Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Apacci was walking along the corridors of Las Noches with Harribel and the girls, minding her own business (well, not really – Las Noches was huge and of course she wanted to know everything about her new home), when the corridor in front of her exploded, debris flying as something was apparently thrown through it. High levels of reiatsu supported this theory when she and the girls were forced to stagger backwards slightly, although Harribel was unaffected, as a monster of an arrancar forced his way through the remains of the wall.
Clearly this beast was hunting something – well, someone. It was probably a poor unfortunate arrancar that happened to get in its way at the wrong moment. She was proved right when the initial debris settled enough for long blond hair to be visible as its owner stood up, evading a punch from the giant as they did so.
Apacci's first thought was to go to their aid, believing them to be female – what male had hair like that – but as the rest of the dust settled she could make out more details and realised that, astonishingly, they were male. A male with a very cocky grin, who was calling out various jeers and clearly didn't consider himself to be a victim even though it was clear who the stronger arrancar was.
Any desire to help fled. Males could fend for themselves, for starters, and this one's attitude just screamed that the whole situation was probably his own fault. Still, it was an interesting show and she was clearly not the only one to think that way, judging by the small crowd of arrancar coming to spectate.
One of the giant's lunges appeared to make contact, as the blond male was thrown back into the wall, not far from where she was standing, and she turned to look at the new mess, surprised that he hadn't been sent through the wall, considering how much of a hit that had been.
For a moment, everything was still, and she wondered if he was dead. Served him right.
But then there was movement as he pulled himself to his feet, not as shakily as she'd been expecting, either. Drawing himself up to his full height – he was a fair bit taller than her, it seemed – he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the floor before wiping his mouth with his sleeve and facing his opponent.
"You hit like a girl," he drawled, extending an arm in an obvious 'come' gesture. "Is this the extent of the diez's powers?" His jeers were interrupted by a roar from the giant, who was apparently an Espada, and a punch, which he just barely evaded. The monster pulled back his arm for another hit and the blond's body tensed slightly, preparing to spring out of the way again, Apacci assumed.
"Yammy." The monotonous voice cut through the atmosphere like a knife and the diez's arm lowered to his side, the giant looking over his shoulder at the tiny white-skinned arrancar that had just appeared. "We have a mission. Come."
"Once I've killed this one, Ulquiorra," Yammy retorted, his arm once again rising. He was interrupted by the white arrancar.
"There is no need to waste your strength on trash of that calibre," he droned, turning and walking away. "Come."
Apacci was surprised when Yammy obeyed, shuffling away without a backwards glance at the blond, who still had that cocky grin etched firmly on his face as he watched the retreating back.
"Dammit," an arrancar near her muttered quietly. "It was good watching that bastard getting beat up for a change." Other quiet voices agreed, never above a murmur. Apacci wasn't sure which of the battling arrancar they were talking about, until she noticed that the blond was suddenly standing behind the first one to speak, a cero charging in the hand pressed to the arrancar's back.
"If you wanted to see me getting beat up, you should have trained until you could do it yourself, bro," he taunted, although the look in his eyes was slightly more serious than the tone. "Too late now, though." The cero released, obliterating the arrancar with minimal effort, but maximum mess.
Apacci had seen enough, and was beginning to walk away, accompanied by the other females, when the blond appeared in front of them.
"You lot are new, sisters," he said with a grin. "Haven't seen you before. I'd remember such pretty faces." Apacci didn't know if she was imagining that he looked at her a bit more than the others, but that didn't matter. This guy was getting on her nerves, and her leg struck out, determined to kick that smug smile straight off his face.
He caught her ankle without any visible effort at all and she felt like screaming in frustration, before one hand tried to punch him. He caught that too. Now she knew she had his undivided attention. His crimson eyes were fixed on her. Not liking it, she sent her other fist flying towards his face, just as a bellow made itself known.
"Yylfordt!"
The blond dropped her ankle and caught her fist instead as she staggered slightly.
"I guess that's my cue to go," he said nonchalantly, that smirk still on his face. "You'll have to beat me up some other time, sis." He leaned in slightly and winked, his face almost split in half by his grin, before disappearing.
She was frozen for just a moment before her face flushed in anger and she began to yell profanities in the vague direction he'd disappeared. She hadn't even been an arrancar a day and already she'd found someone she wanted very, very dead.
The next time she saw him was several days later. She was still wandering the vastness that was Las Noches, learning her way around, when she saw him leaning nonchalantly against the wall. From the way he was looking at her, it was almost as if he had been waiting for her.
Well, fine. If he wanted to die so much, she'd oblige. There was no waiting around to greet him – she stormed straight up to him, her fist headed for his face while her leg came up to kick his chest in.
Just like last time, he caught both attacks, seemingly unaffected in the slightest, which irritated her. He wasn't an Espada, she knew that much about him, so he couldn't be much different in power to her.
"Slow down, sis," he laughed, letting her leg go but not her wrist. "I don't even know your name yet!" She scowled, debating whether this low-life really deserved to know her name. While she pondered she watched him closely. He wasn't covered in blood this time, and his uniform was spotless. Clearly he was recovered from whatever damage he'd taken from the diez's attacks.
"Apacci," she finally conceded, although accompanied the answer with a knee towards his groin. His hand once again got in the way, to her extreme frustration.
"Yylfordt," he replied. She'd guessed that already. "Nice to meet you, sis." She tugged her wrist back before aiming another punch at his nose. He knew her name now – he could bloody well use it!
He caught her fist again, before glancing to one side. She wasn't falling for that trick, even if he even schooled his face into a different expression – a mixture of exasperation and sulkiness – and kicked him.
Her foot met air as he suddenly appeared behind her.
"Gotta go, sis," he said, almost sounding apologetic. "Later, Apacci."
By the time she realised he'd actually used her name, he was gone. With a huff, she stalked off back to Harribel-sama's palace.
"If you walk around with that scowl on your face all the time, you'll get stuck that way," Sung-sun murmured airily as she returned, and her frown deepened.
"Shut up, snake-bitch!" she snapped.
"She's not like that all the time," Mila Rose piped up, her arms crossed under her breasts. "I bet a certain blond arrancar's got under her skin again."
"He has not!" Apacci barked, fuming. Yylfordt had not got under her skin. Not at all. He was just an arrogant, smirking good for nothing with an aptitude for running away when it suited him. "bloody coward," she grumbled under her breath.
Chuckles told her that both her companions had heard her, and she stomped back to her room. She'd beat him. That would show them all.
The next time she saw him, it was somewhere she had never expected to, although in hindsight it was probably obvious.
Aizen-sama had called a meeting. That was not unusual – Harribel-sama appeared to spend much of her time secluded away with the rest of the Espada in conference with their shinigami leaders. What was unusual was that this time, the gathering was also extended to fracciónes. She and the girls proudly followed their leader into the large room, standing behind her as she perched on an outcrop that served the female as a seat.
Looking around, she took in her fellow arrancar. There was Yammy, and Ulquiorra, and the other arrancar she had come to know as the Espada – Starrk, asleep in the corner, Barragan on his throne of bones and surrounded by his personal miniature army, Nnoitra with his silent fracción standing to attention behind him, Zommari and Aaroniero both silent and alone, and the pink-haired freak known as Szayelaporro she had heard very quickly to stay away from. They were waiting for one last Espada, it appeared.
The door slammed open with far more force than necessary, and the violent, destructive and abrupt Espada she disliked almost as much as Yylfordt stormed in, hands shoved deep in his pockets and a scowl on his face. She didn't like him; even when he scowled, his eyes still held a predatory gleam that sent a shiver down her spine.
What she liked even less was his posse behind him. She hadn't known he had fracciónes – the way he acted, she didn't think any would survive – but he was trailed by five arrancar, making his fracción army the second largest present. Her eyes followed one of the five, narrowed in distaste as Grimmjow sat on his perch, most of his fracciónes gathering behind him, either standing or in a crouch. All except one, as Yylfordt nonchalantly joined his master on the perch, the only non-Espada to dare to sit.
No-one commented on it, although out of the corner of her eye she saw Szayelaporro's eyes change as they met with the crimson ones belonging to her nemesis. Something like annoyance, she thought, while Yylfordt's eyes held clear amusement, and even a challenge. Interesting.
She hated him even more.
Aizen-sama arrived, his timing so perfectly after Grimmjow's arrival that she knew it was no coincidence. His eyes passed over them all, not even giving Yylfordt's blasé position a second glance before he began to talk.
The meeting passed without much incident, if she ignored Grimmjow's interruptions at everything he didn't agree with, which was a lot. She was amazed that Aizen-sama let him get away with so much, when no-one else dared even breathe loudly during the meeting. Even Yylfordt wasn't that stupid, although now she saw where his suicidal attitude came from. Like master, like fracción. If she ever resembled Harribel-sama so much, she'd be honoured. Then again, her mistress was a far better role model than Grimmjow.
Leaving the meeting room, she found him blocking her way in the corridor. Well, he was slouching against the wall, with his master and other fracciónes a short way away, but she had to walk past him. So he was blocking her way. Especially when he greeted her with a smirk, and called her 'sis' again.
He was just begging to be kicked, so she obliged, only to snarl in frustration as he caught her attack. There was no way he was stronger than her. He had to have some trick up his sleeve. She reclaimed her leg as she punched his face, only for that to be caught as well.
"Move out of the way," a smooth, yet irritated voice, ordered, and she looked over her shoulder to see Szayelaporro there, who brushed past the two of them and continued on his way. "As entertaining as this must be, I have no wish to watch a bull-headed idiot get beaten by a woman."
"Love you, too, lil bro," Yylfordt retorted at the retreating back. A gloved hand waved disdainfully at him as Szayelaporro turned a corner.
"Don't come crying to me when you lose, aniki," floated back at them, and Yylfordt chuckled.
Apacci was confused, but filed that away later to think about when there wasn't an annoying blond in her face. Only one thing was important from the octava's little interjection, and that was that she was going to win. An Espada knew she could beat the hell out of this blond jerk, and she was going to prove him right.
She ignored the part of her brain, which sounded suspiciously like the observing Sung-sun, that said he had not been serious and was just using her as a verbal barb against the blond. She was not another arrancar's weapon!
He still had hold of her fist, so she threw the other one, accompanied by a kick. He only had two hands, and if he let go of her fist that would hit him, too. She had him cornered.
His head tilted to the side and her fist buried itself in the wall where it had been, catching some of his hair in the process, as he caught her leg. He smirked at her triumphantly.
"What now, sis?" he gloated. "Szayelaporro always talks nonsense, by the way." She glowered at him. She was going to wipe that smug look right off his face!
The question was, how? Whatever trick it was he used. It blocked everything she threw at him.
She took another look at his smirking face, as he opened his mouth to no doubt say some other degenerate thing she didn't want to hear. She really didn't want to hear it, and had a flash of inspiration.
She crashed her lips against his, and it was her turn to smirk as she felt him gasp, his hold on her wrist slackening. He hadn't anticipated that.
Tempting as it was to use the distraction to beat him to a pulp, it was more satisfying to just back up and walk away, not looking at him. Well, she snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye and saw his cheeks were more flushed than usual, but that was it and she was careful not to let anyone notice as she strode off, head high and satisfied smirk on her face.
As she and the girls left, turning the same corner Szayelaporro had earlier, she heard raucous laughter.
"She got you there, Yylfordt!"
She didn't see him again for a week, but when she finally found him in the corridor, the confidence he exuded didn't seem quite so sure of itself.
Apacci, on the other hand, was very sure of herself. With the help of a few quiet words from Harribel-sama – not the girls, who thought she was being stupid in what she believed was their first ever agreement – she had thought very carefully about her relationship with the blond. Harribel-sama was of the opinion that the blond had been flirting the whole time, and backed up her point with his lack of complaint about the kiss.
For her part, Apacci was forced to accept that she had been obsessing about him a lot, even if it was all negative. Again, Harribel-sama had had an opinion, which was that she was protesting too much.
Well, either way, the kiss had been a good one, so she strode over to him, watching him tense as his eyes flicked over her body in an attempt to work out what she was about to do.
Despite his preparations, he still clearly hadn't considered a second kiss possible as she caught his collar with both hands and slammed him against the wall for a repeat. He didn't respond this time, either, although he was watching her curiously as she pulled away, not letting go of his collar this time.
"What are you trying to start, Apacci?" he asked her, his tone as serious as she'd ever heard it. "If you're not, walk away now."
Apacci didn't know what she was trying to start, except it seemed like it would involve seeing the blond a lot more often. His head was getting closer to hers again and she made a snap decision, pulling him across the small gap and kissing him again.
This time he responded, and she decided that this was the right decision. Harribel-sama had been right. Then again, she usually was.
From then on, she saw a lot more of Yylfordt Granz – she finally found out his last name, and it confirmed what his interaction with Szayelaporro had hinted although she had been surprised to discover he was the oldest – and didn't regret it at all. His attitude had a certain charm to it, when viewed correctly, and his grin was actually quite alluring.
And, of course, his kisses were fantastic.
Some months later, she wandered over to their usual meeting place, wanting to know what was going on. He had disappeared not long after Ulquiorra and Yammy's report on the substitute shinigami, and she wasn't happy. Still, he would reappear soon. He always did. He'd probably just been sent out recruiting, or his brother had demanded his presence in his lab, as had been becoming rather frequent ("It's fine, he just wants to check some things"). He'd be back soon.
She waited for hours, tapping her foot to measure the time. Sometimes he took a while. Sometimes.
"All arrancar are to report to the meeting hall." Aaroniero's annoying broadcast cut through her musings and she scowled, but moved. At least Yylfordt would be there.
It was a short meeting, and Yylfordt wasn't there.
He'd never be there again.
Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything. Sorry to people waiting for updates on my other fics – I'll get back to them at the end of May after my exams are over. I promise!
Anyway, YylPacci is one of my favourite ships, although I seem to be rather alone in that, judging by the total lack of anything for it on the internet (if anyone knows anything, please point me that way), so I thought I'd write them something. This might get a second chapter from Yylfordt's PoV at some point, but I'll mark it as complete for the moment.
As a side note, while it wasn't originally intended as such, I've managed to finish this on my friend Aceidia's birthday, so happy birthday!
Thanks for reading!
Tsari