Chapter 10: The Way Out
"Wakey, wakey, Captain Kuchiki," said Gin's gratingly cheerful voice, "Someone needs your personal attention."
Byakuya groaned at the instant pounding headache that occurred upon waking from Aizen's illusions and fought the fatigue brought on by the red collar that sealed away his power and sapped his strength. He didn't even want to consider what Gin's comment meant. The silver-haired shinigami seemed to read his mind and shook his head as he helped Byakuya onto his feet.
"Aw now, we'll give you some time to adjust to the collars before we start using you for…our needs. If you hold still for a moment, I'll adjust that so you won't be quite so groggy. I'll give you something for the headache in a minute. But don't think you've got it so bad. You may be thinking you feel a bit under the weather, but your vice captain is a mess!"
"What have you done to Renji?" Byakuya snapped, "If you have harmed him in any way, I will find a way to kill you!"
"Easy there Captain. We haven't done a thing to the poor boy yet. I mean, we're all for making you uncomfortable for our entertainment, but it is really wrong to kick a guy when he's already down."
"Renji is…ill?"
"He's been throwing up off and on since we captured you two. And when he's not throwing up, he's fainting. I'm not even really sure the poor thing knows where he is, right now. I do hope that whatever it is isn't contagious. I would have someone shoot me if I ever became that miserable!"
"Take me to Renji at once!" Byakuya demanded, breaking into a sweat as he fought the draggy feeling brought on by the collar.
Gin shoved him back against the wall and moved closer until they were nose to nose. His slitted eyes opened just enough so that Byakuya felt the threat of what would happen if he didn't cooperate. He fell silent, but gazed steadily at the silver-haired shinigami.
"You need to remember that you aren't in command here, Captain. You are in enemy hands and you will behave like a good little prisoner or Sousuke will give me permission to take you down to my lab for a few hours…and you don't want that."
Byakuya was certain that Gin was telling the truth about that particular fact…
"I'll take you to your hot little redheaded lover in a moment. We'll leave you together so you can tend to him until he's better."
He expected to be taken down to the prisons, but the silver-haired shinigami led him instead to the living areas. It was a different building than the one the mouse had infiltrated, but the noble noticed that the layout of rooms was essentially the same. And as they passed several windows, he was able to figure out their approximate orientation and placement in relation to the listening posts and the distant shinigami base. He calmly stored the information in his mind for later as he was led down several hallways and to a guarded room.
Gin opened the door and waited as Byakuya entered the room. He was relieved to see that although Renji looked very pale and sickly, he had been made comfortable in a soft bed and food, water and first aid supplies had been left for them.
"If you need anything, ask the guards," said Gin, "and Sousuke and I will be in to check on you two in a while."
Byakuya said nothing, but simply nodded as Gin left, then turned to address the man lying in the bed next to where he sat in a chair. The redhead looked comfortable enough for his circumstances, and he had been able to fall asleep, so the noble thought it best to let the sleeping continue and used the time to finally reflect on all that had happened.
I haven't even had time to process what got sent to the twelfth division…and then on to the head captain. I'll be out here, stationed in one of these silly listening posts for the rest of my natural life…that is, if the clan doesn't have me killed so they can replace me with a less scandalized figure. Shades, maybe I should just remain a prisoner of war…
Renji stirred and groaned softly.
Byakuya glanced at him and was surprised to feel a soft internal vibration…a feeling of intense protectiveness, an odd connectedness. And when he checked Renji's pulse, it almost seemed as though their hearts were pacing together. He stared in confusion, then shook his head to clear it.
"C-captain?" Renji said, blinking, "What's going on? Did something…happen? Wh-where are we?"
"Las Noches," Byakuya said, leaning forward and washing his vice captain's sweaty face with a cool, wet cloth, "We were captured at the listening post."
"At the…" Renji began, then he sat straight up, turning his head this way and that, "Aw, hell, that's right! I was really out of it, ne?"
"You still are," the noble said reprovingly, pushing him gently back down, "Now rest."
"Augh…Captain, you have no idea how awful I feel right now!"
"Where does it hurt?" the noble asked.
"Ah…erm, my head is really throbbing and my stomach hurts real bad that I keep throwing up."
"The headache is probably from the aftereffects of Aizen's zanpakutou, but I will check your abdomen, if you will not take offense."
"Ugh, go ahead," Renji groaned, growing a shade paler, "anything to make this go away!"
"When did the symptoms begin?"
"Oh, I've been throwing up a lot for the last several days. I must have eaten something in Karakura Town that didn't sit well with me. My stomach has been awful ever since then. And I haven't been having headaches, but I have felt dizzy…like the room seems to spin."
Byakuya nodded and untied the redhead's yukata. Renji watched curiously as the noble's hands came to rest on his stomach.
"My apologies," Byakuya said, running his hands over Renji's warm flesh, "I have to use physical touch as our powers are sealed away. I can still sense where your discomfort is, but I may have to call someone else in if you need actual healing."
He broke off as a soft jolt passed through him. Byakuya's eyes widened as a warm, powerful feeling began to radiate through his body and a soft white glow rose up around him.
"Whoa!" said Renji in surprise as relief seemed to flow out of Byakuya's hands and into his body, "Captain…what's happening? I thought our powers were sealed away."
Byakuya shook his head in confusion.
"It isn't a reiatsu based power, but an innate connection," the noble explained, "And I don't know why it's working now…because this power, this connection…usually occurs between mated noble partners during gestation."
"What?" Renji asked, blinking.
"Usually, when a noble heir is made, it is a connection that requires something from both members of the mated pair. The father provides seed, the mother, a vessel. But for the heir to be born alive, the pair must connect with each other regularly and close the connective 'circuit' between them. Usually, the father will place hands on the mother's abdomen and the two will create a balanced flow between them. I have never heard of this happening between unmated people. But since it seems to help, if you do not mind, I will continue. Just…it does tend to cause emotional stirrings."
"E-emotional stirrings?" Renji asked, scratching his head, "What?"
"Because of the 'sharing' that occurs between our bodies, we may feel more attached to and protective of each other."
"Ah…well, since it is working, and because I am already your protector, I'd like it if you kept doing that. It feels really good. I don't have that sick feeling anymore and my head isn't even hurting now."
Byakuya yielded him a fleeting smile.
"Then, I will continue. But when we escape this place and go back home, I want you to go to the fourth division and have them look at you. I don't why this is working, but something is definitely haywire about it. I do not think it a matter of great concern, but it would be good to know why it occurred."
"Sure…ah…whatever you say, Captain," Renji sighed, "Just keep doing that for a while."
"I will have to stop soon or the flow between us is likely to stimulate a more personal exchange than would be proper."
"What's that?" Renji asked, frowning.
"This is a flow of basic life force between two beings that often results in the pair making love."
He noticed right away how the redhead went silent and seemed to be uncomfortable after that. Byakuya sighed and thought deeply about why he would have that reaction, but couldn't seem to lock in on a reason. There were so many possibilities and he really did need to understand.
"Renji," he said, pulling his hands away from the redhead's body and sitting back, "I have to ask you something. It may be an uncomfortable topic, but I think it's something we should discuss."
He didn't like the fact that Renji's face was so flushed and he was not looking at Byakuya directly anymore.
"Uh…okay?" The redhead said uncertainly, "What's on your mind?"
"It is about the moments just before we were captured. I have a few questions."
"I, ah, don't remember that much because I was busy throwing up and being captured, but I'll try, Captain."
"Very well," Byakuya said, nodding, "I wanted to ask…did you notice anything odd when you woke up?"
Renji's flush deepened and he shifted uncomfortably.
"Uh, well, ah…"
"I ask because as you woke and left to go outside, I woke as well. And I remember that the front of my yukata was opened and you were naked."
"Oh…" said Renji, "I don't feel so good again. Please don't get mad at me, Captain! I don't know what happened! Maybe we just…moved around in our sleep…and I forgot I wasn't at home or something. I'm sorry if I offended you!"
Byakuya shook his head.
"I am not angry with you. And I am not meaning to ask in an accusing way. There is something that I was prevented from telling you, but I think you should know about it."
"Oh, I don't know if I want to hear this, Captain. I mean…"
"That night before, somehow the dual record mode was triggered and in addition to monitoring what we were receiving, it also monitored our activities."
"A-and?" Renji queried, his eyes wide and his face paling.
"And though it seems that neither of us remembers it, we appear to have partaken of each other's bodies…and that information was sent to the twelfth division as part of the listening post report."
"H-huh?" Renji asked, looking scared and sick to his stomach again, "We did what? Captain, did you just say that we…had sex?"
Byakuya bit his lip lightly and nodded.
Then, Renji's face went sheet-white as the other part of the information settled over him. He shivered and his eyes blinked, then he collapsed back on the bed in a faint.
"Renji?" Byakuya queried, taking the redhead's hands and rubbing his wrists gently, "Renji, I know it was a shock…are you all right?"
He patted the man's face gently to rouse him, then offered him a cup of hot tea with lemon. Renji accepted the tea and sat drinking it in silence, trying to find the nerve and the words to continue the conversation. He knew he couldn't escape it.
"So…" he said finally, "You and I had sex…sex that neither of us remembers…and it was videotaped and sent to the freak captain and his fembot vice captain?"
"And Captain Kurotsuchi appears to have forwarded it to the head captain."
Renji blanched again.
"Augh, Captain…they don't make shit deeper than what we're standing in, ne? We're going to get court-martialed, aren't we?"
"You won't be charged with anything," Byakuya said quietly, "I will accept responsibility for seducing you."
"But you don't even remember doing it!" Renji objected, then colored as he considered his clumsy wording, "Captain, it's not fair for you to get in trouble."
"I did break the rules by having you in the outpost, Renji," Byakuya argued.
"Yeah, but I went there of my own free will!"
"Don't make such a fuss, Abarai," the noble said, placing a calming hand on his shoulder, "It isn't your fault."
"But it isn't yours either," Renji said, "You shouldn't have to be the one to…"
"Forget that for now," Byakuya said, sighing, "We don't need to worry about it until such time as we are ready to escape. In any case, I was pondering over what could have put us in that state."
"Did you think of anything?" the redhead asked.
"Well, Aizen and Gin knew where we were," Byakuya explained, "I wonder if they did it…if they introduced a drug into the air inside the outpost and then made sure it was recorded and sent to the twelfth."
Renji's eyes widened cutely.
"Damn them!" he snapped, "That must have been it! Those freaky bastards just wanted to mess with us, so they did this to get you in trouble! I'll kick their asses!"
"While I appreciate your feelings, of course, I do not think we'll have that opportunity unless we first escape. And we must make our escape soon."
Renji nodded.
"If those two made us fuck each other on camera and sent it back to embarrass us like that, then they probably have all sorts of perverted things planned for us here…as if we couldn't tell by the illusions Aizen tried with us!" Renji exclaimed, "You're right. We have to get out of here!"
"We will," Byakuya said, nodding, "I know where we are, and I think if we can find a way to remove these collars, then we could escape by way of the kitchen and banquet area. We could make a run for the shinigami base."
Renji nodded.
"The hard part will be getting the collars off," the redhead acknowledged, "They probably have something that kills you if you mess with it or some scary shit like that, ne?"
"Probably," Byakuya agreed, "So we will not make our move yet. But we have to keep them from harming us while we wait for an opening. So, Abarai, you are about to get a whole lot sicker."
"S-sicker. Ah, Captain, I'm sick enough as it is!" Renji objected, "Fever, headaches, stomach aches, throwing up, cravings, hot flashes and sweating…I don't think I can take much more!"
"I have an idea about that."
"You…you do?"
"Yes. That technique I used to relieve your pain can cause a state of feverish euphoria. Usually, it results in a surrender to lovemaking, but it looks like illness and could be used to put those two off until we think of a way out of this."
"You mean…you're going to get me really, really aroused? Is that what you're saying?"
"I assure you. You will not mind the sensations and there will be no harmful effects."
Renji considered the idea, then bit his lip and tried not to laugh. Byakuya frowned, making the redhead bite his lip harder and choke on his tea. He shook his head and smiled at the flustered noble.
"All right, Captain," Renji said, smirking, "Arouse me…"