Chapter 2: Steal My Breath

"B-Byakuya," Aizen coughed, choking on the thick dust in the air around them.

As it settled, he registered a warm weight that was rested on his chest, and a tumble of sakura scented hair that had landed on his face as they had fallen together, shielding him from some of the thick smoke, ash and dust in the air. He tried to move, but stopped as a pained, guttural issued from within the semi-conscious man on top of him.

"Byakuya?" he called again, squinting in the deep darkness.

He couldn't see much more than an outline, but he could feel constriction around the area of their hips. He moved carefully, reaching down with his hands, and determining that a section of rock had pinned them, and the constriction seemed mostly due to Byakuya's heavier clothing. He couldn't hold back a smirk as he reached down and began to loosen the noble's uniform. The haori and shihakushou top came off readily enough, but he had to work slowly to remove Byakuya's hakama, leaving him in only the lighter yukata that had been underneath.

"My apologies," he told the unconscious man, still smirking, "but this is necessary to allow better blood flow for both of us."

Byakuya only groaned uncomprehendingly and shifted on top of him, then he winced and made a deeper, more pained sound.

"Ah, I would be able to sense and treat your wounds if I was allowed the use of my powers, but even if you were fully conscious, I doubt that you would grant me any amount of power. I know that one like yourself would rather doom himself to death in this black place, than to loose a demon like me back into civilized society, ne Byakuya?"

He shook his head softly and sighed.

"I shall have to do this in the more mundane fashion, then."

He carefully looked over the parts of Byakuya's body that he could see, then slowly slipped his hands beneath the noble's yukata and felt for broken bones or splashes of blood.

"It is not the best method," he admitted, "but I am afraid there is no choice."

He started to say more, but was stunned into silence as Byakuya's body moved on top of his, and the noble moaned fitfully. He licked his lips to moisten them, then continued to quietly explore Byakuya's body with his hands, his member twitching softly and beginning to harden as Byakuya shifted again and caused unintended, but deeply pleasant friction.

"You shouldn't do that," he warned the unconscious man in a seductive tone, "You are making me aroused. And having been deprived of proper stimulation for such a long time, it is far too much to ask of me to show restraint."

His heart skipped and beat faster as Byakuya shifted again, and began to struggle to free his trapped hips. The noble gasped in shock at the pain the movement caused and collapsed onto Aizen's chest moaning in distress.

"Try not to move," Aizen said calmly, "It appears that your back has been injured. You will make it worse if you continue to thrash about."

He slipped a hand beneath the noble's yukata and ran it slowly down his spine, stopping as he found a place that, when touched, caused Byakuya to stiffen and gasp.

"I do not feel anything," Aizen said, concern in his voice, "but that does not mean there isn't damage. Byakuya, you need to wake. I need you to loose the seal on my powers so that I can heal you."

Byakuya's large gray eyes opened then, but showed no sign of recognition that the man he was with was his enemy, Sousuke Aizen. He gazed at the other man through dazed, feverish eyes, his eyelids fluttering as he tried to gather himself.

"Byakuya?" Aizen said questioningly, touching the senseless noble's cheek and reaching down to squeeze one pale hand.

"O-oh," groaned the paler man, his eyes starting to close.

"No, don't do that," Aizen said quickly, patting his face gently, "If we are going to escape this place, then you need to wake up. Wake up, Byakuya."

Byakuya groaned again and turned his head, his lips blundering into Aizen's and freezing there. Aizen smiled and loosed a soft, wicked chuckle.

"You really shouldn't tempt me like that," he said, letting his lips tease the noble's and smiling more widely as Byakuya's lips rubbed warmly against his, "I am not likely to restrain myself if you move me sexually."

He touched a finger to the delirious noble's lips, and watched in amusement as Byakuya sucked it into his mouth and tormented it slowly with a decidedly lusty, pink tongue.

"Ah," he sighed, hardening at the silken feel of that devilishly hot appendage as it slid off the end of his fingertip, then sought his mouth again, "So, it seems there are some wicked, hidden passions beneath that very proper surface, ne Byakuya?"

He met the noble's kiss firmly, thrusting his own tongue into Byakuya's mouth. He moved his hips in a slow, controlled fashion, generating sweet, dizzying friction, but careful not to put pressure on the noble's injured back.

"Mmmmm," he moaned softly, "Byakuya, I must tell you. Despite our current predicament, I am very much enjoying this naughty little interlude. Mine has been a horridly lonely confinement. But see now, in moments, you have erased the memory of that and..."

He paused, blinking, as Byakuya flinched and groaned, then opened his eyes again. He froze for a long, stunned moment, glaring into the other man's amused brown eyes, then tore his mouth away from Aizen's and tried to free himself.

"What in kami's name do you think you are doing?" he hissed, blushing furiously, "Have you lost your mind?"

He caught his breath sharply as pain rocketed through his back, then fell still, glaring down at Aizen, with mayhem in his pained, gray eyes.

"Oh, how disappointing," Aizen sighed, "I was so enjoying your sinful little display of affection, Byakuya. You can feel what you've done to me, ne?

"How dare you...put your hands on me!" the noble snapped shakenly.

"Actually, I restrained myself from touching you too much as I undressed you. And I didn't do anything to you that you did not start," Aizen said, smiling at the flush on the other man's cheeks and throat, "I admit that I removed some of your clothing, but I had to because of the constriction where we are caught under that rock. And I did reach under your clothes...but only to examine you to see if you might be injured. The kissing was your idea entirely. I was very surprised...very pleasantly surprised."

"Shut up," Byakuya panted, moving more carefully to try to free himself.

The movement forced his body to rub against Aizen's, and Byakuya couldn't help but feel the twitch and throb of the prisoner's awakened member where it touched them through their yukatas. The noble scowled as Aizen emitted a moan of arousal and moved as well.

"Stop that!" he snapped, trying to pull away, and making his injured back throb painfully.

He took hard panting breaths as the shock of pain sent his mind into a spin, and he nearly lost consciousness again. Aizen gazed at him sympathetically and shook his head.

"I am sorry. I will try to restrain myself, though I admit, it is quite difficult. Go ahead. Try again. I think you have almost got yourself out."

He pulled gently on the noble's hips as Byakuya carefully wriggled free, trying to ignore the reaction that his movements caused in Aizen's body. The prisoner bit his lip and groaned as Byakuya slid free, but delighted in the flash vision he got of the noble's inner thighs and piqued member. He smirked, but said nothing aloud. Surprise lit his features a moment later, when Byakuya's hands took hold of his and the noble pulled him free, then onto his feet. They stood in the dark ruins of the cell, scenting the smell of fire burning somewhere nearby.

"It looks as though we can get out into the corridor," Byakuya suggested softly, "But everything around us is very unstable. And while you might be immortal, I certainly am not."

Aizen chuckled.

"I may be immortal, but being buried alive would be dreadfully boring. And although I would certainly work my way free, it would be a bother."

He went quiet for a moment, then moved forward and caught Byakuya as the noble took a step, staggered and fell. They knelt on the floor, facing one another, with Aizen's arms holding Byakuya up as he gasped and fought the waves of pain that assaulted him.

"You are not going to be able to go on without healing," Aizen advised him, "You should loose the seal on my powers, just enough so that I can heal you."

"If I do that," panted the noble, "then you will also be able to incapacitate me at will."

"If I wanted that, I need only wait until the pain overcomes you, Byakuya," Aizen said, frowning, "I am afraid that if we are both going to get out of here, that we are going to have to put aside our differences, at least for the short term. Think of it this way. I still owe you for stopping those guards from assaulting me, for healing me, and for freeing and protecting me when the prison came down on us."

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes for a moment.

"Why did you protect me?" he asked softly, letting go as Byakuya pulled free of him and sat down on the dusty floor, "I would have survived, though I would have been flattened by the rock that smashed the chair I was bound to."

"It was reflex," the noble said, not looking back at him, "I wasn't thinking about your immortality. You were another living being, caught in a threatening situation. I just...reacted."

"Well," said Aizen, "Now, I am indebted to you. I give you my word that if you free only my healing powers, I will not attempt to incapacitate you, until we are free of the prison, and I need to escape from here."

"What about the hogyoku?" asked Byakuya, "Won't loosening the seal give it a chance to..."

"The hogyoku's part of the seal is deeper inside me. Healing power is more surface level. You can allow me healing powers without freeing the hogyoku."

"I am just supposed to trust you?" asked the noble in a troubled tone.

"Unless you wish to remain trapped in this place...an unpleasant prospect, ne Byakuya?"

Byakuya thought for several long minutes, then scowled at him.

"I cannot be responsible for loosing your darkness on the three worlds again. No. I will not release the seal."

"Unwise," Aizen said calmly, shaking his head and letting out an annoyed sigh as Byakuya struggled back to his feet and limped out into the corridor.

Aizen followed the noble into the corridor, and the two made their way carefully around the collapsed portions, noting the extreme silence about the area, and the fact that although several cell doors had been broken, there were no prisoners in sight. Peering into several of the cells revealed devastating damage to most of them. And most of the prisoners had suffered fatal injuries, being strapped to beds or chairs and unable to move as the prison rock rained down on them.

"Although it sounds harsh," commented Aizen, "It is better for you that they died. I may owe you for helping me, but they do not. And many of them have lost their minds, because of their long imprisonment, and the cruelty of their keepers. We will need to be careful of who we might find down here."

"Why would you worry?" Byakuya asked softly, "They can't kill you. And they will follow you because you are the strongest of them. They would likely keep me alive for a time anyway, to force me to use my powers to get through any obstacles...perhaps to use later as a hostage, if it is needed. I imagine that is the true reason that you have not harmed me."

"Byakuya, for shame!" said Aizen, "You think such horrid things of me! I am not wholly without a code of honor. It is just that most people do not understand it."

"I understand you just fine," Byakuya said solemnly, "You use the people around you for as long as they provide something that you need...and then you dispose of them."

"You make it sound like I am heartless."

"Aren't you? You betrayed the captains of the Gotei 13, your squad, your friends...everyone. You struck out at the noble class by murdering the Central 46 councilors, who you knew were all among the most powerful of the noble lords. You took another stab at the elite class by using my sister...ironically, one who was only noble by adoption. You drew the Espadas to your side and used them against us, but turned on them as you closed in on your goals. You gladly watched the ones who defected with you die. You killed Gin yourself..."

"He deserved to die for his treachery."

"You deserve to die for yours, too," Byakuya said softly.

"I am sure that you believe that."

"You said that before," Byakuya said, frowning, "Why is it that you seem to think you had some appropriate reason to do as you did? Am I somehow mistaken in my memory of things?"

Aizen sighed and lowered his eyes.

"It is not in your memory that the mistake lies...but...in secrets that you would not believe if I spoke them to you."

"What do you mean?" asked the noble, looking into Aizen's eyes as he raised them again, "What secrets are you talking about?"

The two went silent as the rock around them groaned, and they heard the beginning of another collapse. Screams sounded, echoing as rock and debris rained down from above them. Aizen took Byakuya off his feet and wedged the two of them quickly into a protected corner as the collapse continued. Byakuya clung to Aizen's shoulder where they knelt together, his breathing harsh as he reacted to the pain that had overtaken him as Aizen had moved him out of the path of the falling rock. His eyes glazed over and his mind began to dim. He heard Aizen's voice calling to him, again urging him to loosen the seal on his powers.

"I...would rather...die painfully," he panted, earning a dark glare from the other man.

"Well," the former leader of the hollows said reprovingly, "If things continue the way they are, then you just may get your wish. You are an awfully stubborn man, Byakuya. Do you really care more about keeping me in this place, than you do about returning to your loved ones?"

"It is because of them that I am willing to die this way, rather than to take a chance on you escaping. You tried hurt them before...and nothing you can say will make me believe that you would not do so again. I will protect them from you, though it hurts, and though I may die. If that is the price of protecting them, then I will pay it willingly."

Aizen let out a defeated breath.

"Then, I may as well kill you now, if that is my intent," he said softly.

The corridor went silent except for their soft breathing. Byakuya stared into Aizen's eyes, waiting breathlessly as the man stared back at him. Minutes passed, and neither man moved. Finally, Aizen sighed again and helped the noble to his feet. Byakuya moved gingerly, watching Aizen's face as the man helped him along the corridor, patiently moving debris and helping him over obstacles and they moved forward. After a time, Aizen guided him into another small alcove.

"You should rest a bit," he suggested, sitting down next to the noble and leaning back against the wall.

Byakuya sat back, trying to relax, but unable to get comfortable. He caught his breath softly as Aizen captured him and slipped in behind him, providing gentle support to the injured part of his back and gently massaging the muscles around it that had grown tense with trying to compensate.

"You should be lying in a hospital bed, not forcing yourself along these dark corridors, looking in vain for a way to escape," Aizen whispered into his ear.

He pulled the noble close, placing a hand over his mouth to keep him silent as an injured prisoner staggered past without seeing them. He had no fear for himself, of course, but Byakuya, being noble and having powers that the inmates would desire, was more vulnerable.

"Why did you do that?" Byakuya asked softly, watching as the blundering prisoner fell, righted himself again, and disappeared from view, "You could have used him to move things more quickly for you."

"I don't need him," Aizen said blithely, "I can manage well enough."

"You don't need me, either," Byakuya said quietly, looking into his eyes again and suppressing a shiver, "And you know that when we find a way out, I will see it as my duty to make sure that you do not escape. Why didn't you just kill me?"

Aizen gave him a cryptic smile.

"What reason could I give you that you would believe?" he asked in a tone that betrayed surprising affection, "You are truly a man of principle, Byakuya. That is a rare thing to find among the nobles. I enjoy your company...and despite what you think, I may need your powers to escape this place. But...you are safe in my arms...for now."

Byakuya gave him a dark look, but settled against him and closed his eyes. Aizen held him quietly, watching the dim corridor and listening to the deep silence as the noble surrendered to sleep.