Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Note: This story contains some OOC behaviour. I apologise to those who hate that.
The usual atmosphere of Silbern, the building that served as the Vandenreich's headquarters, was one of grim tension as the soldiers of the Quincy army trained and prepared for the war against the Soul Society. Everyone from the lowest-ranking foot soldiers to the elite Sternritter knew that they could take no chances. If they were to defeat Soul Society they would have to be at their absolute best. His Majesty Juha Bach would accept nothing less.
Today however was one of the exceptions. There was an air of eager anticipation and enthusiasm, even a sense of jubilation that was seldom seen in the bleak building and the surrounding icy landscape.
The reason for the exultant mood was that tomorrow was His Majesty's birthday, one of the few times he allowed his followers to fully relax and enjoy themselves. A great celebration was planned and everyone was looking forwards to it.
Mask de Masculine and As Nodt were strolling down one of Silbern's many corridor's with James, Mask's devoted fan, happily trotting behind them. The conversation had largely been one-sided with As Nodt saying little more than the occasional grunt but Mask did not mind.
"So my friend, do you have any plans for tomorrow?" asked the luchador Quincy. His tone sounded casual (or at least he hoped it did) but in truth he was concerned. Most of the time As Nodt was a loner who rarely left his private quarters. Given his creepy appearance and unnerving fear-obsessed nature few other Quincies tried to interact with him. That was why Mask made an effort to help him come out of his shell. After all a Superstar should always try to help out his comrades. In this case he wanted to make sure that As Nodt did not miss out on tomorrow's festivities.
"If you must know I have a date" replied As Nodt in his usual hollow tone.
"A date?" Mask repeated in surprise. He certainly hadn't expected that.
"Yes, a date" As Nodt said again. "With a very charming and beautiful young lady."
Mask guffawed delightedly and gave the other Quincy a friendly slap on the back that almost knocked him sprawling.
"As Nodt you sly dog" he said with a grin. "Who is the lucky girl?"
Before he could answer a cheery female voice called out "hi guys!"
They looked forwards to see Giselle Gewelle coming towards them with casual light steps, practically bouncing across the stone floor. As usual her face was lit up by a happy, goofy smile.
"Mask, James hi. Nice to see you" she chirruped as she came to a halt in front of them.
"A pleasure to see you too Miss Gewelle" said Mask as he bowed politely.
"H, hi, Miss Gewelle" said James, his face turning bright red.
She giggled. "Don't be so formal. Just call me Gigi." She turned to As Nodt. "So are we still on for tomorrow?"
"Absolutely" he replied. "I shall pick you up at six as we agreed."
"See you then" she said with a wink. With that she skipped off down the corridor.
Excellent Mask thought. A bright, happy girl like her could be just what my good friend needs.
"Well that is splendid" he said. "I hope that you both have a very good time."
"Thank you" As Nodt said dryly as they resumed their trek down the corridor.
Meanwhile in the kitchens, Meninas Mcallon hummed happily to herself as she stirred the bowlful of cake mixture in front of her. All around her were packets of caster sugar, self-raising flour, butter and empty cartons of eggs, all of them the finest quality.
While her main interest was beautiful furniture, Meninas also had a fondness for baking. For this reason Haschwalth had given her the job of making Juha Bach's birthday cake. Some might have been terrified of the possibility of displeasing His Majesty but not her. Meninas knew she would make a perfect cake and was deeply honoured to have been given the task.
She stirred vigorously, using the tiniest fraction of her superhuman strength to mix the ingredients together far better than a modern blender could achieve. She took a spoonful, lifted it above the bowl and tipped it back in.
Perfect she thought with a pleased smile as the mix fell down in a consistent dollop.
Just then she stopped as she heard movement. It was a tiny sound but one she had been alert for ever since she had started making the cake. She looked around, her gaze quickly falling on the bowl of icing sugar she had prepared earlier.
With a sudden burst of hirenkyaku Meninas was in front of the bowl in time to catch the giant gaping maw of jagged teeth that had just emerged from behind a corner.
"Liltotto-chan! This is for His Majesty!" she exclaimed.
The maw retracted and shrank away as Liltotto stepped around the corner, her mouth returning to its regular size.
"Damn it Meninas. I only wanted a taste" she complained.
"I know what you consider 'just a taste' Liltotto-chan" she replied firmly, putting her hands on her hips. "You are not eating any of this cake."
"Fine" she grumbled. She started to turn away but Meninas called, "wait!"
Liltotto turned around. Meninas smiled and pointed to a cupboard.
"There are some cakes I made earlier in there. Help yourself."
Liltotto beamed. "Thanks Meninas."
With that she dashed over to the cupboard, flung open the door and began devouring the cakes inside. Meninas giggled softly as she watched her.
The next day.
Seated upon his great throne Juha Bach, emperor of the Vandenreich, lifted his head as he was distracted from his inner musings by the sound of knocking on the door of his throne room.
"Enter" he called.
The door opened and Meninas Mcallon entered, effortlessly carrying a massive cake.
"Happy birthday Your Majesty" she said reverently as she performed an elegant curtsy.
Juha Bach nodded and then examined the cake. It was covered in white icing with blue trim. There were three rows of nine blue candles, each row progressively smaller, symbolising the nine hundred years it had taken to regain his heartbeat, the ninety years to regain his mind and the nine years to regain his power. Finally the cake was decorated with an equistely crafted Vandenreich emblem.
In general Juha Bach was not one to compliment his minions as he viewed them as utterly disposable. In this case however he had to admit that the cake was magnificent and he had no doubt it would taste as good as it looked.
"Well done Meninas. You have performed superbly."
She beamed happily. "Thank you Your Majesty."
As she left he turned to the only other person in the room, his right-hand man Haschwalth.
"What do you think Haschwalth?"
"It looks splendid. Miss Mcallon has outdone herself."
"Indeed. And since you recommended her for the task it is only fair that you be allowed to share in it with me."
He bowed his head. "I am honoured Your Majesty."
Meanwhile in the mess hall all of the other Sternritter were seated on either side of a long table. Meninas Mcallon stood at the head of it with a tray covered by a white cloth. She smiled brightly as she removed the cloth to reveal smaller versions of the cake she'd made.
"Damn those look good" said Nanana, putting everyone's thoughts into words.
Meninas curtsied and said "help yourselves everyone."
Her smile brightened as all of the Sternritter cheered. But then her smile became a look of alarm as she spotted something. "Liltotto wait, don't!"
Too late. Liltotto's extended maw zipped over the table, scooped up all of the cakes and downed them in a single gulp before shrinking back to the far door where Liltotto was standing.
"Ah those were delicious" she said as she rubbed her stomach.
Her eyes then widened as she noticed the glares everyone was sending her way. She turned and raced through the door, the other Sternritter in hot pursuit.
That evening a ball was held in a vast chamber with a white marble floor. Silvered crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead as immaculately dressed Quincy men and women danced to majestic orchestral music while others sat at rows of tables, eating and talking. Across one wall was a row of long tables covered with plates of food. It had been a challenge to ensure there was enough for everyone present, especially with Liltotto around, but the servants had managed.
At one of the tables Giselle and As Nodt had finished their food and were talking. He had suggested she look away before removing his mask but to his delight she had been unfazed by the sight of his lipless mouth and had even commented that she liked how he reminded her of a death's head.
"I know Bambi-chan is a bit of a ***** but she's still my friend" she said. "I'd never want to lose her."
"I know the feeling. Mask is an utter buffoon but he is a good man and a good friend. I do wish he would refrain from patting me on the back though. If it weren't for my Blut Vene he'd have probably broken my spine."
She giggled happily. "I'm having a great time."
"As am I" he replied. "To be honest I am somewhat overcome. I am not accustomed to being around women, especially one of your beauty."
Giselle laughed. "Stop, you're making my head swell."
"I mean it" he said. "And that is not all. You see when His Majesty found me I was gravely ill and near death. I was terrified of death, it consumed my every thought. That is why I was given the power of Fear."
"But you, you are different. Like me you are intimately connected to death yet at the same time you are cheerful, vibrant and full of life. You are the best of both worlds and that to me is something wondrous."
Giselle's eyes watered and her lower lip trembled. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. As Nodt you're so sweet!"
"Thank you. No one has ever said I was sweet before. They've said 'As Nodt, you're a total creep,' but never sweet."
Smiling happily she took his hand and stood up. "Come on let's dance!"
"Gladly."
Mask de Masculine helped himself to a serving of punch from a large bowl. He smiled as he watched As Nodt and Giselle dancing. Despite her goofy demeanour she danced with remarkable elegance and to his credit As Nodt was keeping pace quite well.
He must have practised for this Mask thought.
James looked up at him in puzzlement. "How come you aren't dancing Superstar? I know you'd be great at it."
Mask shrugged. "It is one of the very few drawbacks of being a Superstar" he replied. "Not many women want to dance with someone my size."
Before James could protest, Meninas Mcallon strolled up to them. "Hello Mask, James" she said cheerily.
"Good evening Miss Mcallon" said Mask politely.
James face was even redder than when Giselle had greeted them but he managed to stammer out, "H, hi, Miss Mcallon."
She smiled and held out a hand to Mask. "Can I ask you for a dance?"
He grinned in delight and accepted her hand. "Thank you."
"It's okay" she replied as they stepped onto the marble floor and started to dance. Mask was at first awkward and stilted as he focused on not stepping on her feet but after a few moments of her guidance he relaxed. Meninas was an excellent dancer with a great sense of rhythm and despite his size and inexperience, Mask was light on his feet due to his wrestling skills. It did not take long for him to grasp the basics.
Both odd couples got some bemused looks but they didn't care. Giselle and Meninas eyes met across the floor and they gave each other amused smiles.
The next day would be a day of rest for everyone to recover from the celebrations. After that life would return to the bleak, grim prospect of preparing for the coming war against Soul Society while competing to gain their leader's favour.
But tonight, for a few precious hours, everyone set aside their cares and their usual bickering and competitiveness and just enjoyed the moment.
Author's Note: As fans of "Red Dwarf" will have noticed, As Nodt's line about no one ever saying he was sweet before was "borrowed" (with some amendments) from the episode "Camille," specifically Rimmer's talk with Camille when first meeting her. Sorry for being unoriginal but I liked the line and thought it fit well.