealing away his thoughts and emptying his mind of everything but the beautiful feeling. He gave in to it, letting it wrap around him and carry him into a haze of contentedness.

He floated on a mist of emotion and sensation he had never felt before. Byakuya's reiatsu was wrapped around him like soft sakura ropes, binding the two slowly together, bringing their souls into harmony with one another…leaving him in a state of deep contentment. He didn't know quite how it happened, but as he slowly returned to himself, he realized that he had been turned onto his stomach and that Byakuya's body was stretched all along his back. And everywhere the petal soft skin touched him, he felt the exchange of reiatsu continue, a sensuous sharing of power and pleasure that left him warmed and deeply contented.

"Sosuke," Byakuya's voice said quietly, "have you returned then? I wasn't sure, but it seemed that you left me entirely for a moment."

Aizen smiled and shifted slightly beneath him.

"And I wondered for a moment if you hadn't killed me, Bya," he breathed in response, "You certainly could have. I think perhaps that you were derelict in your duty, Kuchiki taichou. You have your enemy at your mercy. What keeps you from simply delivering the killing blow? I might be able to stop you, but the outcome would look to be tilted mostly in your favor."

"Aizen Sousuke, you insult me," Byakuya said with mock disdain, "Why would you think that I would have to resort to stealth or deception to take down my enemy? If I wanted to take you down, I would offer an honorable challenge and meet you on the battlefield."

He paused for a moment to gently tease the soft skin on the back of his lover's neck with warm lips and breath.

"I would never disrespect either of us by using something like love for the means of destruction. I would rather accept loss and death than demean either of us in such a way. And in any case, if we had planned to do each other harm, I would already be dead. You have declined more than a few invitations to undo me. Perhaps I simply return the favor."

"Ah," sighed Aizen as the noble gently nipped his earlobe, "I should be keeping count then, because as soon as we are even, you could turn on me."

"You could also turn on me," Byakuya countered.

"Yes," Aizen sighed, "I suppose I could. It raises the emotion deliciously, ne?"

He could feel that the noble's lips were smiling as he nuzzled a flushed cheek and rested there for a moment.

"You know," Byakuya commented softly, "if I didn't know you better, I might think you were being seduced by complete recklessness. You do seem bent on indulging in dangerous games."

Aizen laughed softly.

"And I am alone in neither recklessness nor seduction, Kuchiki Byakuya. If I have indulged in taking that path, then you have joined me willingly."

"So I think that our fates have become entwined," Byakuya said quietly, "but what happens next, Sousuke? What will you ask of me? Will it be enough to know that you have my love…or will you ask for more? Will you ask me to turn against them? To betray their confidences? To kill them?"

Aizen brought their still-entwined hands to his lips and kissed the noble's fingers.

"I would never ask that, Byakuya," he said with complete certainty, "because I know that even if you honored the request, doing so would destroy you. I cannot destroy someone so beautiful, someone I love with such passion. I think you will not return to the battlefield, Byakuya. Not until you return home and rejoin them as one among my enemies. Your heart may be mine, but who you are has not changed."

"Sousuke, I told you that I cannot return to them…"

"Bya…let's not speak anymore of this. Our fates will come to us as they will and we have no choice but to accept them. Come now…we are secluded here from all of that…buried in the softness and sweet scents of sakura. But time passes, even as we lie here. We don't want this moment to be stolen from us. Be with me…love me."

He could feel the noble's hesitation and sensed that there was more he wanted to say. But the moment passed and Byakuya released a sigh of acceptance. There would be a time for revelation, but, he realized, this was not the time, nor the place.

Byakuya's hand released his and the fingers sank into his hair, turning his head slightly to allow the noble better access to the soft skin along the side of his throat. He brushed his lips against the skin and nibbled his way from the soft, exposed earlobe to the meeting of neck and shoulder, then traced the lines of his shoulders with kisses and slowly moved down his spine. He returned up that pathway with calm, wet strokes of his tongue, and with light kisses. Aizen's body shifted beneath Byakuya and the reiatsu began to flare again.

Soft, pale fingers stroked his face and lips, then slipped into his mouth. Aizen ran his tongue up and down the length of each of them, slowly bathing them in his saliva. The fingers slipped out of his mouth and teased their way slowly along his spine. The noble's body shifted and pushed down between his thighs. A warm hand caressed his lower back, then slid around his body. He raised his hips slightly as it reached beneath him and took hold of his thickening arousal. He moaned softly, relaxing into the motion of the hand that pleasured him. He had become so relaxed that he barely felt the invasion of the first finger entering him.

The feeling of intoxication was returning. It moved through his veins from head to toe in a slow, hypnotic dance through his body. A second finger entered him and a twinge of pain flashed through him, but it was easy to ignore as the noble's hand continued to pleasure him and Byakuya's head tilted slightly so that long strands of hair fell down and tickled the skin of Aizen's lower back.

He flinched as a third finger entered him, but the hand wrapped around him tightened and stroked harder and faster as the fingers moved. He released something between a gasp and a heated moan as the fingers were removed and the warmth of Byakuya's body returned to his back.

The noble captured his earlobe and sucked at it for a moment, then bit down on the side of his throat as he brought his hardened member to the tight entrance and pushed forward. One hand clenched in reaction and Aizen felt that it had captured something soft. At first, he thought it was a handful of the sakura petals that continued to swirl around them, but when he turned his head slightly to look, he realized that he was gripping a long, thick strand of Byakuya's hair. He held on to it, enjoying the softness against his palm as the noble pressed forward and sank deeper and deeper into his body with short, gentle thrusts until his full length was buried in his lover.

Byakuya paused for a moment, nuzzling Aizen's neck and waiting until the slight tension in the body beneath him released. He began a slow, rhythmic thrusting and Aizen felt their reiatsu flare and swell. The hand on him continued to move and he moved with it as Byakuya's body wrapped more tightly around his and he could feel the noble's heart pounding against the skin of his back.

The power rose around them, spinning the floating sakura petals in the air around them and sending a rumble through the room. Aizen groaned softly as he heard the glass window shatter. Even with the shielding, the fortress was about to take a beating. But it was too late to stop now. Byakuya's body moved against his forcefully now, penetrating more and more deeply until it struck the bundle of nerves within, sending a jolt of intense pleasure through him and forcing a growl from his throat. He raised his hips to meet Byakuya's thrusts and groaned as the noble struck the same spot several more times before the pleasure overtook them both and the reiatsu exploded around them. The building shook madly and whatever windows had survived to this point gave way under the intense spiritual pressure. But the two were beyond noticing as their bodies pulsed again and again, caught up in the powerful waves of release. The sakura petals spun freely around them now, breaking free of the protective sphere and floating softly down to coat the surfaces of the bedroom. They bathed the lovers' recovering bodies in softness as lovemaking gave way to slow, intense kisses.

Byakuya slid down beside Aizen as he rolled onto his back. The noble stretched warmly along his side, resting his head on his lover's shoulder and sighing contentedly. They studied the damage to the room around them, glanced at each other and found themselves laughing softly.

"My apologies, Sousuke," Byakuya said, smirking, "It seems I miscalculated both the forces we would produce and my inability to focus while taken with pleasure."

"No need to apologize, Bya," Aizen said, stroking the noble's hair, "Buildings can be rebuilt…but what happened here can never be equaled. I am glad that I found you that day on the battlefield, glad I brought you here. Because I never would have shared this with anyone else. You are a treasure. I want so much for you to stay…but you must give careful thought to any such decision. The consequences either way could be disastrous."

Byakuya nuzzled more deeply into his shoulder.

"I don't know why you still think that my returning to the Seireitei is an option, Sousuke. I would not be able to hide what happened here, nor would I want to have to try. I gave myself to my enemy, and now my heart belongs to him. Even though I will not raise my sword against them, neither can I wield it on their behalf. I have betrayed their trust. I am no longer fit to stand among them."

Aizen sat up, bringing the noble with him.

"But Byakuya, don't you understand? You haven't betrayed them at all. You love me, but you don't belong to me, nor do you support my cause or my plans. I don't even need to ask you to know that. And you can return if that is what you want."

"How can I do that?" Byakuya asked softly, "Even if I was not drawn to you, how do I explain the reiatsu traces and the physical evidence that proves I gave myself to you willingly?"

"That is simple," Aizen explained calmly, "You were my captive and you came to me in grave condition. They will assume that I compelled you, perhaps not with physical force, but by other means. They don't know what did or didn't happen."

"But I do," Byakuya insisted, "and I would not bastardize what is between us by lying to save my own skin."

Aizen released a long sigh and pulled him closer.

"Then I will be grateful for what has been given to me. I will treasure every moment we spend together, Kuchiki Byakuya," he said, kissing the noble warmly.

"Byakuya," the noble corrected him, "I no longer have a claim to that noble surname. From now on, it is just Byakuya."

"Byakuya," Aizen agreed softly, "aishiteru yo."

"Sousuke," Byakuya whispered, "aishiteru yo."

Aizen held Byakuya close, watching through half-lidded eyes as the noble drifted off to sleep in his arms. He felt the wrongness of what was happening, but he couldn't bring himself to try to push Byakuya away. Byakuya's strength, his power and his mind were not meant to be held back. This man could never be something so simple as Aizen Sousuke's lover. The larger part of the attraction he felt was in the expression of those things. It was wrong for Byakuya to waste those gifts…but they could never be used against the ones he loved in the Seireitei, either. He knew that eventually Byakuya must be made to understand this…that he must be made to leave. But while he waited for that to happen, he would not hold himself away from the fullness of love…even love that was never meant to be.


	9. White Night

**Chapter 9: White Night**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**I will remember this. When you have passed through the swirling sands and disappeared, when your footsteps have faded back to smoothness, when your scent is gone from the breezes, and when your light has faded from my eyes. But even when you are gone from me…it will not be over. It will never be over. Aishiteru yo…**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Byakuya," Aizen Sousuke said, leaning over to kiss Byakuya into wakefulness.

The noble stirred and opened his eyes. Aizen felt a shiver pass through him as Byakuya's waking eyes met his without the usual shading of sadness about them. He was, Aizen realized, truly beginning to adjust to life in Hueco Mundo. He ignored the nagging voice in his head that told him he would come to regret that fact and focused instead on how good it felt to meet his lover's eyes first thing every morning.

"Sousuke…" Byakuya replied sleepily, "Isn't it a bit early?"

"Not so early for men of our sort, Byakuya. Or perhaps it is a little early, but I have a gift for you. Come."

He took the noble's hands and the two left the bedroom. They walked down the grand stairway and over several hallways to a room that appeared to be devoted to the care and cleaning of Aizen Sousuke's own clothing and that of his associates. An old, wizened hollow stepped forward and squinted up at Byakuya, frowning slightly. Byakuya looked back questioningly.

"Lord Aizen," the old hollow said in a creaky voice, "He is a scant bit taller than you said, but I think this will work for him."

He motioned to a white uniform suspended on hangers behind him. Byakuya stared.

Aizen turned to Byakuya and smiled.

"Will you try them on?" he asked.

Byakuya looked at him with uncertainty.

"Well," Aizen said, "since you're staying here, I thought you might enjoy having something to wear besides nightwear."

"Sousuke…I…"

Aizen released the tie at his waist and slipped the robe off of his shoulders. Accustomed to dressing in front of servants at Kuchiki Manor, Byakuya stood quietly as his body was bared, then dressed again in a white hakama and finely tailored top with a high collar, much like Aizen's own, but with lovely flashes of black at the throat, wide sleeves and on the belted waist. A cape-like extension swept down over the back of the hakama. Byakuya stood staring into the mirror with a less than thrilled look on his face. Although the outfit looked exquisite on him, though obviously made to complement his slender frame, he found it disconcerting to look so like the enemies he had opposed. But Sousuke had intended that it should please him…and it was beautifully made…

"Byakuya?" Aizen said, breaking into his thoughts.

Byakuya looked up at him.

Reading his expression, Aizen laughed softly.

"This can be for official occasions, not for everyday. I have also had several shihakushous made for you…and I have had your ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu mended and cleaned. Do not worry. It was done with great attentiveness. I know it is a family heirloom. Your haori has been cleaned and mended as well. In addition, my crafters have remade your kenseiken."

"Sousuke," Byakuya said softly, "Arigato…this is beautifully made and I appreciate it. I would be pleased to wear this while I remain in Las Noches. My…other clothing may be stored…in case I should ever return to the Seireitei."

A look of surprise and wonder crossed Aizen's features.

"Very well, Byakuya," he said, smiling, "I shall have others made. Do you like this style or would you prefer to design a look of your own?"

Byakuya blinked.

"Who designed this one?" he asked, already suspecting.

"I did," Aizen admitted, drinking in the sight of the beautiful shinigami standing before him, dressed as he had only pictured in his mind.

The only problem for Aizen Sousuke was that now that Byakuya was wearing the custom designed uniform, all he could think about was tearing it off of the slender, powerful body it concealed. He stared hungrily at Byakuya for some time before he realized that the noble was staring back at him, reading the expression in his eyes and returning it in an equally heated stare.

"Miyoji…" he murmured, his eyes fixed on the deep gray eyes, "leave us."

The old hollow bowed and retreated to the sewing room in the back.

Aizen stepped forward, moving closer until his body was pressed against Byakuya's, their cheeks brushed warmly together, and each could feel the evidence of the other's arousal. Byakuya shivered at the heat of Aizen's breath as it brushed against this throat, his cheek, his earlobe. He felt a flush coming over his features. His mouth felt suddenly dry and he started to moisten his lips.

As his tongue brushed over his parted lips, Aizen's head turned and his mouth took hold of Byakuya's. He sucked the noble's tongue into his mouth and stroked it heatedly with his own until he could feel that Byakuya's body was trembling. His breast heaved softly against Aizen's and his arms wrapped around his lover's shoulders.

Aizen pressed forward and Byakuya let himself be pushed back until he felt the wall at his back. Still, Aizen pushed forward, thrusting his hips into Byakuya's and sucking hungrily on his lips and tongue. Byakuya moaned into his mouth, igniting Aizen's passion.

Byakuya felt the tie at his waist release and the hakama dropped to the floor. He felt his lover's slip away as well and felt the hot pressure of Aizen's hardened member rubbing against his. He moaned louder, lifting one leg up to wrap around his lover's slender waist. Aizen's hand took hold of his thigh and held him there as his hips thrust deeply into Byakuya's. The noble gasped in pleasure.

"S-Sousuke!" he panted into Aizen's open mouth, "I…I…"

The noble's breath hitched as Aizen shifted his hips, positioning himself at Byakuya's tight entrance and teasing it lightly.

"You want me to take you?" he breathed hotly in the noble's ear.

"Ah…hah…yes!" panted Byakuya.

"Here?" Aizen hissed, nipping his lips.

"Ah…kami, yes!"

"Like this?" he whispered, thrusting into the noble and forcing him back against the wall.

Byakuya groaned as pain shot through his back and legs. Aizen saw the pain flash in his eyes and pulled back, looking concerned.

"Are you all right?" he asked quickly.

Byakuya answered by tightening the leg around his waist and reclaiming his mouth. Reassured, Aizen braced a hand against the wall and thrust into the noble as Byakuya held onto his shoulders and strained against him, moaning and panting with pleasure. He slid his hand slowly down the noble's writhing torso and took hold of him, caressing him in time with their movements. Byakuya's eyes closed and his head fell back. Aizen bit down on the pale skin of his throat and thrust hard into him, making him gasp and cry out almost deliriously. He pounded into the lithe, beautiful body relentlessly, letting Byakuya's passionate cries take hold of him and send him reeling. Hot seed exploded out of the noble and ran down their tightly clenched bodies. Aizen buried himself deeply in his lover and forced him back against the wall, holding him there as his throbbing member pulsed again and again. He attacked the noble's mouth and throat with warm, sated kisses.

Byakuya relaxed his legs, letting his foot slide down Aizen's leg and back to the floor. His lover's member exited his body, and he felt a warm stream of fluid running down his trembling legs. His back throbbed painfully, leaving him feeling lightheaded and weak. He sagged against Aizen and heard him say something. But everything was fading into whiteness. His legs collapsed and he felt himself being caught and eased to the floor. His head spun and he heard echoing voices around him as he was gently lifted and carried to a nearby room. He sighed with relief at the feel of the soft bed under his aching back. Words reached his ears, but they were garbled and incomprehensible. He felt himself turned and bathed in soft healing light and gentle touches. The pain slowly faded and his head began to clear.

He felt a stirring deep inside…a calm awakening. He sensed again what he had felt before when they made love. He wondered how such a thing could happen here, far from home and among his enemies. And he wondered how he would ever explain it to Aizen Sousuke. But there was time for that. There was time to think it through. For now, he let the beauty of the feeling wrap around him, to warm him while he relaxed and let sleep overtake him.

He woke some time later and found himself alone with the old healer. The healer nodded kindly and continued his work.

"Where is Aizen Sousuke?" he asked quietly.

"He was called away, but he will be back shortly," the healer assured him.

The two looked up as Gin entered the room. Byakuya felt a small shiver of disgust pass through him.

"You are needed in the prison level," he told the healer off-handedly, "and you should go quickly. There is a prisoner who requires your attention. I was a little too enthusiastic, I guess, and I inflicted more damage than I meant to."

"Aizen-sama commanded that I remain with Kuchiki taichou," the healer said, frowning at Gin.

"Well…I will sit with Byakuya while you go and heal the prisoner. That way, he won't be alone. Now move along. I really don't want this informant to die."

The healer looked unhappily from Gin to Byakuya, but rose and left the room. Gin smiled widely, studying the noble's dark expression.

"My…you had some excitement, didn't you!" he said, staring, "I thought the wallpaper would begin to melt, Byakuya! That was beyond amazing!"

"Get out," Byakuya said coldly.

Gin laughed softly.

"That's a bit cheeky, coming from a prisoner of war, Byakuya," he said reprovingly, "You might want to control that before it gets you into trouble!"

"Your threats mean nothing, Gin," Byakuya said in a low voice, "Aizen Sousuke no longer sees me as a prisoner. My powers have been released and I am more than capable of defending myself."

"To be sure!" Gin exclaimed, "So you are…one of us now?"

"I will never be like you," Byakuya said, glaring, "I have not turned traitor. But neither do I choose to leave Las Noches."

"Interesting," Gin said in a seductive purr, "You think that you can abandon your place among our enemies…decorate Aizen Sousuke's bed…and not be considered a traitor? Haven't you betrayed them by not fighting on their behalf? If any among your men found themselves in a position to kill the enemy…and did not…wouldn't they be guilty of betrayal? How then, are you not a traitor, Byakuya? Or are you, perhaps serving them by distracting him? If so, you are going above and beyond the call of duty…"

Byakuya answered him with an icy glare and silence.

"You are a fool," Gin went on, "so blind…Don't you understand, Byakuya? He isn't in love with you. He is using you. He is weakening his enemy. The most effective way to deny the Seireitei your strength was for him to seduce you. He knew you would never consciously betray them. But he could reduce their power by removing you as a factor."

He moved closer.

"You are in a very dangerous position, Kuchiki Byakuya. The moment he sees you as a threat, he will kill you. And one thing more…even though you walk at his side, train with him, share meals with him and pleasure his body, you are an enemy to the rest of us. And even though you can fuck your enemy and allow him to live…"

He leaned forward and brought his lips to the noble's ear.

"We don't feel that way. We will protect our leader from all enemies…even the one he loves. You will want to keep your guard up," Gin said, letting his breath stir Byakuya's hair, "because the moment there is an opening…we will act to protect him, from you and from himself. You don't know when that moment will come, Kuchiki Byakuya…only that when it does, this beautiful body of yours will know torment the likes of which you have never experienced."

Gin nipped sharply at his earlobe and the noble jumped reflexively. The white haired shinigami stepped back.

"Just something you will want to keep in mind," he said, smiling widely.

He turned and slipped silently out of the room.

Byakuya sat, feeling his heart race furiously beneath his breast and trying to force his mind to ignore Gin's words. But they echoed in his mind and tormented him for the remainder of the day. Even after Sousuke returned, even as they shared their evening meal, as they walked back to their room, and even as the leader of the hollows buried himself in Byakuya's body yet again…he couldn't shake the uncertainty. Because…if it was true, and he was being played for a fool, then his heart would shatter. It was worse than being tortured, worse even than dying. It was the worst form of cruelty. It was the one torment among all of his enemy's atrocities that he could not bear. But he was too far gone in loving Sousuke Aizen. He couldn't protect himself from Aizen at all.

"Byakuya…aishiteru yo…" his lover breathed sleepily as he dropped off to sleep.

Byakuya trembled softly and clung to the words. And he silently prayed that they were not a lie.

XXXXXXXXXX

The hiss of a brutally swift flash step sounded and Aizen Sousuke raised his blade to counter. His body turned gracefully to meet the slender form that wielded the slim blade crossing his. He had nearly been fast enough to slip inside Aizen's guard. But it was a good thing they were practicing just swordsmanship, Byakuya thought grimly. Having seen Aizen Sousuke's shikai, he would be vulnerable to the illusions of Kyoka Suigetsu. But for a body that was still healing, flash steps and swordplay were sufficient to challenge the noble. His back and legs ached warningly and his spirit centers throbbed with overuse, but Byakuya welcomed the pain as a sign of his healing.

Aizen stepped back and signaled an end to the practice and Byakuya cleared and sheathed his weapon.

"Byakuya, your speed is increasing by leaps and bounds and you seemed to double the number of flash steps you used. I think tomorrow you may be ready to begin releasing your zanpakutou in battle."

"Arigato, Sousuke," Byakuya said softly, trying to ignore the ache in his back and the slight tremor in his legs.

Aizen gazed at him for a moment and smiled at the noble's stubbornness about not showing weakness. Although logic dictated that he should offer Byakuya relief from the pain he sensed, he respected the considerable strength and force of will his lover evidenced. Instead, he took a more covert action.

"Come, Byakuya," he said, slipping an arm around the noble, "I'm of a mind for a shower and a hot soak."

Byakuya followed Aizen away from the training ground and up several flights of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a single door. Byakuya gazed at Aizen questioningly. The leader of the hollows smiled.

"This is a special room I had constructed shortly after my move to Las Noches. You see, I, like you, value beauty, fresh air, and scenery. There is little of that in this place. I designed this room to offer a place that would appeal to my need for those things."

He opened the door and motioned for Byakuya to enter. The noble stepped into the room and promptly had his breath taken away.

The room was huge, with a glass dome that rose up over the top, giving it a wide open feel. Soil and sandstone had been used to create the look of an outdoor garden. Bright flowers and green plants grew all around and climbing vines wrapped around finely crafted trellises. In the center of the room was an immense bathing pool that boasted several comfortable looking soaking areas and a large waterfall.

"What do you think, Byakuya?" Aizen asked, gazing appreciatively at the noble's rapt expression.

He was warmed by the happiness that reflected in the usually calm gray eyes, by the life that had come back into his body and seemed to radiate around him. He had looked beautiful to Aizen Sousuke before, but now Byakuya somehow managed to go beyond that, leaving Aizen touched and a bit breathless.

"It is amazing, Sousuke," Byakuya breathed, "I've never seen anything like this."

They stepped into the room and Byakuya followed Aizen to the dressing area. They shed their clothing and waded out into the warmth of the pool. He longed to sink into the steaming water in one of the soaking areas, but first he needed to be clean. He turned toward the waterfall, walking slowly and admiring the array of plants and flowers he had wondered if he would ever see again. He slipped beneath the waterfall and let the rush of water carry away the tension, the sticky sweat, the residual pain of his injury. Aizen's arms wrapped around him from behind and he felt warm, wet kisses on his neck. They took turns then, massaging soap into skin and hair and stroking it away, then indulged in a rage of passionate kisses that somehow exploded into a frenzied joining of bodies, a heavy splash into the shallows and a delicious battle of a different sort that stole their breath and left them clinging to each other, panting harshly and kissing more slowly as they caught their breath.

Byakuya rested beneath his lover, gazing up into the calm dark eyes and feeling the happiness spread throughout him.

"Sousuke…" he said, ready to tell him what he had longed to before.

But suddenly Kuchiki Byakuya had his breath taken away again. Because out over the plants and the bathing pool, something was happening, something else he had never expected. Out over the entirety of the garden area, rain was falling.

_Rain…in Hueco Mundo?_


	10. The Tears of my Beloved

**Chapter 10: The Tears of my Beloved**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**I trusted you. And we walked together while our paths allowed it. I gave you my heart readily, and I promise you that I will never be sorry. But our paths diverged and we were torn apart. I bowed before you and accepted your torment. You won't ask my forgiveness, but it is yours. You were doing as you had to, just the same as I was.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya stared and tilted his head back, letting the rain spatter down onto his face. He had thought it might be warm, like the water in the bathing pool, but it was cool and felt like real rain splashing onto his skin. Aizen smiled at the beautiful, joyful expression playing over the noble's features and pulled him close, taking his rain-spattered face in both hands and kissing that precious smile.

"I had never thought I'd feel rain on my face again. I know it isn't truly rain, but it has the same feel, the same scent, everything! Sousuke…"

"Well, we may not be in the Seireitei anymore, but there is no reason to be without the comforts of home, Byakuya. So I'm guessing you like it."

"Sousuke…I love it! This place is beautiful."

Aizen held the noble tightly against him, eagerly plundering his mouth and licking the raindrops from his lips and throat.

"Then, by all means, we will come here each day after our training to relax and rejuvenate. I often come here to reflect or when I need a quiet place to think things through. You may come here as often as you wish, Byakuya. I know that the deadness of Hueco Mundo is not so much to your liking. I would have to agree. Luckily, my builders and Kyoka Suigetsu have been quite useful in overcoming the inconveniences of this region."

The rain was easing, softening into a fine mist that drifted down and settled lightly on everything beneath it. Byakuya shook the rain out of his hair and followed Aizen to the edge of the pool. They returned to the dressing area and donned fresh clothing, then left for the meeting hall.

This meeting shouldn't take terribly long," Sousuke said, pausing at the door, "There are just a few renovation issues to go over, then perhaps you might help me with a research problem I'm having. I know your family archive is extensive. I'm thinking that your knowledge may be useful. Don't worry. It has nothing to do with my plans. I wouldn't even ask you for your help if it did, Byakuya. I know that no matter that you've chosen to stay, you will not turn on them."

"Arigato, Sousuke. Ours is not an easy association…and I appreciate you conforming to the boundaries of what I can offer."

Aizen gave him a somewhat wistful look.

"I do love you…and I want for this to work as much as you do. But I worry, Byakuya. I worry that all too soon our worlds may collide…and when that happens, we must return to our corners, or be caught in the crossfire."

The builders entered the meeting hall, ending their conversation. Byakuya sat quietly at Aizen's side, offering suggestions for the new additions when asked, but mostly thinking on Aizen's words. He realized the wisdom in the words, but given his growing feelings for Sousuke, he hated the idea of leaving. Still, he knew that Sousuke was right about not wanting to be caught in the middle. But he was already caught there…and he knew that at this point, simply returning to the Seireitei would not be the answer. He turned his head to look at Aizen as the leader of the hollows calmly continued his discussion with the builders. He had to say something soon…but he had no idea how to explain what had happened…and no idea how Aizen would respond.

Byakuya noticed that the room had grown quiet and looked up to see the builders walking out the door. Aizen was looking at him and smiling.

"You seem to spend a great deal of time lost in thought, Kuchiki Byakuya. What is on your mind?"

Byakuya decided that he couldn't keep what he knew from Aizen any longer.

"Sousuke," he said, his voice wavering slightly, "There is something…"

The doors opened suddenly and Gin stepped into the room, followed by two bound shinigami. Byakuya froze.

"Oh, sorry!" Gin said quickly, starting to turn the prisoners away.

But the damage was already done.

"Rukia? Renji?" Byakuya whispered, his face paling.

The two looked up at him, their eyes widening in shock, first at seeing him, and second at seeing that he was dressed as an enemy.

"Byakuya!" Rukia gasped.

"Kuchiki taichou!" Renji exclaimed, staring.

Byakuya started forward, but was quickly stayed by a hand on his arm.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Aizen said quietly, "apparently you have forgotten your place. Let me remind you that you are a prisoner of war here. Although I have granted you certain privileges, they do not extend to allowing you interactions with other prisoners. Gin, you will escort Byakuya back to his room."

Gin smirked.

"As you will, Sousuke."

Numbness settled over Byakuya as he was led away. He had only seen enough to know that they had not yet been harmed. He didn't have to speak to them to know why they were in Hueco Mundo or how they had been captured. They had come looking for him…and now it might just cost them their lives.

"Awfully bad luck," Gin said suggestively, "I thought their eyes would pop out of their heads when they saw you in our clothing…but Sousuke is so quick thinking to protect you like that. The only problem is…what to do now. He has a protocol for shinigami prisoners. They are always carefully interrogated for useful information. Then he determines their usefulness. If they are useful, he puts them to a task. If not, he has them killed."

He paused as they reached the door to Aizen's room.

"Don't worry," Gin said, smiling, "being that he is so fond of you, he will likely find a way to spare them…still, you never know. And even if he does spare them…there are often unfortunate accidents in the prisons. Wait here, Kuchiki taichou. Sousuke will be with you shortly."

Byakuya sat down in the window seat, staring out at the sand blowing across the dunes outside. Although he tried to ignore them, Gin's words echoed in his mind.

_You are…one of us now?_

_There are often unfortunate accidents in the prisons._

He wasn't sure how much time passed before he heard the bedroom door open and close and felt Aizen approaching him. He kept his eyes focused out the window and did not respond to the hand that was set softly on his shoulder.

"Byakuya."

"Hai, Sousuke."

"Will you look at me?"

Byakuya turned to face Aizen as he sat down next to the noble and took his hands.

"I believe we have a collision of worlds upon us," Aizen said quietly, "I hope you understand that I only said what I did to protect you. If they witnessed that I had no restraints on you, then they would have been duty-bound to capture or kill you. I didn't think any of you deserved to be put in that position."

"What will you do with them?" Byakuya asked softly.

"I will need to have them questioned, but they will not be subjected to forceful measures. I am treating them as hostages of value. I do this to make certain the guards will not harm them…and I will obtain something of value for their safe return. Byakuya, they will not be harmed."

"Gin intends to see that they are," Byakuya said, gazing into Aizen's eyes, "He has been attempting to shake my faith in you, Sousuke. In that, he has not been successful. But he wants to come between us. He toys with both of us now. It seems he takes great pleasure in worsening the difficulties we face in managing what is between us. Sousuke, they cannot stay here. He will act against them to get to me. He might not kill them, but he could…"

"I will have him watched. Byakuya."

"You don't understand, Sousuke. Gin belongs here in a way that I never will. The Espada are already lined up against me, as well they should be. Despite my connection to you, I remain their enemy. As powerful as you are, you cannot change this situation. You are as caught in the middle as I am. I am caught between my loyalty and love for family and Seireitei and my love for you. You love me in return, but you must continue to display your power to the Espada and your associates or they will turn on you. If you show favoritism to me, it will be taken as a sign of weakness. Eventually the Espada will attempt to kill Rukia…Renji…me, perhaps even you. Sousuke, there is no choice, but…"

He was interrupted by the shriek of an alarm.

"_Alert…alert…Shingamis have breached the outer defenses. Alert…alert…Shinigamis have breached the outer defenses. All squads report to their commanders. Threat level red_."

Byakuya's eyes closed.

"It is over, Sousuke. You cannot protect any of us anymore."

"Gin!" Aizen hissed.

He placed his hands on the noble's shoulders and Byakuya met his eyes warily.

"Wait for me here. You will be safe here until I return…and we will work things through. Byakuya, I will make him pay for his manipulations. He thinks it is an amusing game because he is a snake…and if I could achieve my goals without him, I would..."

"I understand, Sousuke. Go now…it sounds serious."

Aizen leaned forward and met Byakuya's lips warmly, then rose and flash stepped away. Byakuya remained by the window for several long minutes, watching as the forces clashed outside, then quietly slipped back into his shihakushou and adornments, placed Senbonzakura in its place on his hip and flash stepped away.

XXXXXXXXXX

"It sounds like the attack has begun," Renji said, listening to his voice echoing through the cellblock, "Now, we just have to hope they keep them distracted long enough for the secret mobile corps to get in here."

"I just hope they can find my brother. Everyone was thinking that they must be keeping him in the cellblock, but it looks as though Aizen wanted to keep him close, maybe so it would be harder for us to do what we're doing," Rukia replied.

"Yeah…that's what it looks like…" Renji agreed.

"Renji…he looked so pale. He was so much thinner. I'm really worried about him."

"I am too," Renji said, leaning against the bars of his cell, "He looked like he'd been through a lot."

"I don't even want to think about what they've done to him."

"Rukia, he'll be all right. I mean, if Aizen was keeping him that close, he was probably protecting him from the Espada. He would have known that someone like Byakuya would have been too tempting for the Espada if he was left down here."

"That doesn't mean that Aizen didn't hurt him in some way. He must have had to…to make him stay here."

"Well…it's more likely he was badly injured in that battle. Rukia, he held them all off so we could get through the senkaimon. I saw the look in his eyes when he forced me to take you and leave. I'll never forget how he looked at me. Rukia…you were unconscious, so you didn't see. But the look he gave me was the look of a man about to sacrifice his life. He thought he wouldn't live. And he probably shouldn't have. I don't know anyone who could have faced all of that down and lived. Then to be taken by the enemy and kept alive…"

"After all of that…even when he gets home…it won't be over, Renji. It will be a long time before we really get him back, I think."

The sound of a door opening brought their heads around. Rukia gasped sharply.

"Byakuya!" she whispered.

He moved to the cell doors.

"Hado #4, Byakurai."

The lock on Rukia's cell shattered. He moved to Renji's cell, repeating the spell. Rukia burst out of her cell and wrapped her arms around Byakuya. He turned away from Renji and returned the gesture.

"They didn't harm you?" he asked softly.

"No," Rukia assured him, "We're okay."

"Come this way."

They followed him down a dark corridor and through several rows of cells. They could hear distant sounds of battle as they worked their way through the maze of corridors.

"When we reach the top of these stairs, we'll be just outside the kitchen area. I took you through the server's entrance that they use when they go to feed the prisoners. When we get to that point, we will be spotted by the kitchen staff and they will sound the alarm. We will have about one minute to escape out of the kitchen area. It is the most lightly guarded, so it offers us the best chance of escape," Byakuya explained.

They followed him silently out of the cellblock and into the kitchen entry. As expected, the cook saw them. He paused, staring at Byakuya for a moment, then sounded the alarm. The three flash stepped across the kitchen and out the doors. They ran across the small outer courtyard and Byakuya blasted open the small gate with a burst of kido. They flash stepped forward, listening to the wail of the new alarm. Footsteps sounded behind them as they flash stepped out into the desert. They turned toward the sounds of battle and ran for the battleground, the pursuit sounds growing behind them. Byakuya turned and fired a blast of kido, throwing their pursuers to the ground, but placing him slightly behind Rukia and Renji. They were almost to the battleground and the sounds of pursuit were giving way to the sounds of battle. Byakuya shouted for them to move faster and turned once again to fire a volley at their pursuers.

As the spell shot from his hands, he sensed movement off to one side and flash stepped furiously to dodge the incoming attack. A zanpakutou caught his side as he moved and he gasped in pain.

"Byakuya!" screamed Rukia.

"Get her out of here!" Byakuya cried.

Renji grabbed Rukia, dragging her away as three Espadas closed in around Byakuya. Gin stepped out from behind them, his zanpakutou drawn.

"Well, Kuchiki Taichou," he smiled, "I wonder what Sousuke will have to say about this!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Aizen Sousuke sat in his chair with Gin and Tousen on either side, and the Espadas spread out on either side of them. In front of them, Byakuya knelt, bound with kido, his own power sealed away.

"He assisted the shinigamis in escaping, Aizen-sama!" complained one of the Espadas, "His penalty should be death…If not for that, then for the guards he killed while freeing them. He is our enemy. He has proven his intent. I say…he deserves to die!"

Aizen blinked slowly, letting his eyes meet those of the Espada, then gazing down at Byakuya's bowed head.

"The prisoners were not of great importance, and had already been interrogated. We truly lost little. And the guards should have been more watchful. If they had been, they would still be alive."

"Aizen-sama, they were confused…and who wouldn't be? You treat him as your favored, but he acts as our enemy. They did not know which face he was wearing. And how are we to know we are safe in his presence? He broke the rules and helped the enemies escape. If any among us did the same, we would face punishment. So will you punish him? Or is he to be treated deferentially even now?"

"I never said that Byakuya should not be punished. All who defy my rules are. I merely meant that for such a trifling offense, it would not be right to impose a sentence of death."

He stared down at Byakuya in silence for a moment.

"Gin, you will remove him to the prisons. He is to spend one week in confinement. Minimal rations…no permanent damage…and no sexual assaults. If I find any evidence that my orders were not followed to the letter, then any involved will be executed."

He rose and walked to Byakuya's side.

"It is troubling that you have taken such action, although I understand your reasons, Byakuya. I hope that you understand my reasons for this course of action as well. I cannot tolerate defiance of my orders…in anyone."

He lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear.

"I am sorry."


	11. Shattered Hearts

**Chapter 11: Shattered Hearts**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**We live in different kinds of torment…each bound to our pain and accepting of its scars. There is no surprise within us at its course or destination. We set out knowing that we would walk together only for a short time, but in that time, you have changed me. I thought that my sacrifices would save us all, but I could not even save you. You lie broken at my feet…and I feel truly heartless.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

It was not the first time that Kuchiki Byakuya had faced imprisonment or pain. He was well aware of the hell he was about to enter and he prepared himself mentally by shutting down emotionally. Although he still received impulses from the outside, he resolved to let nothing penetrate to reach him inside. Nobility, he found, had prepared him well for that…for closing himself off from the outside and finding a quiet place within to hide himself. In that state, he was safe and hidden. In that state, he was invulnerable.

But he was soon to find that even his invulnerability had its limits.

He walked with Gin at his side, surrounded by a detail of hollows, his spirit energy sealed away, and his hands bound. He offered no words, nor any sign he could hear them as they closed the distance between the outside of the prisons and the inside.

"So unfortunate," observed Gin in a low voice, "he has put some challenging conditions on this…but if there is one thing I have learned to excel in, it is challenging conditions. One doesn't get to be where I am without learning how to meet a challenge, but then you know that, eh Kuchiki taichou?"

_You cannot protect any of us anymore._

"You do know that you will never leave the prisons alive. I will do what I can, of course. But you are far too tempting, I'm afraid. And sometimes rogue Arrancars will act out in terrible ways."

_I will not fear you._

They reached the cellblock and waited as the guards unlocked the heavy doors from within. Gin prodded Byakuya impatiently and he stepped into the darker environs without so much as a look behind him. He was led to a small room in which his clothing was removed and replaced with something threadbare, the origins of which Byakuya did not choose to consider. Gin led him out of the room and down several passageways, to the most heavily protected section of the prisons. It was here that powerful and valuable prisoners were housed, having complete video surveillance, advanced locks and sensors, and an elite group of hollow guards, well trained in restraining all manner of prisoners. They were also proficient in the protection of these prisoners, with a near spotless record of keeping their charges alive.

Gin led Byakuya to one of the cells and ordered the door unlocked. Byakuya offered no resistance, but walked calmly into the cell and waited in silence as his bindings were removed and he was forced down onto a small cot. Heavy restraints immobilized his limbs, although the position was not uncomfortable, and he was then left with an admonition from Gin to 'stay out of trouble.' As the door closed, he was left in darkness and perfect silence. It was, he understood, part of the torment to have no markers of time. He tried to move, but in addition to the heavy restraints, a kido field held him suspended. He could hear the soft hissing of his breath, but had somehow been left unable to speak. He was not familiar with how it was accomplished, but he knew the intent. He was to have no sense of time, no way of telling when they would come to him, or how often. In this way, a week became a meaningless measure of time.

He closed his eyes and found that in addition to his breathing, he could still hear the calm, measured beating of his heart. So, he told himself, if he maintained awareness for the first several beatings, then he could measure the time…in a sense.

Then something pricked his arm beneath the restraints, and Kuchiki Byakuya lost awareness of time. He lost control of his senses. He lost control over the focus of his mind. He lost all sense of his body and floated in blackness, uncertain that he hadn't been killed or made over into something that was a part of the darkness. His mind registered uncertainty…even a touch of fear, but it did not reach his body to make his heart quicken…and the coldness he knew was there could not make him shiver.

He lay in uncertainty for a time that he could not measure, until sensation returned to his body and he heard footsteps approaching. There was the clank of the lock releasing, and the door opened, sending a blinding shaft of light into his face. He caught his breath sharply and blinked, feeling as though he had been underwater for too long and had only just surfaced and indulged in a long dragging breath of air.

His breath was taken away again as his restraints were released and he was dragged to his feet and prodded to move out the door and down the hallway…his eyes still blinking and struggling to adjust. He was led into a small room and driven to his knees, frozen in place, waiting.

"I promised you that if he ever turned his head and looked away, that I would teach you the true meaning of pain…the likes of which you have never experienced, Kuchiki Byakuya."

He leaned closer until Byakuya could feel icy breath touch the skin on his throat.

"In the Seireitei, my experimentations with the levels and uses of pain were limited, but Hueco Mundo offers me a place where anything I can imagine…I can do. And when it comes to testing the limits of that exquisite body of yours, I can imagine all manner of things. True, I must stay carefully within the given boundaries, but even those boundaries become somewhat meaningless when you are with me. Let me show you what I mean, Kuchiki Byakuya."

_I will not fear you._

He closed his eyes, then blinked as he realized that even his lidded eyes could not escape the vision of Gin standing ready to begin.

"You begin to see," Gin said, smiling at his confusion, "I control your senses…your perceptions of everything. All you are capable of doing is receiving."

He paused and chuckled softly.

"Oh, and I have left you the ability to scream."

He didn't see Gin move, but the pain began unexpectedly. It was deep and intense and he could not see what caused it. He couldn't center on exactly where it was felt. He tried to retreat, to sink down inside himself, but Gin's face and voice were everywhere…and the pain penetrated all of his defenses.

"This is what I promised you, Kuchiki Byakuya."

He had to admit to himself that Gin had thought of everything. He knew well the training that all shinigamis received regarding resistance to pain. He understood the workings of the perception confused mind and how to control and use it. He knew Byakuya too well and anticipated every move he would make and where his thoughts would go. And he pushed to the limits of Byakuya's consciousness, until he felt himself disappearing into the sensations. Suddenly, he felt soft fingers brush the surface of his lips.

"I want to hear you."

_I will not give in to you._

And thus began the battle of wills, where beneath feelings of ice and fire on his flesh, tears, slashes, prickles and stings, Byakuya focused all of his mind on one single thing.

_I won't give in to you._

And even with his senses confused, and not being able to remove himself mentally, Byakuya shouldered each assault with silent humility. There would be no permanent damage, no sexual assault. There were limits…confines to his behavior. And the time itself was limited. It had a beginning and an end.

At some point, the pain ended and Gin returned him to his cell with a dissatisfied grunt and a "Well, there's always tomorrow."

He could breathe again. He could breathe and sigh in relief. And the seal on his speech would not allow him to cry out if he fell asleep. Not that he intended to, but sleep overtook him anyway. He felt the needle prick his skin again and darkness closing in.

This time the darkness was different. It differed in that it was no longer silent and empty. He felt touches on his skin and beneath it. He heard voices that might have been real or imagined. He dreamed of being led down the hallway to the small room where Gin was waiting for him…or was it real? He could feel Gin's breath on his skin, could hear the wickedly calm voice explaining in great deal what he would experience and felt each jolt of pain as carefully promised.

What was real was becoming meaningless. It seemed that he never stopped making those trips back and forth, up and down that hallway. Gin's voice and touch never left him. And always Gin pushed him for the same damned thing.

"I want to hear you, Kuchiki Byakuya!"

But this was the one bit of control he managed to hold onto as his body reeled and shook under the force of each blinding jolt that rocked it. But body and mind had long separated and the body bore what it must, reassured by that last message his mind had sent.

_It is one week…a finite amount of time…a finite amount of pain…_

His body didn't remember what a week was, but it knew that there were limits then, and it bent against the pain, fierce-eyed and unbowed, trembling with resolve. He was stronger than this bastard, greater than Gin's foul intent. His pride mattered little, his nobility was forgotten. All that remained was the force of two opposing wills, locked against each other in a mad struggle for control.

_You will not break me._

But Gin gave his best to the task, carefully measuring each blow, inflicting as much pain as possible, pushing the limits of what was acceptable without overstepping, carefully bringing Byakuya to the very limits of what he could tolerate.

Gin dug his fingers into the noble's tangled hair, dragging his head back and meeting the still maddeningly defiant eyes and letting his own slide open. Byakuya's widened even farther as deep gray eyes met startling, icy blue. The coldness of them shot through his stunned body, searing it with chilling white fire. His breath released in a hiss as the fingers in his hair tightened and the cold eyes blazed down into his. Everything inside him was filling with that empty, icy deadness. He couldn't move anymore. He couldn't breathe and his body ached to scream. He felt himself inhale, but the air hit his lungs like shards of glass. It ignited the ice that had frozen in his veins and released the pent up energy that lay withheld and hidden. The last barrier gave way. The last of his defenses shattered. His muscles contracted in agony and his mouth opened.

But whatever sound might have escaped, whatever cry might have been relinquished was stopped by a warm hand that covered his mouth and held it back. Someone was kneeling behind him…someone who was not cold. It was someone who remembered the conditions given and had seen Gin pushing the limits just one step too far.

"Release the kido field," said a soft, tranquil voice.

There was a breathless pause, then he was falling into warm arms. He was looking up, able to just make out the familiar brown eyes and calm features. He was lifted and set upon an examination table. Healing light flared around him and almost immediately, the coldness and shocks of pain gave way to a comforting numbness, a gentle lassitude that finally allowed him to relax into the dark brown eyes and let relief flood him from end to end.

"Is it over?" he whispered.

The brown eyes met his with sympathy and affection.

"The punishment is over, Byakuya. You will lie untouched in your cell tonight and I will come for you in the morning. Gin will not come to you again."

He could speak no more, but he let himself fall away under the calm, healing flow. He was nearly asleep when the healing ended, but just wakeful enough to register when his exhausted form was lifted and carried back to the darkness of his cell.

"Leave him unbound…and he is to have no drugs…Gin."

There was a pause.

"And you are to come with me."

"Of course, Sousuke," came the too polite reply.

The door clanged shut and this time he heard sounds from without…footsteps…clanking doors…the voices of the guards. And someone had pulled the curtain away from the barred window, allowing a slim shaft of moonlight to enter. He breathed in its peaceful essence and let the energy flow through him, taking away the last vestiges of the darkness and cold that had nearly claimed him. He ached to close his eyes and, at long last, give way to sleep, but something in the air around him seemed disturbed and wouldn't let him take that final step.

Some time later, he found himself deeply grateful his instinct had held him away from the fall into slumber that might have been the end of him.

He barely heard the footsteps, but there was no hiding the scratching of the lockpicks, the clanking of the door. He was on his feet in an instant, forcing down the dizziness and the feeling of malaise that clenched his body. There were soft voices, admonitions to be careful of the sensors. He realized suddenly that the ones without knew too readily the protections in place here. Gin might have left alongside Aizen, but he had made certain he would keep the promise he made Byakuya as he led him to the prisons.

_You do know that you will never leave the prisons alive._

He had likely known how closely he would be watched. And he must have offered these creatures a fortune…but then, to Gin, Byakuya's torment and death at the hands of these beasts would be more than worth it. And detained by Aizen himself, he could claim to know nothing…so long as these men disappeared and never returned. Or so long as they died too…

He had to wonder…which would it be?

Byakuya concealed himself near the door, waiting as the others stepped inside, looking around to find him.

The first was dead before he hit the floor, broken by a lethal strike to the throat. A second followed the first, but more followed. An alarm sounded and a nervous hiss passed through the several who remained. They had him by hair, by legs, by arms, by the throat…anything and everything they could take hold of…and they flash stepped together, carrying him down the maze of passageways as noises from the guards sounded behind them. Some broke away and led in other directions, confusing those who followed. Byakuya was held tightly, the hand on his throat forcing his silence until they were out of the prisons and among the sand dunes. He was carried some distance away, then thrown to the sand and held down.

Their faces were covered, but he didn't need to see them.

_Arrancars…_

More than enough to hold him down…to torment him…to kill him. And then they would run as far and as fast as they could to escape Aizen's wrath…so that they could live to enjoy whatever Gin had offered them.

He wondered again if Gin was double crossing them…not that it mattered. He would be just as dead either way. He knew there were too many, but he fought them anyway, feeling some satisfaction as several died for the privilege of having only taken him from the prisons. The others trapped him against the ground, held arms and legs, and tore his clothes away. Unlike the torment he had faced within, their attack on him was brutal and without restraint. They had no limits and accorded him no mercy. And having already been brought to the ends of his wits, he found the roughness of their hands on his skin unbearable, the invasion and violent intrusion of his body too overwhelming to bear. He screamed and twisted in defiance, temporarily freeing himself and killing two more of them in the process. But they brought him down onto the cold sand, under the stars and the crescent moon, and Kuchiki Byakuya was treated to an unyielding expression of their hatred. And when they finished, one of his attackers took him by the hair and dragged his head back, bringing a knife to his throat and whispering in his ear.

"He did promise you would not leave the prisons alive…"

Bright light flashed around them and voices called out from all directions. The hollow holding him jerked convulsively and fell away as Byakuya was gathered into strong arms and carried back into the fortress.

His eyes fluttered against the bright lights and he moaned softly. The arms holding him tightened and he heard a soothing voice speaking to him. He knew that he was safe again when he saw that they were passing into the infirmary. He struggled to remain awake, but the healer leaning over him brushed his eyes closed.

"Trust me…it's better this way."

The last thing that reached him was a warm brushing of lips and the softest of whispers.

"I am sorry. It wasn't supposed to be this way. I meant to protect you and I failed to do that. You were right, Byakuya. I cannot protect any of us anymore."


	12. In Pieces

**Chapter 12: In Pieces**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**When you spit in the face of the Spirit King, you should expect to get struck by lightning. And so I did, or should I say that the lightning was certainly sent in my direction. But as it bore down on me, an angel stepped into its path. As the lightning closed on him, he looked into my eyes and I had to wonder…why doesn't the Spirit King take better care of his own? I would.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Aizen Sousuke watched silently as the healers bent over Byakuya's inert form, surrounding him in healing energy and slowly removing the signs of his torment. It was strange to see each cut, each bruise, each broken bone mended and made whole again…to see something so shattered made right again, and to realize that like the power of his zanpakutou, these healers were creating an illusion.

Because beneath the return to perfection was a lie. It was a way of telling the body that it had not endured the atrocities it thought it had. Such torment as Byakuya had faced could not be undone, but the signs of it were disappearing before his very eyes.

But the healers could only mend the shinigami's body. And even after they did, he would continue to feel residual pain after…maybe for weeks. And yet, that pain would be nothing compared to what the noble would address in heart and mind. No healer could touch those places. Those wounds couldn't be tricked into disappearing. So, although at the surface, Kuchiki Byakuya would again glow with supernatural beauty, the scars would be present.

It was so odd. Because this…what Byakuya had endured, first at Gin's hands and then at the hands of the Arrancar, was the fate he had desired for the Spirit King and the nobles who were so favored. It was what he had wished on them for not respecting his powers, his abilities, his ambitions. It was what he thought they deserved for not being able to appreciate anyone who entered the world without a noble title.

He hadn't had issues with deceiving and betraying the captains of the Gotei 13, because they protected the interests of the monarch responsible for Aizen Sousuke's state in life. He hadn't felt guilty in the taking of the lives of the councilors of Central 46, because their rules, their attitudes, their corrupt decisions had added to his pain by constantly favoring the ones with titles, while overlooking the rights of the commoners. He had taken particular pleasure in selecting Rukia for his plans, because using her would twist and torment brother, Byakuya, a noble, one of the favored of the Spirit King, a man who was accorded respect and admiration, not because his powers and abilities exceeded most of the others…but because of the titles he wore. The Kuchiki surname…Clan Leader…He might have felt a brotherhood with this man had their society's rules and mores not placed Byakuya above him.

He could remember a time when seeing Byakuya shattered and undone like this would have warmed him. It would have made him feel that there was still some justice in the world. Because to him, Byakuya had been a symbol of that injustice he had endured…so seeing that injustice break under the fury of the ones held down would have been a welcome thing.

But that was before he had come to the realization that there was something beneath his title…a real person, a man, a battle-hardened taichou, a warrior, a lover, a protector, a brother, a friend. There was intelligence and heart behind the deep gray eyes, hidden carefully so that most never got close enough to see it.

His beauty did not exist simply at the surface. It laid somewhere beneath the pale, sweet flesh and fine carved bone…under waves of sakura scented hair and the calm, quiet features. It lay housed within the slender, powerful form that raged in battle, that yielded itself to love, that gave of itself to protect.

And Aizen Sousuke couldn't hate that man, couldn't wish harm upon him and in fact, could barely stand to see him in this state. It wouldn't matter that the healers could erase what was at the surface, because that wasn't where the worst of the damage was. He stepped past the healers to Byakuya's side and placed a trembling hand over his heart.

_"What rests beneath here, makes you different. You have something they don't, something that they would deprive you of if they could. It led you to marry a peasant, because she was the one you loved. It made you break the rules to honor her last request. It made you make promises that collided and tore you in two…and it put you in the path of Gin's blade, because it made you care more about protecting your sister than preserving your own life."_

_"And what difference does that make? I am still the head of a noble clan and an enemy taichou. It doesn't matter what is underneath as long as it never emerges…"_

_"But it has. It is always there for those who wish to see it…for those who care enough to look."_

_Byakuya blinked in surprise._

_"And you cared enough to look," he said softly, "Aizen Sousuke…why?"_

Tears burned in his eyes. He was far too proud to let them fall, but it hurt to blink them back.

"Why?" he whispered, "Because when you tried to save your sister, you showed me something of who you are…and after seeing it, I was never the same. That is why when I found you that day on the battlefield, I brought you here, and it's why I healed you, and it's why I love you. You have a heart, a conscience, a beautiful soul, Byakuya. And you were right when you said that if I was a man of honor, I would have killed you when I found you on the battlefield. As your enemy, I could have offered you a death suitable for a man of your unique caliber. I denied you that and I cannot take it back. I cannot even take your life now to spare you the pain you will suffer upon waking to this horrendous atrocity…because then you would have suffered a violent, useless, meaningless death, one that does not befit you. I don't want to do that."

He turned to the healers.

"Are you finished healing him?" he asked quietly.

"We are," said one of the healers, "but we must keep him sedated for a time to speed his recovery."

"And have you given him the medication to sedate him?"

"Hai, Aizen-sama. We have."

Aizen slipped his arms beneath the noble's body and lifted him.

"Sir! He is only just healed. He should remain here for the night at least!" the healer objected.

"We will be in my quarters. Come and monitor him as you will, but he will not lie in this place any longer…and I do not want him to wake here."

He turned and carried Byakuya's nerveless body down the long hallways and back up the staircase to his bedroom. He placed the noble in bed and slipped in next to him.

"I promised you that there was no safer place for you in Las Noches than this…and for whatever time you need to recover, I will keep you safe here. And I promise you one thing more. Gin will not touch you again, nor will his machinations harm you. I will have him confined in the cell you were held in…and for each torment he visited on you that tread outside my orders, he shall be dealt the same. I would do worse to him, but I cannot afford to have him die. I do need him to accomplish my goals. But he will pay, Byakuya. He will pay for what he did to you. But first, let me see to your recovery. It is my fault you were hurt like this. I was a fool not to anticipate something like this from Gin. So let me help you with your healing and then we will see that wrong made right again."

Even so, something told Aizen Sousuke that there was no way to make this right.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Aizen woke again, Byakuya still rested in his arms. The dark, gray eyes were open now, but when he looked into them, he felt a cold chill pass through him. The noble's eyes looked through him without seeing, and the sleek, beautiful body still remained motionless. He was breathing and his heart beat softly beneath his breast, but other than that, Kuchiki Byakuya gave no outward signs that he still lived.

"Byakuya?" Aizen called softly, taking the noble's face in his hands.

The eyes continued to stare blankly and Byakuya did not respond to his words. His hands tightened on his lover's face.

"Byakuya!" he said, more urgently, "Byakuya, say something!"

He called for a healer, then watched worriedly as Byakuya was carefully examined.

"His injuries are mending. This is not so much physical as emotional. He was likely overtaxed by the time he spent in confinement. Then add to that the brutality of the attack on him…and it's understandable that his mind would shut down out of self protection."

"But…will he wake up? Will he come out of this?"

The old healer sighed and lowered his eyes.

"I've seen worse ones come out of it and not as bad ones stay this way permanently. It's all a matter of what's happening in his mind. But we have no way to know that."

He started toward the door, then stopped with his hand on the doorknob.

"If I were you, I would try talking to him about familiar things, expose him to things that could give his senses a nudge. Other than that, all you can really do is wait and hope he is strong enough to find his way back."

Aizen watched as the healer left and closed the door behind him. He turned back to Byakuya, stroking his face and hair with gentle fingertips and whispering in his ear.

"Where have you gone, Byakuya? Where would I find you if I were to follow you? It wouldn't be here…no, not in this dead wasteland. Perhaps you think of home…of your sister, your family and friends or your squad. Or perhaps you are walking in your gardens at home…watching the koi swim or the stars and moon work their way across the sky."

He rested against the pillows with Byakuya in his arms alternating between soft one way conversations intermingled with long periods of frustrated slumber. The next morning, he left Byakuya with the healers and went walking through the fortress, aimless, his thoughts scattered, trying to come up with some way of breaking through. By the third day, he began to despair.

He had tried everything he could think of and he was still getting no response. He had talked about everything he could remember Byakuya telling him about home and family. He talked about their time together, making love. He showered the lovely pale skin in tender kisses and ran his fingers through the raven black hair. He spoke the noble's name over and over to no avail. Desperate, he even tried several illusions to see if he could evoke a reaction.

At his wits end, Aizen Sousuke picked him up and roamed the hallways, talking non-stop and passing from room to room. He was dimly aware of Gin watching him and he didn't care. All he could think about was bringing Byakuya back, seeing his eyes come back to life, hearing his voice, feeling the warmth of his lips again.

Only half aware of where he was, he found himself stumbling into the garden room. Without even stopping to remove their clothing, he waded out into the warm bathing pool and sat down in one of the soaking pools, holding Byakuya against him. He talked softly, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of the waterfall. After a time, he sighed resignedly and thought about leaving.

But just as he was starting to climb to his feet, the rain began. It started softly, barely making any sound as it made contact with the heated water in the bathing pool. He settled back, figuring he would leave when the rain stopped. Byakuya had rather enjoyed the rain…and somehow, it seemed soothing.

The drops began to grow in size and to come down more heavily, quickly soaking their hair and what parts of their clothing weren't already soaked. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the drops strike his skin and thinking back to when they came here before, how good the water tasted when he licked it from Byakuya's skin. He rested his face on top of the noble's wet hair, breathing deeply.

His heart froze when Byakuya shifted slightly in his arms.

"Byakuya?" he whispered.

His eyes were still closed, but his lips brushed the skin at Aizen's throat and collected drops of rain. Aizen captured Byakuya's face in his hands and kissed the rain from his eyelids. As he drew back, the dark eyes opened and slowly focused, first on the room he was in, then on the man who held him.

"Sousuke," he whispered sleepily.

Aizen smiled.

"Byakuya."

"Sousuke, is it over?" he asked tentatively.

There were tears in his eyes, but he judged this time that with the rain still falling it was safe enough to let a few of them fall. The heat of them seemed to burn against his face as they broke free of his eyes and ran down. Pale fingers reached up to catch them as they fell and the dark gray eyes widened.

"Sousuke?" he whispered questioningly.

"Yes, Byakuya, it is over…"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Whoa, just a minute…Where are you going?" Gin said as the medical technician started past him.

"I must deliver these test results to Aizen-sama. I found something important in Kuchiki Byakuya's blood and reiatsu."

"Oh really?" Gin said, smiling, "Is it good news?"

"Well…yes, yes it is! It's interesting really. I wasn't aware it could happen, but…it appears that Kuchiki-san is pregnant!"

"Wait," Gin said, looking around, "in here."

The technician followed him into the next room and Gin closed the door behind them.

"Oh…" said the technician, "I thought you meant Aizen-sama was in here. I should…"

He stopped and stared in shock as Shinzou passed through his heart, dropping him silently in his tracks. A hasty kido release hid the evidence, then Gin bent and picked up the file the technician had been carrying. He spent several minutes studying it carefully.

"Well," he said softly, "that just won't do, will it?"

He walked to the fireplace and held the file inside, then called fire to his fingertips. The file smoked fitfully, then burst into flame. He set it in the fireplace and watched as it burned to ashes. When it was blackened, he carefully stirred the ashes to make sure nothing was left of it. He set the poker back in its stand and left the room, pausing for a moment at the door to turn out the lights.


	13. Truths Untold

**Chapter 13: Truths Untold**

**(For HaruB13! Thank you so much for the lovely PM. I very much appreciate it!)**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**It isn't in the nature of a spider to fall in love with a fly, for a hawk to love a field mouse, or for the king of beasts to love the beautiful stag it pursues. But our love does not respond to nature. If it did, then I would have devoured you. I would have drawn the life from your veins and feasted upon you. But you were the most beautiful of flies, the swiftest of mice and the most powerful among stags. I love you for that. But I would see you among your own kind again. As much as I long to feel you stretched warmly along my side, you were meant to be strong enough to break the webbing that snared you, to slip from beneath my talons and to turn in your path and throw your strength against me. That is where your beauty lies. That is what made me love you. That is what will allow me to set you free.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Kuchiki Byakuya sat in the window seat in Aizen Sousuke's bedroom, staring out over the night-darkened sand dunes. He felt pulled between two worlds now. The Seireitei, home, family, friends and squad beckoned from the lighted shinigami base in the distance…and he did still, very much long for home. But he knew that going home meant losing something precious.

_My True Resonant…the only soul who can bind with mine to create the next clan leader…_

But in truth, they had already taken all of the necessary steps. So in the coldest sense, he wouldn't lose anything by leaving. But Kuchiki Byakuya could not be cold like that…not now. While the clan might view such a union as 'a one-time joining' or the means to an end, he saw the beauty of it. Because it only proved what he dared not say, that when push came to shove, nobility gave way to fate. He was meant to fall as he did on the cold sands and to be found by Aizen Sousuke. And every step they took, circling slowly around one another, moving ever closer, had meaning.

It didn't matter that they were sworn enemies. It didn't matter how their hearts had raged with anger and hatred against each other. All that mattered was that their souls came to recognize each other, that the passage of time and the playing out of choices and fate had brought them together. And now they were bound together in a way that could not be undone. Whatever happened from this point onward could never undo their connection.

But there was a price to be paid.

What the clan would be forced to accept by their own rules, the Gotei 13 would reject vehemently. The idea that he, a Gotei 13 taichou, would willingly go to the enemy's bed, that he would forget his duty and instead surrender his body to the one he was sworn to capture or kill…it was too much for them to accept. He would lose his place among the taichous, among the shinigamis, among the living…For loving Aizen Sousuke would earn him a death sentence.

And he could certainly see their point.

Which was why he had no intention of pursuing mercy for himself. He had to hope that there would be time…that while the wheels of justice carried him toward the soukyoku, that there would be time for him to bring forth the heir, the one who, like him, would be raised without parents…surrounded by rules not of his making…lost. But if he was fortunate, he too would find a True Resonant. He would know, as Byakuya did, what it was to be completed, filled, perfected. And perhaps his son would be more fortunate. Perhaps his search would not carry him out of bounds.

He was very aware of his choices. He had thought to remain in Hueco Mundo, at least until the child was born, but in light of the attack on him, such a thing would only be a different kind of death sentence. He could say something to Sousuke, but if he did, he would only put his lover in a terrible position. His most probable course of action would be to seek out Shihoin Yoruichi. She was the only friend he had that he felt could overlook what he had done and offer him shelter while he waited. He could conceal himself until the child was born, but the child's birth would require that he return to his clan. And once he did, the clan would square off against the Gotei 13. The result would be chaos and needless death. So rather than set the clan against the Gotei 13, Byakuya would surrender, would stand trial and would accept a sentence of death, all to keep the peace, so that there would be a clan left for his son to lead.

The door opened behind him and he felt the warm wrapping around of Aizen Sousuke's reiatsu. He closed his eyes and wondered how many more times he would feel its touch before they were parted.

"How are you feeling?" Aizen asked, sitting down next to him and taking his hands.

"I feel much better," he said quietly, "The healers did a very competent job."

One hand rose to touch Byakuya's face.

"I know that the pain you feel is not just physical, Byakuya. And I feel responsible. I should have expected…"

"It is not your fault. You protected my pride by stopping Gin before he could shatter me, and you saved my life when I was attacked."

"It's strange," Aizen mused, studying the calm, dark eyes, "Both times, I didn't know how I knew, but I just knew that I had to move…and I knew where to go. I just wish I had known sooner. I could have spared you so much pain."

"The workings of our bond are beyond our understanding, but I must tell you this…"

He couldn't say everything, but he could say something…

"When clan members bond, they find the one to bond with through resonance. One person will look for a matched soul with a high level of resonance. In extremely rare cases, there is a bond called True Resonance. True Resonants are souls that are in perfect balance. The connection between these souls is profound. It is a bonding of the highest order that is never questioned within the clan…even when a clan member bonds with one outside the clan. When this happens, the clan is compelled to accept the union of the two souls despite the difference. It is the one instance in which class difference becomes irrelevant. This is the bond that has formed between us."

Aizen's eyes narrowed.

"You are saying that if you went before the clan and told them about us, they would be forced to accept us…even though I am not a noble…and even though I am considered a traitor?"

Byakuya nodded.

"I didn't know that was even possible," Aizen mused.

"Another truth of the bonding of True Resonants is that once the resonance is recognized and acknowledged, the clan member is expected to bond with no one else for the rest of his or her life."

"So you are saying that when you return to the Seireitei, you will not seek to be with anyone else? Ever?" Aizen asked in disbelief.

Byakuya met his eyes squarely.

"Why would a completed soul require any other?" he asked quietly, "How could a soul who has known perfection ever accept less? So, to answer your question, no, I will not seek to bond with any other. I need no other."

Aizen gazed at him in silence for a long moment.

"I hate to think of you spending the rest of your life alone, Kuchiki Byakuya," he said softly.

Byakuya lowered his eyes carefully.

"I will not be alone. I will carry some part of our love with me when I leave."

It was as far as he dared to go in that direction.

Aizen stared at him thoughtfully, a slow smile coming to his face. Byakuya gazed into his eyes questioningly.

"Byakuya, if you are certain of this, I will tell you that I also have no need for any other. My choices have led me in a direction that precludes marriage and children, so after you leave, I also plan to seek no other in your place. That being so, I wonder if I could convince you to give me your hand…secretly…but in truth."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Why do you look surprised, Byakuya?" Aizen asked, smiling, "Certainly you didn't expect a soul in balance with yours to desire you any less than you desired him? If in truth you will never want to be with another…and I feel the same, why not gift ourselves with a reminder of who we are to each other? Even if we are not together, we can be together at heart."

The noble stared at him wordlessly for several long minutes, considering. Slowly, he nodded.

"It shall be as you wish it then, Aizen Sousuke," he responded once he found his voice, "If indeed you are certain this is what you want."

Aizen closed the distance between them and kissed him lingeringly.

"I can't imagine feeling more certain than I do now," he answered, taking Byakuya by the hand and bringing him to his feet.

"Come with me, then."

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya stood quietly, dressed in the white uniform Aizen Sousuke had designed for him. Aizen stepped through the doors and into the gardens with another man beside him. They approached Byakuya and the other bowed in greeting.

"Byakuya," said Sousuke, "This is Tadao. He is an official who is allowed to conduct these ceremonies and he has agreed to marry us."

Byakuya bowed his head in greeting.

"Arigato, Tadao," he said softly, "I appreciate you doing this for us on such short notice."

The other smiled.

"It is never a trouble to bring together those who wish it."

Aizen led Byakuya and Tadao to a small rise that was topped with a lovely sakura tree. They stood beneath it with the sakura petals falling all around them as Tadao began.

"We are gathered here today to join these two souls in the bonds of holy matrimony, to merge the path of their lives, to bind together their futures into one. Before we continue I must verify that you both seek this union of your own free will and without reservation or knowledge of any reason you might not be legally wed."

"We do," Byakuya and Sousuke said together.

Tadao nodded.

"Life partnership is a journey you embark upon together. It is adventure that will ask great things of both of you, but will also yield great rewards. It will require love, honesty, faith, hope and perseverance. To show your dedication to this purpose, I ask you now to give your statements of dedication to this union."

"Byakuya," Sousuke said, looking into the noble's dark eyes, "We began our association in the worst possible way. I looked at you and only saw what was at the surface, never realizing what lay beneath. And although you faced near death in the meeting of our souls, I am honored to have learned who you are, inside and out. I feel the resonance in our souls and I know this is right. Wherever you go from this moment on, you will never walk alone. My heart is with you. I offer you my hand as a sign of our enduring love."

Byakuya met the brown eyes almost smiling.

"Sousuke, at first I cursed you for not giving me the honorable death on the battlefield that I felt I deserved. I wondered for a very long time why you did that, and now I know. You are the soul in perfect balance with mine, the one who complements me, the one who completes me. Instead of offering me an honorable death, you have honored me with a full life. I cannot thank you enough for that. Know that wherever you go, from this moment on, you will never walk alone. My heart is with you. I offer you my hand as a sign of our enduring love."

"Having so declared your love for each other and your desire for this union, I invite you now to exchange the vows that will bind you together. Do you, Aizen Sousuke, take Kuchiki Byakuya to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to have and to hold from this day forward? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, will you love, honor and cherish him for all of the days of your lives?"

"I will," Sousuke said softly.

"And do you, Kuchiki Byakuya, take Aizen Sousuke to be your lawfully wedded spouse, to have and to hold from this day forward? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, will you love, honor and cherish him for all the days of your lives?"

"I will," Byakuya replied.

Byakuya lost awareness as the ceremony continued. He kept his eyes fixed on Aizen Sousuke, but the light around them seemed to have grown painfully bright and his heart beat mercilessly fast. He slowed his breathing and blinked several times, but felt the room beginning to spin. He could barely hear Tadao's final words to them.

"Sousuke and Byakuya, by the power vested in me, I declare you partners in life, bonded in love, joined for the rest of your lives. You may now exchange a kiss as a token of your commitment."

Then Sousuke's lips took hold of his and Byakuya felt the floor giving way beneath him. He leaned heavily against his life partner, taking slow breaths and trying to clear the ringing in his ears.

"Byakuya?" Sousuke said questioningly.

He dropped to his knees and Sousuke followed, massaging his wrists and calling his name worriedly. He was lifted and carried, then undressed and tucked into bed, then he felt the warmth next to him as his life partner joined him. He rested against Sousuke's soft shoulder, slowly feeling the return of sensation to his body.

"I am sorry," he breathed, "I didn't mean to worry you. I assure you that I am fine now."

Sousuke smiled warmly and shook his head.

"You have endured too much in the past few days, Kuchiki Byakuya," he said softly, "Perhaps we should have waited for this."

"No," Byakuya said, squeezing his hand, "I wanted this…and I wouldn't have wanted to wait a single day longer."

"I will miss you, Byakuya. I hope that someday we will meet again. I hope that someday we will be able to live this union openly."

"As do I," Byakuya replied, nuzzling closer, "but for now, this will be enough. For now, this will sustain us."

"And now, we have just one more obligation to fulfill. Make love to me, Kuchiki Byakuya…"

Aizen's mouth came down on his and he let himself sink down into the pillows. He gazed warmly up into the dark brown eyes of his lover as Aizen Sousuke's body gently claimed his.

_Your love is a beautiful comfort, even as I begin to take my last steps. And this is what will give me the strength to walk away, to return home and to face the consequences for loving you. As I am lifted onto the soukyoku, I will look out across the sky and see only your face. And as the life leaves my body, I will speak aloud my name, the one you gave me…_

_Aizen Byakuya…_

**(Author's Note: The next chapter will include an all new beautiful, wedding consummation lemon requested by geecee…and it turned out to be so long, I had to break this chapter into two. There is another extended scene that follows their lovemaking that is longer than in the original version of this story. Thanks for the suggestion, geecee! That next chapter will be along very soon!)**


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