Silver-White Night

(The first in a series of Gin related fics to celebrate Gin's birthday month!)

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By request for Madisuzy (an AO3 friend) and Moonwhisper22!

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Chapter 1: Forgotten Love

"Byakuya?"

At first, only that single word broke through the intense darkness around the eighteen-year-old Kuchiki heir.

Why can't I move?

Why can't I feel my body?

What happened to me?

He sensed the presence of another person...a teen, like himself, and male. The reiatsu was familiar, but with his senses so scrambled, he couldn't identify it. The voice, too, resonated with him, but oddly, refused to be placed.

"He really messed up your mind, didn't he?" the other boy's voice whispered, "Not that you'll remember. But, hold still now. I'm going to heal you."

Strangely, although Byakuya could sense the movement of the healing reiatsu as it entered his frozen body, he couldn't actually feel where it touched him. He tried to speak, but his lips refused to move. It seemed, though, that the other youth realized his distress, as his voice sounded soothingly and Byakuya suddenly felt that a slim hand was holding his and squeezing gently.

"You felt that, ne?" the voice queried, "You're starting to come back, then. I was beginning to wonder if he had taken things too far and killed you, Byakuya."

Other things began to reach him, then...the fact that he was ice cold and his slender form was naked and shivering, the scent of blood and flashes of pain that he had known were there before, but hadn't been able to register. The Kuchiki heir groaned as he felt the return of sensation and wished very quickly that he could sink back into the blessed numbness that had overtaken him as unconsciousness set in. He tried hard to remember what had happened before that, but could only remember leaving the sixth division to head out for a short mission into the living world, then entering the precipice world. It was as though a shade had been drawn across whatever else was there. And like the returning pain, Byakuya wasn't all that certain he wanted to remember.

"Come on now. Wake up. I have to get you out of here before he comes back."

The noble mumbled something incoherent and started to fade out, but was stirred again by the other youth's insistent whisper.

"Byakuya, wake up!"

The noble's eyes blinked and tried to focus, slowly taking in the identity of the one speaking to him.

"Gin Ichimaru?" he whispered, looking confused, "What are you...?"

He paused and looked around, frowning.

The bed and room he laid in were both unfamiliar to him. He could sense also, some kind of barrier in place around it, but even with his unusually strong senses, could not see it.

"How did I get here?" he asked, anger rising in his eyes.

"That doesn't matter," Gin whispered, "What matters is that you get out of here before he comes back for seconds. As brutal as he was with you the first time, I don't think you would last. Come, now."

Byakuya looked down at his naked, blood and semen splashed body and stiffened, inhaling sharply.

"What happened?" he demanded, "Did you...?"

"Not me," Gin informed him, "It was Captain Aizen."

"Captain Aizen?"

"You don't remember, do you?"

Byakuya stared at him quietly and shook his head.

"That's probably better," Gin assured him, "But if you want to avoid him giving you any more not-so-sweet memories, you had best escape now."

The noble youth started to rise, but immediately collapsed onto his knees again, panting harshly. He caught his breath in surprise as Gin swept his yukata back into place and simply lifted him off his feet.

"Wh-what are you...?"

"You aren't going to escape if you don't go now."

"But, how did he do this?" Byakuya managed, clinging to the other boy as he flash stepped out the window of the small cottage and landed on the shore of a small, moonlit lake. Byakuya tried to make note of the location, but couldn't place it. The forest, too, that Gin carried him through was unfamiliar, although it seemed strange that he wouldn't recognize it, his knowledge of the Seireitei being as thorough as it was. And even if it was somewhat unfamiliar, having passed through the area upon entry into it, he should have retained some memory of general features and landmarks. But there were none that resonated with him.

I must have been unconscious when I was brought here.

"You were traveling to the living world when he took you, weren't you?" Gin asked, "Is there a place there that we could go that's private? You are still an unsightly mess. You probably don't want anyone to see you like this. Not that they would actually be able to perceive, but..."

"B-but I was obviously raped," Byakuya said, forcing calm into his voice that he didn't feel.

No one has ever touched me sexually. For him to...for that man to...? And without my consent...

"There is semen on my body," Byakuya went on, his voice shaking slightly at the words, but still evincing unusual control, considering his circumstances, "It could be used as evidence."

Gin looked at him quietly for a moment, then shook his head.

"I wouldn't suggest telling anyone," he said solemnly, "It won't do you any good."

"What do you mean?" Byakuya asked, groaning as Gin flash stepped down from an embankment and paused, deep in the thick of the forest they were in, setting the noble back on his feet, "If there is genetic material..."

"I know it will come as a shock to you, but no one but you will be able to see or sense it on your body, Byakuya."

"What?" Byakuya asked, an odd, unnerving weight sinking into his chest, "What do you mean? It is being...concealed somehow?"

"Yes. He can do that," Gin explained, "He is a very dangerous man, Byakuya. I think that you and I are the only ones who know how dangerous he really is."

"But...Captain Aizen?" Byakuya objected, looking down at his damaged body, "He has never been anything but respectful of me. I went to him for calligraphy lessons. He has come to the manor for meals with my family. How could he...?"

Gin sighed unhappily, unsure whether the Kuchiki heir was going to believe him, but convinced that the only right thing to do was to be honest.

"This...isn't the first time he has done this to you," he explained, "Although, the other times, he was not so brutal. He was more careless this time, or you would have gone home and wouldn't have known anything happened to you...like before."

"B-before? Gin, what are you talking about?"

"Calligraphy wasn't all he was teaching you, Byakuya," the other youth informed him, "He was grooming you to serve him sexually."

Byakuya stared at him, unable to think of any kind of response.

"And those times that he visited your home, I am sure that there are gaps in your memory. I suspect that after sitting down to dinner with your family, he took you back to your bedroom and spent the night enjoying your body while your mind was trapped, like it was when he was with you tonight."

"But, how is he doing this?" Byakuya asked, not wanting to believe him, but haunted by the dawning truth of what the youth was telling him, "How could he do this, and keep doing this, without anyone being able to detect it? That is not possible!"

Gin sighed and frowned at him.

"Go on, then, tell whoever you like. But they will only tell you that it is all in your mind," the youth said quietly, "And the truth is, when you wake up next, you probably won't remember anything that happened at all. You probably won't remember that I was here and helped you escape, and told you about what he was doing."

"Because of whatever power he is using," Byakuya surmised.

"Yes," Gin agreed.

"Is he doing this to anyone else?"

"He has sex with me," Gin confessed, "but he doesn't bother hiding that. No one cares if he screws a peasant subordinate, but raping a prince of the most powerful noble family is a more serious offense, ne Byakuya?"

Byakuya's gray eyes darkened angrily.

"No one should be disrespected that way," he said in a low, furious tone, "You should tell someone, Gin. If he is not trying to hide it..."

"You and I both know how the military treats such things, Byakuya," Gin said, shaking his head, "I am surprised you even suggested such a thing. It would be swept under the rug, and if you think what he did to your body was bad, then you have no idea what that man is truly capable of!"

"But he has to be stopped!" Byakuya insisted, "Gin, if you know what he is doing and he allows you to remember..."

"You know why he does that," Gin says reprovingly, "He wants to show off. He needs a witness...someone under his control, who he can show everything to and gloat about it, but who can't do anything to stop him."

"But you told me!" Byakuya objected, grabbing Gin's arm, then releasing it again as the other youth made a sound of pain and flinched.

Byakuya stared at Gin raptly, stepping closer and sliding his yukata down off of his shoulder, to find the skin of shoulder and back deeply bruised. His eyes widened at the sight, and his mind raced.

"He raped us both tonight?" Byakuya asked shakily.

"Well, I hardly consider what he does to me rape, since I know he's going to do it, and I just don't fight him. I just know by now fighting won't do any good, just like telling you won't do any good. You're just going to forget by morning."

Byakuya stared at the other youth, the truth sending fresh chills down his spine.

"You were there," he said numbly, pulling his yukata more firmly around him, his hands quivering and his eyes angry again, "You saw him rape me and you let him..."

"What should I have done?" Gin asked, frowning, "No one would believe a word I said about it...not even you. I told you. You aren't going to remember."

"Then, why tell me at all?" Byakuya asked, lowering his eyes, "if I am just going to forget?"

Gin left the question unanswered, only looking back at the Kuchiki heir through slitted eyes and waiting. Byakuya measured the silence between them, the beginnings of comprehension of the situation falling over him, and cooling his anger again. He looked up at Gin with a calmer expression.

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"We need to see to each other's healing."

"Don't worry about me. I am fine," Gin said, starting to move away.

He froze as Byakuya's hand came to rest on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Gin, I am sorry that I didn't believe you at first," he said quietly, "Come with me and we will heal each other's wounds."

"Why bother?" Gin asked in a low tone, "We can't stop the abuse. And you won't even be able to feel what's been done to you when you wake up in the morning. It's a waste of..."

A shiver went through the silver-haired youth as Byakuya's hand slipped into his, insistently. He looked questioningly at the Kuchiki heir, unable to fathom his persistence.

"Oh, very well," he sighed, "Not that it matters so much. Go ahead, then, if it makes you feel better."

Byakuya remained silent, but continued to hold Gin's hand as he opened a family senkaimon and led the other youth into the precipice world. They walked slowly through the darkness, listening to the haunting sound of the cleaner somewhere in the distance and not saying anything more. They continued to the prescribed exit, then Byakuya opened a doorway and led Gin down into the yard of a small house.

"This is where I am to stay for the duration of my mission here," Byakuya said softly, "We should have privacy in this place."

Gin wasn't sure what to say, so he simply nodded and followed the Kuchiki heir into the house. He dropped down onto a soft, comfortable sofa, sighing in relief at finally being able to relax. Byakuya set a kido barrier in place around the residence, then joined Gin on the sofa. The silver haired youth watched wordlessly as Byakuya opened his yukata and carefully addressed each marking on his body. Gin remained still and calm as he was healed, only quietly shifting his yukata to hide the effect that Byakuya's gentle touches had on him. But the blush that rose on the Kuchiki heir's face and throat hinted that he wasn't entirely oblivious to the situation.

Gin's lips found their more characteristic smile as Byakuya finished the healing, and he began to return the favor. He peeked through slitted eyes as he opened Byakuya's yukata and made each angry, flushed wound fade, then gently cleaned away the blood and semen that had marred the beauty of the noble youth's soft, pale skin. The lovely scent of sakura invaded his senses, and before he quite realized what was happening, Byakuya had leaned forward, and his feather-soft lips were touching Gin's lightly.

"What are you doing?" Gin asked uncertainly, "Isn't it against your family's rules for someone like me to touch you?"

"You didn't touch me. I touched you," Byakuya corrected him, moving forward and sliding onto the surprised youth's lap.

He kissed Gin again, and this time, the silver-haired youth responded by parting his lips, and slipping his warm tongue into the noble's open mouth. His tongue slithered along the length of Byakuya's, then curled around it, making the noble's slender body quiver in response as his awakening member hardened. Gin's hand slid downward, to touch him more intimately and Byakuya's hips moved in response, deepening the contact.

"Why are you doing this?" Gin whispered, tracing the other youth's lips with his tongue, then sinking back into his enchantingly sweet mouth again, "You know that you're going to forget."

Byakuya's eyes opened and met Gin's slitted ones meaningfully.

"I am going to give you a way to help me remember," he said, taking Gin's hand in his and slipping several of the other youth's long, slender fingers into his mouth to moisten them. Gin's heart quickened and his smile widened. He watched closely as Byakuya's mouth savored his fingers, then released them. The noble's slender hands, gripped the silver-haired youth's shoulders tightly as Gin slowly prepared him. Then, Byakuya closed his eyes, shivering softly as he positioned himself over Gin and cautiously joined their bodies. He paused, panting against Gin's shoulder and biting down on it to stave off the feeling of discomfort at being penetrated.

But nothing could have prepared him for the jolt that went through him as Gin slid his arms around Byakuya, then let his eyes open wider.

Byakuya gasped in surprise as the ice blue orbs fixed him in place and sent shivers through him, while Gin's mouth returned to his and fed him a series of blazing kisses that left his mind reeling and unable to focus on what the silver-haired youth was doing to his body. They moved together, their eyes locked and their mouths devouring each other's hungrily, as rising flames of pleasure licked at the bared expanses of their flesh.

A trembling hand fell to Gin's white breast, and a shaking fingertip set in place a small kido marking in the shape of a lovely, pink cherry blossom. The fingertip then moved to trace the same symbol on his own chest, over his heart. Gin's movements ceased, and his hands slid down and curved around Byakuya's soft bottom, holding him still.

"What is that?" he asked, "What did you just do?"

"It is a marking that we can only make when giving ourselves to a chosen lover," Byakuya explained, "It is not something that Captain Aizen's power should be able to affect, so it will still be visible to me, even if I forget what happened. Stay with me tonight, Gin. And when I wake up and cannot remember, show this to me, and I will have to believe what you say."

"And what good will that do?" Gin asked tiredly, "We can still not prove that Captain Aizen did anything wrong."

"No," said the noble, "But...then, you will not be the only one who knows."

Gin stared into the noble's large, gray eyes, absorbing the words and feeling a heavy jolt inside at the intent behind them. His eyes opened wider, making Byakuya's body relax under his hands as he laid the Kuchiki heir down on his back, and came to rest on top of him. Their words stopped, and they communicated then, only in the powerful, rhythmic movement of their bodies, hard, gripping thrusts, panting gasps and rising moans of pleasure. Gin's fingers laced together with the noble's as the two went still for moment, icy blue eyes gazing down into smoky gray, then electric throbs of completion overtook them. Byakuya loosed a beautiful sob of pleasure that resonated deeply in the silver-haired youth's insides. He filled the noble's body with seething pulses of his essence, seeking Byakuya's mouth for a an exchange of long, wet finishing kisses as the noble's release spilled out between them.

Still looking into those surprisingly warm, gray eyes, Gin loosed a shock of kido that sent the surprised Kuchiki heir spinning back into darkness.

"G-gin," Byakuya whispered in a stunned tone, "Why?"

Gin watched as the noble lapsed into unconsciousness, then meticulously cleaned away all signs of their coupling, as well as his presence within the small house. He showered and dressed, then returned to Byakuya's side and placed a surprisingly affectionate kiss on his pink lips.

"Why, you ask?" he whispered, "Because I don't necessarily think that misery loves company. For some reason, I don't want you to remember what I do. Don't ask me why. I am not a kind person, Byakuya, and you would probably regret having done this. It's better this way, trust me."

He offered the unconscious noble a final, savory kiss, then turned away and left him.

And when Byakuya's eyes opened again, he remembered nothing.

Not even how he had arrived at his destination.

He looked quietly down at the symbol over his heart, his lips frowning and his mind whirling with confusion.

What happened?

Something...happened to me.

Didn't it?