My second Bleach fanfic, I haven't posted one in almost five years since the manga ended. Whelp, over the last two months I've been getting back into the swing of things and thus here we are. In the wide cast of characters that make up the Bleach universe, I'll be focusing on two-Soi Fon and Gigo Vega, the latter of which was one of my favorite Arrancar. Their fight was a nice mirror match up and by the power of a creative mind and shipping, here we are. Be prepared for some fluff and much tsundereness Enjoy!
I do not own anything.
Bee in the Tiger's Nest
Soi Fon waited a total of thirty seconds before moving. It was common sense really, if she followed too closely her target would notice her, if she strayed too far behind then she'd lose sight of him. Both scenarios were utterly laughable though. Sure, they were possibilities for amateur Stealth Force operatives, but to a veteran, a leader like her? There wasn't a snowball's chance of that happening. The odds of her being discovered were equally unlikely. She hadn't been the previous three times she'd taken off to trail her target. He'd not noticed her once, and this time would be no different.
He was moving fast, she had to give him that. In a matter of seconds he'd completely left the area of the Squad Two barracks and was moving beyond that. She knew his destination wasn't any of the other Squad barracks, he had no interest in them. Well, except maybe the Twelfth Division, but she knew common sense would keep him away from there.
She discretely followed after him, staying low behind various buildings as she always did to ensure she wasn't seen. Of course, she had to do more than that-it wasn't just a matter of physical sight. Soi Fon had to dampen her spiritual pressure as well least she be detected through that means; again, that wasn't a possibility for her. Really, all of this was no more than a little exercise for her. Arguably, she had her target to thank for that. If there was one thing she could say he was good for, it was occasionally providing her with a chance to push herself. Not that she'd tell him that to his face.
The sun shined bright in a blue sky dotted with clouds. Her target made these runs no matter the weather, be it a clear day such as this or if rain was pouring and thunder booming across the land. She'd actually tracked him through such harsh weather twice before. He'd clad himself in a rain coat that had seemingly helped conceal him amidst the pounding rain and flashing lightning. Unfortunately, Soi Fon was loath to say that she'd lost him during the second storm, which was particularly fierce. That had made her all the more curious as to what would cause him to brave such weather. Though it was possible it was part of some training regime, Soi Fon felt there was more to it than that. Nine times out of ten, things were always more than they seemed to be, just like how the individual she was following was more than just a Hollow.
Granted, she wouldn't tell him that to his face. There were a lot of things that Soi Fon wouldn't say to his face, as was typical of her. She wasn't like Captain Ukitake or Komamura who dotted on their subordinates like a nanny; she loathed that kind of bond with her men. This right here was far more her style.
Within seconds, he'd crossed the barracks of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions. She followed him through them all, paying only the slightest hint of attention to the goings of each Division that she passed. They were of little interest to her, but not to her target. He seemingly paused to cast observe their activities. Again, this wasn't the first time that she'd caught him doing this, and frankly, Soi Fon couldn't say she was surprised. He was still adjusting to life here at the Seireitei, not to mention one should always be gathering intel about their environment and is inhabitants. Such things came in handy if one needed an escape route, and a back up route, and a back up to the back up. It's what Soi Fon would have done in his position.
He stopped to oversee the Fifth Division's barracks, yet another little habit that she'd noticed he'd developed. Soi Fon knew it was his curiosity that caused him to linger there. At heart, she was actually a little surprised the first time he'd scouted out the Fifth Division Barracks. Her initial thought was that most of his kind would be dismissive of the squad that Sōsuke Aizen had once commanded; she supposed that her target was different. Or perhaps he'd had enough time to become different since he'd accepted that he wasn't going to be leaving the Seireitei anytime soon. It was subtle, but she'd noticed how he'd slowly but surely began to assimilate to the Soul Society, even if he refused to admit it.
Her target stood atop one of the buildings overlooking the barracks, as silent as a ghost, which he technically was. Soi Fon kept her distance in observing him while he did his observation. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, and Soi Fon felt like it was none of her business, but she wanted to know. Deep down, the truth was there was quite a lot about her target that a part of her wished to discovered. Soi Fon was patient and had a way of doing things that would yield results, she just had to wait.
And waist she did.
The happenings of the Fifth Division were rather dull as it was just another ordinary day, something that she was sure practically everyone was grateful for. Curiously, she noticed how her target discretely moved around the barracks, making damn sure to keep out of sight and sensory radar. He was right to be on guard as the division's new captain would spot him in a heartbeat, and if his intentions were sinister, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him. Soi Fon supposed if that happened, she would have to step in; it was after all her charge that would be caught in trouble and she would bear the brunt of the aftermath. But she had faith that her target wasn't stupid.
In a manner, his curiosity wasn't that surprising, yet at the same time it was considering his origins. He'd made it abundantly clear where his loyalties lay. Had the recipient of that loyalty been alive, he likely would have followed his king's orders and torn the entire Squad Five barracks apart for the sake of his spite.
His observation of the barracks apparently complete, he departed, disappearing in a blur that Soi Fon was easily able to track. She naturally followed him, not giving a second glance to the members of the Fifth Division. They wouldn't know they were being observed and would likely be all the better for it.
The barracks of Squads Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine went by in a flash. This wasn't going to be some tour of the squad barracks, or at least Soi Fon hoped it wasn't. Did her target know he was being followed so soon? No, impossible! Though he could probably detect her, Soi Fon refused to believe she'd been discovered so quickly!
He left the domain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and headed into town, in other words, the Rukongai. That too wasn't surprising. On paper, Soul Reapers weren't supposed to interact with the civilian residences, but in reality, the interaction was all too common. Really, it was an unspoken and unwritten rule that was ignored by ninety-percent of the Thirteen Divisions. Soi Fon fell in a middle ground as she tended to avoid interacting with the commoners that populated most of the districts save for a few. A handful had caught her interest, and apparently some had caught her target's interest as well. She'd seen him frequent some shops and bars like many other Soul Reapers, including members of her own division. He did so in disguise of course, he had to wear a disguise every time he went out least he incite a panic. Practically every citizen knew if you saw a Hollow, you were to run as far as possible and if possible, alert the nearest Soul Reaper, who should have dropped whatever they were doing to deal with it. In the Soul Society, that was common sense. The same rules applied if said Hollow was humanoid and wearing a mask, in other words-an Arrancar.
Though his purpose was to fight, some members of the Research Department had been kind enough to afford him a few disguises he could use to be more…discrete. He was well aware that he was also something of a guinea pig for the disguise gear which was in either the testing phase or had been thrown out for defects. Either way, he accepted them knowing they were better than nothing.
The key aspect of his disguise was hiding the Hollow mask atop his head, his Hollow hole and masking his spiritual pressure. One whiff of it and anyone with half a brain would have been able to tell it was that of a Hollow's. Take away those two things and her target could pass for another normal citizen at first glance, that's how he was able to do his shopping as he was doing now.
At least she could lay to rest the fear of him eating the countless hapless souls of the Rukongnai. He'd been expressly forbidden from doing so on pain of death…or being subjected to whatever other experiments Captain Kurotsuchi had in mind. Soi Fon got a chuckle out of remembering how his face had literally crumbled at the thought. Yes, that was a threat that he took to hurt and would be more than enough to keep him in line. Granted, if he did step out of line, she'd promised she would get to him first before Captain Kurotsuchi could, lectures be damned.
He didn't seem to be on that path though. The food of some of the venders and chefs that lived in the area seemed enough to sustain him; he even seemed to enjoy it. Who'd have thought, a Hollow enjoying food that wasn't human souls. Soi Fon was sure that the Research Department would have been jotting down notes, and likely trying to figure out what they could feed him as part of some kind of warped experiment. As amusing as the thought seemed…Soi Fon couldn't help but recoil from it. She wasn't going soft on her target…it was just if there was going to be any disciplining or torturing of him, it was going to come from her; he was her responsibility after all.
Are you sure that's all it is? Soi Fon gnashed her teeth at the inner voice that sounded much too much like Lady Yoruichi. Why did it have to speak up now? Why couldn't it have just remained quiet!
It was surreal to see him dining with human spirits, the natural prey of his kind. She remembered he once told her that most Arrancars looked down on eating humans, proclaiming how at their level, the nourishment that they got from eating them was miniscule. He then looked at her with a sharp glint in his eyes and added that to get said nourishment, they needed to eat stronger souls, such as the souls of Soul Reapers like her. Soi Fon had responded with a glare of her own that went with a statement about how Arrancars were more fun to slay than baseline Hollows. Funny enough, she actually looked back on the conversation with genuine fondness. He took her retort in strides, something that she found somewhat commendable.
Soi Fon wouldn't dare say it to his face, but he had some traits that she found admirable. His fortitude was one of them.
Her nose wrinkled as it caught a whiff of the seasoned steak skewers he was eating. For better or for worse, he seemed to share some taste buds with her lieutenant. That would be shown several minutes later after he finished eating lunch with his apparent friends and moved on to getting some snack food. Contrary to what he'd proclaimed, he was beginning to warm up to some other members of Squad Two…and maybe members of other squads as well. Ultimately, it was of no concern to her so long as it didn't interfere with him doing his job. She supposed that this might help him do his job-if he gained some attachment, no matter how miniscule, it might lessen the possibility of betrayal, not to mention it might aid him in doing his job which was now protecting the Soul Society.
It was ludicrous to think about, but Soi Fon supposed this was inevitable. After all, the decision had already been made to allow the Soul Reapers from Aizen's Hollowification experiments back into their ranks. Soi Fon was still less than enthusiastic about that, but she'd begrudgingly come to accept them. At the very least they were Soul Reapers instead of Hollows like her target.
Speaking of which, she began to feel like he was going around in circles. Scratch that, he was going around in circles.
He knew that he was being followed.
"Dammit." She cursed realizing she'd been made, and so soon to boot. Retreat wasn't an option, there was no way in hell she was going to run away. She hadn't before and she wouldn't this time. Biting her lip, she simply resigned herself to be even more discrete as to not be noticed. Perhaps her target would get cocky and believe he'd lost her if he wondered around enough. His cockiness was a trait she'd taken note of, and had exploited to her advantage. He would get cocky and drop his guard, all she had to do was wait.
Which was exactly what she did, she waited while observing him.
The sun gradually began to move across the horizon as the afternoon wore on. Waiting was always tedious, but Soi Fon could stomach it for a good cause.
To her target, she gradually faded into the background, losing sight of her. This seemingly put him at ease meaning he could get back on track. Unknown to him, Soi Fon was still watching him with calculative eyes. Through the crowds and venders, she kept watch over him Those eyes widened when she saw some of the shops he was stopping at. He was getting food…but it wasn't food for him, unless his eating habits were more unusual than she'd originally anticipated. Her heart began to race as pieces started to formulate and come together within her mind. On top of that, she felt an urge to blow her cover and voice her opinion at some of the food choices he was making. It took quite a surprising amount of willpower to shut her mouth and keep from saying anything.
Once he was finished shopping, he began to leave the market streets for the forests. Soi Fon suspicions were further verified as she followed him. In a short span of time, she went from hiding atop rooftops and behind walls to up in tree branches, bushes, and behind tree trunks. The urban smell of the city was replaced by the natural scent of the forest, a scent she was quietly happy to inhale. She wondered if her target preferred the forests of the Rukongai to the urbanized area; Soi Fon wouldn't ask him directly, only observe to get an answer.
He seemed to like the forest, taking his time as he walked through the canopy of trees. Several times he looked up through the forested branches to the blue skies and sunlight fluttering through them. Since he believed he was alone, he felt he was able to bask in the warm sunlight and gentle wind that blew through the forest. Soi Fon had caught him doing it several times before, periodically calling him out on it causing him to snap at her and her to snap back. She wasn't a sentimental person, but she could recognize sentimentality in others. Contrary to what he projected, her target was a bit of a sentimental person.
She supposed his bedazzlement with the greenery of the Soul Society wasn't too surprising. He was a Hollow who'd likely spent his supernatural life in Hueco Mundo; Soi Fon had only ever been there twice, and it was one of the most depressing and empty places she'd ever been too. Which for her, was saying a lot. She found it fitting for Hollows, creatures of desolation and despair, symbolized by the literal hollows in their hearts. The white sands and eternal night of Hueco Mundo were perfect for Hollows like her target.
And yet, here he stood, in the middle of a forest in the Soul Society, having shed his disguise. The talisman-like necklace he wore around his neck came off causing his inhuman features to shimmer back into existence in the light of the sun. First came the remnants of his Hollow mask, his most defining feature. The tiger-shaped skull manifested atop his head with several small cracks visible to Soi Fon's keen eyes. Across his exposed arms there were several stitch-like markings to go along with the cracks on his helmet. At the very least his skin wasn't an unhealthy pale color like some of Squad Twelve's other…attempts. His second physical trademark was his ponytail, black as night that swayed in the afternoon wind, which he closed his eyes and inhaled. He seemed…happy almost, at peace.
Then it was gone.
Soi Fon felt her heartbeat echo throughout her body followed by an electric jolt up her spine. In a nanosecond she was jumping back, and it came just in time.
WHOSH!
Cold gray eyes locked with angered gold. A feral snarl followed as a follow-up attack came, Soi Fon dodged that one as well. It only infuriated the Arrancar all the more. She caught the growing sneer on his face and responded with a dismissive frown.
"You seem slower than usual. Did you-" Her challenge was cut off by the rather swift horizontal slash that came close to cutting up a gash on her face.
"You sure it's me?" The Arrancar snickered, his sneer having morphed into a cocky smirk. That smirk incited Soi Fon to counterattack, which the Arrancar had been expecting, and which he perfectly countered. The serenity of the forest that he'd once basked in was gone, replace by the sound of blades clashing. It echoed through the forests like thunder in a storm.
It was an odd duality, the clashing of the Soul Reaper and the Arrancar, a fierce fight that shook the air around them, yet the forest at large remained blissfully serene around them. This was a private clash, one that was actually quite common. Soul Reapers and ruffians alike tended to have square-offs like this, albeit the tension wasn't quite as high as it was between the two. Their short swords clashed against one another in a deadly dance. It wasn't their first, and it certainly wasn't going to be their last, regardless of the taunts they threw at each other, and they threw plenty of those at each other. It was their way of greeting one another.
WHOSH! WHOSH! WHOSH!
Tree branches began to hit the ground followed by tree trunks, thunderous crashes that resounded through the forest. The sound was further incentive for the birds and woodland animals to take flight, if they hadn't already. Almost all of them.
"Your swordsmanship's gotten a little better, I suppose." Soi Fon remarked as three trees behind her gave way, cut clean in horizontal half. She immediately attempted to give the same treatment to her opponent.
Air exploded outward as her slash was perfectly parried by her opponent, his short sword almost in equal length to her own, albeit the blade being straight instead of curved. He vanished in a blur to the naked eye, seemingly reappearing behind the captain. She struck at it, only to hit nothing but air. Immediately, she realized she'd been fooled, something that both impressed and enraged her. Knowing her response had to come in nanoseconds, she searched for her adversary, and found him-unsettlingly close. He was coming in from her left, his aim her lower abdomen. Soi Fon gracefully twirled out of the way, the edge of her haori getting cut. She didn't think about that, she tried not to as she moved in to counter attack.
KLANG!
The Arrancar's golden eyes stared back at her as they momentarily struggled against one another. "Guess my chance to take your head is coming sooner than expected!" No sooner had he spoke, did his pig-tailed adversary. His cockiness vanished as he realized he'd lost sight of her, for the second anyway. When he sensed her, he jumped back, avoiding the axe-kick that would have paralyzed his right arm and likely have led to his immediate demise. Her follow-up attack was swift, as was his counter kick. That set the tone for their next round of exchanges. The thunderous crashes grew louder as the two fighters were beginning to get serious; things could only escalate from there.
Forced back, the two glared at one another, their respective grips on their blades iron-tight. If either were to release their Zanpakutō, the trees around them would be cut and blown to pieces, an inevitable piece of collateral destruction between two-high speed and high-powered fighters like them.
That wasn't what the Arrancar wanted though. He had a plan, one that was daring and would likely result in bodily harm to himself, even if he pulled it off. He didn't care though, he had his reasons.
THUMP!
Both fighters sprinted at one another with their blades reared back and ready for another collision.
But the clash never came.
"Yaaaaeeooww!"
Soi Fon's heart skidded to a stop at the feline cry, the Arrancar's eyes similarity widened. He disappeared in another blur, one that she was also able to follow. She watched him sprint around her, throwing himself on the small creature that was seconds away from pouncing on her. Combat instinct kicked. She whirled around ready to attack, even as her brain screeched for her to stop.
She did once she saw what lay behind her.
Ggio Vega lay in a crouch, one arm holding his Zanpakutō in a defense position while the other cradled a small brown-furred cat which hissed at him. The Arrancar was practically hissing at her too, especially with his eyes which glared daggers at her. They weren't alone. Wide-eyed, Soi Fon watched as several more cats bounded forth to join the Arrancar; she counted them, seven cats in all counting the one scowling at her from within the Arrancar's arm. They all stood beside him, side by side like comrades on the battlefield.
They could have been snuffed out in a heartbeat, but not by Soi Fon's hand. She'd taken a vow to never harm a feline, especially ones as cute as these seven! Even as they were all hissing at her!
"What…the hell?" After close to a full minute, Ggio noticed that his killer and superior wasn't attacking…or sneering him at him, she was gawking at him and his cats with star-struck eyes the likes of which he'd never seen from her. What the hell was this? Had she been hypnotized or something? Had one of his cats done the deed? No, she's…she's… The truth slowly dawned on him. I guess she really is a cat person. I could use this in the future! His muscles began to loosen up. Coming out of his combat crouch, he stared at the bedazzled captain, slightly unable to believe what he was seeing. At his relaxation, the rest of his cats followed, including the one in his arms.
"Meow?" The brown-furred feline spoke to him, clearly as confused as he was.
Ggio shrugged. "Come on, guys, let's get back to the den."
Instinct told him that turning his back on the woman who killed him and had his second life in his hands was a bad idea. Instinct was right, but he didn't care. Call it a hunch, but he had a feeling that he could show his back to Soi Fon and not have to worry about a sword to the back.
He was right.
"W-W-W-Wait! Stop right there!" No assassin would have spoken such words, and a professional assassin like Soi Fon knew that.
Containing himself through inhalation through his nose, he turned back to face the Stealth Force Commander. "What?" he spat with clear annoyance written on his face. "Last I checked, this was my break hour, what are you going to do? Take that away from me?"
The obvious response to his statement came. "I could, and I could make it so that you never have so much as a second of break time for the rest of the year."
A silent standoff ensued between the two speedy fighters, one that was punctuated by the wind rustling through the forest. That and the faint meowing of the various cats that stood with the Arrancar. Those same felines continuously drew Soi Fon's attention, even as she tried to keep her focus on Ggio. That was proving harder and harder by the second.
He'd had enough of the stand-off. "You're not allowed to pet them."
"What?" She responded, clearly confused.
"These are my cats, my pets." He declared. "And this place is mine, gotta it. Go piss off, Captain."
Soi Fon made a face. This behavior wasn't at all unusual, but it was still irritating to deal with. "Like you said, I could cut your break time and drag you away from this place. Hell, I could destroy it if I wanted to."
It was a challenge that she regretted making mere seconds later.
Ggio glared at her, then turned his gaze south to the cat in his arms. The furry animal looked at Soi Fon with curiosity as it tried to decipher rather she was friend or foe. Locking eyes with its warm brown eyes made her heart skip a beat and almost had her swooning again. In trying to look away, she ended up catching glimpses of the rest of the cats. All of them were looking at her in the same way, albeit some, a black and red-furred cat, seemingly lost interest in her and began to walk away. Soi Fon wanted to call out to them as they, especially the black one, seemed incredibly cute to her.
Grinning at his move's success, Ggio turned his back to her and began to walk away. "I've got things to do, so go away, Captain. I'll be back at the Squad Two barracks so don't get your panties in a knot."
That got her face steaming red with anger. "Why you…I killed you once, I can do it again, ya' know!"
"Then hurry up and do it!" Shouted back the resurrected Arrancar, clearly daring her. Contrary to his devil-may-care attitude, Ggio was read. His body was silently tense and ready to fall back into combat maneuvers. He silently counted the steps he took until she moved again.
She was following him again, albeit now she was not only visible, but several steps behind him, quietly steaming in rage. It was a small victory, but one that the resurrected Arrancar would savor for the rest of the afternoon.
For Soi Fon, it'd eat away at her all day. She'd also have to make sure no one ever found out about this, it'd be a major blow to her reputation.
Was this karma? She'd killed this bastard once, and was quite proud of it in fact. Then the Twelfth Division went and dug up one of his sabers and used that to resurrect him as some form of twisted experimentation. Soi Fon was still steaming that of all the potential Arrancar resurrections, it just had to be one whom she'd personally defeated. Why couldn't it have been one of the others? One of the lieutenants or even one of the ones that the Hueco Mundo party had slain? Why him? And why did he have to be saddled to her?
You kill it, you bought it. That was how the saying went. Soi Fon hated it, such a phrase had a root in banditry and such, not with the likes of her!
But as she followed the reborn Fracción, she realized that…maybe, just maybe, it wasn't so bad.
He had cute cats, cats that she wanted to pet and cuddle, but didn't because as he said, they were his, not hers. But his life was in her hands. Soi Fon could have ordered him, but something held her tongue. It was probably the cats he had at his side. Yeah, it was definitely the cats.
Loath as she was to admit it, her jaw dropped when she saw what his little hideout was-a massive tree that stretched close to twenty feet in the sky. Various holes showed it'd been hollowed out in some way, and various claw-like scratches on the wood told her that it'd been marked as someone's territory. That made her the intruder, a fact she became aware of as some of the cats looked at her before scurrying off to the tree.
Ggio looked back at her, his trademark cocky smile on his face. "So, are you going to actually do something, or are you going to stand there gawking all afternoon? You know you're just asking me to lop your head off."
Clenching her mouth shut, the black-haired woman gave a dismissive snort. "Look, you can do whatever the hell you want, but I call, you answer! Remember you're still on probation, got it, Arrancar?"
"Oh, how could I forget." The various scars around his forearms seemed to throb, as well as his chest which the brown-furred cat pawned at. It almost seemed like it could sense its owner discomfort and was trying to ease it. "So…what happens now, Captain?"
He never called her by her name, and she went to great pains to avoid calling him by his…particularly his first name. They were former enemies who'd been thrown together by sheer chance, where they went from here…Soi Fon tired hard not to think about.
Crossing her arms, she looked into his golden eyes. There was no fear in them, he was ready to accept whatever judgement she passed on him, even begrudgingly so. She respected that. "How long have you had this little…getaway?"
"…Since about a week and a half after…I was…brought back." He tried hard not to think about it, but it always clawed its way back into his mind. It was hard to forget coming back to life after being killed, even for a Hollow like him. Truth be told, even now, almost a month later, he was still struggling to come to grips with it all. "I…needed to get away, from the Soul Reapers, from you, so I just…ran. I ran and ran into Elizo here."
She blinked at the cat. "That's what you named him?"
"Yeah, I named all of them." He responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "After I met and sheltered Elizo here, the rest kind of drifted on in. I enjoyed talking to them a helluva lot more than I did most of the people in the barracks."
That wasn't too surprising to her. Even though animals could sense the difference between a human and a Hollow, Arrancars blurred the line somewhat, especially when they were relatively non-malicious. On top of that, perhaps they just sensed a kindred feline spirit.
"So, this…tree, this forest here…it's become your…den I suppose." Soi Fon stated.
"Yeah," Ggio responded in a still guarded though less defensive tone. "Like I said, what happens now?"
Soi Fon looked between the cat, the Arrancar, and the tree behind him, attempting to appear as emotionless as she always did. She had a feeling that it wasn't working as each cat that poked its head out drew her attention, especially cute little Elizo in Ggio's arms. The cat was now fully looking at her with its warm brown eyes and meowing at her. She bit her lip as she attempted to block out the cute sound, but it was to no avail as she spent a few seconds doing nothing but staring at the furry pet.
Suddenly, she turned her back to the Arrancar, just as he'd done to her. She was exposed, at least that's what it looked like to the naked eye.
"Just show up at the barracks and do what I tell you to do, you know, the same as it's been for the last couple of weeks." Declared the Squad Two Captain, trying her best to sound as professional and dismissive as she usually did.
She didn't, which Ggio smiled at. "Fine."
"And get them some better food!" She suddenly shouted.
That caught Ggio off-guard. "W-What? What the hell do you mean better food? I feed them the best catnip I can find!"
"…That you can find, there's better catnip out there." Soi Fon declared even though she tried to tell herself not to. "The…shops in Districts two and three have some better food, you should try feeding them some of those from time to time, see how they like it." If she hadn't turned her back to him, he would have seen the pink-tint on her face, and that's something she couldn't' have allowed. "That's all, Vega, I'll see you back at the barr-"
"Is that advice coming from personal experience?" He called with his cocky tone back as evident by the smile on his face. Ggio didn't need to see her face to know she was blushing, the way her body froze told him he'd hit the mark.
Another dismissive snort sounded from the female captain, then she was off, speeding through the forest away from his little sanctuary.
The revived Fracción's snickers turned into laughter as he fell back onto his butt, crossing his legs and letting his jubilant voice ring out through the forest. He hoped the captain heard it as she left the forest to return back to the barracks, or wherever the hell else she went.
Slowly, as his laughter died down, he looked back down at his first and most treasured pet. The chocolate-furred feline meowed at him. "So, guess it wouldn't hurt to take her advice, would it, Elizo? What about the rest of you?"
A series of meows and purrs echoed from the tree turned cat's hotel, a unique sight that belonged to only two people in the entire Seireitei. Ggio couldn't quite place it, but he was confident that the number would remain two for a long while…and he felt oddly happy about that.
Amongst the few blessings that he had, Ggio considered not being confined to a cage one of them, probably the best. He was also lucky he was no longer confined to a cell, which is where a person like him would have ended up. Or an operating table.
Squad Twelve Captain Mayuri Kurotuchi was just a weirder and perhaps more sadistic version of Szayelaporro, one of the Espada that Ggio absolutely loathed and tried to stay as far away from as possible. It would be no different with Kurotsuchi, whose eccentric behavior he found even harder to cope with. All he'd do was drop by for his "check-ups" and that'd be yet. The further he was away from him and his damn division, the easier life at the Soul Society would be.
But how long would that life last?
Ggio reached up and rubbed the fangs on his mask. It was these instruments that had allowed him to come back from the dead. Who'd have thought that after launching them at the Squad Two Captain, they'd manage to survive the entire Battle of Karakura Town? Who'd have thought they'd be recovered in the aftermath and used as a basis for resurrecting him, an Arrancar, a Fracción?
As a Hollow, Ggio was disposed to believe in things like miracles. He was happy got another chance at life…but that life was going to be spent in servitude of his enemies, the people who'd killed his king, the only king he would ever acknowledge. Such a thing seemed more like a punishment than a blessing, yet suicide wasn't a thought Ggio entertained-it seemed more like the childish excuse of one who didn't see a way out.
Swinging his legs across the bed, he yawned. His room was almost entirely empty save for a desk, a table for dining, a few boxes for him to fill up, and a bookshelf that was slowly becoming filled up. Reading literature had been one of his hobbies, and who'd have thought he'd read literature produced by Soul Reapers? He was loath to admit it, but some of it was actually good.
Not that he'd tell anyone that, least of all the authors. The last thing he wanted was another way for them to-
"What the?"
His nose twitched as he caught a whiff of something beyond the door way. His heart fiercely pounding within his chest, he stepped forward across the hard wooden floor and turned the knob. Carefully, he pulled it open and peeked around. He had to look down to see where the scent was coming from.
Blinking, he went into a crouch and examined the square-shaped box that lay at the foot of his door. Gold eyes swerving from side to side, he cradled the box then moved back into his room, locking the door shut behind him. It was a useless gesture that was meant to mock him more than anything-if they wanted to, anyone in a position of authority could unlock the door from the outside and barge right in. Ggio vowed anyone who did such would get their teeth kicked off at best. If it was the Captain, he'd just slit her throat.
Pulling the lead up, Ggio's jaw dropped. "Huh? This is from…." As he'd deduced, the Captain of Squad Two was a cold woman, even to her own squad, but she wasn't totally heartless as he'd observed. She had a soft spot…and that included cats.
"And get them some better food!" He remembered her berating him about a week ago when she discovered his little hideaway. She'd kept her word in not bothering him about it. Even now.
Turning the various cats over, he examined them with his keen eyes and nose. In keeping with his animal motif, he had quite a sharp sense of smell, appropriate for an Adjucha that was once a quadruple-legged tiger. Bringing some of the cans up to his nose, he gave them a whiff. A smirk graced his face, one he was glad no one would ever know about.
"Heh, you tell me to go out and get my cats some better food, then you go out and get some yourself." Ggio muttered. "Guess you're not as cold-hearted as you appear, Captain. Heh, don't think this means I'll take it easy on you though." He was grateful to her, and he'd show it…in his own way, but he couldn't allow her to think he was becoming…domesticated.
-o-
Ggio wanted to say something to his persistent stalker, but the words were frozen in his mouth. Try as he might, he couldn't force them out, nor could he bring himself to full look back and call her out, nor could he find it in him to lead her on another wild goose chase. That had worked weeks before, but not anymore as she now knew where he was going. Even the pretense of giving the both of them some exorcise didn't seem enough justification. So he ultimately let her follow him, she allowed him to go on his way and do as he wished so he supposed they were even.
It was surreal to think how quickly he'd accepted her tailing him to his private sanctuary. When he discovered it, he'd vowed he'd never let anyone discrete it, least of all his killer.
This whole thing was so surreal to think about, Ggio chose not to think about it as best he could.
It was another tranquil sunny day, one that continued to contrast to the harsh and dull weather of his former home world. Ggio was loath to admit it, but the first few times he'd explored the Soul Society, he felt himself oddly captivated. This place was brimming with life and color, foreign concepts to the Hollow that he still was. A voice jabbed at him, telling him that he should have been ashamed of himself. Didn't he still have any pride as an Arrancar?
But what was there for him to hold allegiance to? His king was dead as were many of his comrades, the army he was a part of had been defeated and its remnants scattered to the plans of the afterlife. Ggio was loyal, but he refused to be blindly loyal, especially to a cause that was now dust in the wind.
So he stood up, shut his eyes, and enjoyed the feel of life, he was going to live in the present as best he could. This time, it was considerably less dangerous than surviving on his own in Hueco Mundo before meeting his former lord and master.
A set of familiar purrs and meows caused him to look back down to the earth and smile. "Elizo! Clara!" He shouted with genuine joy as the two cats bounded toward him. The two brown-furred cats were amongst his favorites, being some of the first he'd taken in. They were amongst the most affectionate toward him.
The straight brown-furred cat leaped into his arms. Ggio fully expected the Clara to follow. Instead, she ran straight past him, finding her place at the leg of another.
"G-Gah!" Shrieked the Captain of the Second Division. Golden eyes watched in shocked awe as the Stealth Force Commander reached down and began to cuddle the brown-spotted cat. Her usually cold demeanor utterly melted as she began to affectionately rub her face against the house cat. The affection was seemingly mutual.
Watching the display, Ggio felt vaguely jealous, which Elizo picked up on with a meow. He wasn't the only one in awe of what he was looking at. At his feet, the black-furred Alonso meowed in dim amusement at what he was seeing. He trotted closer, grabbing Soi Fon and Clara's attention. The former bent down and offered her right hand out, a light blush on her face.
Ggio watched with a smirk as Alonso sized up the pig-tailed Captain, then turned his head to her and trotted away. He couldn't help but laugh at the crestfallen expression she now wore.
"Hahahahahaha! Ah damn! That made it all worth it!" Howled the Arrancar, not even bothering trying to hold in his amusement.
"H-H-He just needs some time to warm up to me!" Defiantly shouted the martial artist.
An eyebrow was raised. Had she just realized she'd spoken like he planned on letting her keep on following him back to his place? Was she really that crazy, stupid, or arrogant?
"Meow?" Glancing down at Elizo, Ggio blinked in surprise.
"What? Seriously?" He questioned. "Come on, she's-"
"I'm what?" Cut off the gray-eyed woman. Her embarrassment had been swept away and replaced by her characteristic hardness. There was the Captain he'd come to know and begrudgingly respect. "I'll have you know when it comes to caring for cats, I'm amongst the most qualified Soul Reapers in all of the Seireitei!"
There was a pregnant pause as the two former enemies looked to one another. The Captain's statement hung in the air as they both were aware of how it could have been turned into a snipe toward the Arrancar. It was hard to ignore the saber-tooth cat skull atop his head. Ggio waited for his Hollow mask to become something to be mocked, he'd gotten extremely used to it.
But the insult never came.
Ggio looked away. "So…is that true or is it all just talk?"
She crossed her arms with a haughty snort. "I gave you that cat fine cat food yesterday, didn't I? How'd they like that?" His silence was all the answer she needed, and she basked in it. "Uh-huh, see? I know my stuff."
Turning his back to her, Ggio was in for something of an unwanted surprise as he found his collection of feline pets staring at him. The pair's discussion had aroused their curiosity and they'd begun to come out to investigate. Amongst them, Alonso didn't come out of the tree, though he seemed content watching from his tree branch.
Sighing, he put his free left hand in his pocket while Elizo playfully rubbed against this arm. "Alright, at least if you're here, you can't grill me for running late or something coming back from my break."
There was something…different about the way she smiled. He'd seen her smile before, and eight times out of ten, he hated it because it was smug as hell. Those other two times were…well, there weren't filled with an arrogance he wanted to return with an ass-kicking. Normally, such smiles weren't directed at him, but for a brief second, one was. Then it was directed at Clara, who purred in delight. She seemed okay with the Captain sticking around, and so too did some of his other pets. Ggio supposed if they were fine with it, he could tolerate it too. After all, he already tolerated her on a daily basis.
"Huh, just in time I guess."
He hoped that the tree had been able to weather the rainstorm, that was another thing he had to get used to when accepting his new lot in life. In Hueco Mundo, it never rained naturally. The rain had nothing to give life to. Here in the Soul Society, just like in the Human World, there was real weather, terrible weather and nice weather. Sometimes one followed the other like on a day like today. He'd woken up to rain, the constant patter outside his room walls and saw the countless droplets splashing against the window and the ground outside. Ggio had held out his hand and allowed the droplets of rain to endless fall into the palm of his head. Ōmaeda had teased him the first time he'd down it causing him to splash the accumulated water into his face, after that he stopped teasing him about it. Matter of fact, from time to time he even seemed to let him indulge himself.
Some other members of Squad Two had stopped looking at him funny, though some of that was on account of the fact that while he couldn't kill them, he could mostly definitely break a few bones and get away with it. That was something to be happy about.
Gray clouds gradually broke apart letting rays of sunlight douse the land. It was a welcome sight that Ggio had often heard humans speak of with such glee and wonder. He didn't get it until he saw it for himself. In his solitude, he had to admit it was pretty impressive.
"Sunshine and rainwater, two things you don't get in Hueco Mundo. Heh, at least not without the potential for either of those things to be killer. Same thing for all the trees here." Between a hideout in the city and the forest, he'd chosen the latter…maybe because it felt better to him. Both were opposites of Hueco Mundo, but the greenery of this beautiful forest called to him. The feline pets he'd came to collect certainly seemed to like it.
And so too did the Captain who'd killed him and carved her way into his new life.
Normal cats didn't like water, but his litter seemed to be a different story, at least around Soi Fon. It'd taken a little bit of time, but the rest of the group had gradually begun to warm up to her, including Alonso, who now sat atop her shoulder, snickering at the splash play the rest of his surrogate siblings were engaging in. At the introduction of a little boy, he jumped from her shoulders and joined the fray.
Smiling, he leaned up against a nearby tree to watch them. His gaze met Soi Fon's, and for once neither of them sneered or fired off a smart crack at each other. Instead, they just…smiled at one another ad enjoyed the moment.
At least until Soi Fon talked. "You did pretty good on that last mission."
"Like I told you, just because I'm on a leash doesn't mean I have any aversion to killing Hollows. That's a big difference between your kind and mine, for us Hollows, it's always kill or be killed."
"Hey, don't get so cocky." She coolly shot back. "You should know by now that members of the Stealth Force are prepared to slay its own if need be. We value action, believing they can speak louder than any words can. Your actions have…spoken quite loudly, Ggio." Quickly, she directed her attention down at the cats still playing with their toy ball and the water. It almost seemed like they'd made an organized game out of it. At the very least she could make it look like she was paying attention on that instead of looking the Arrancar in the eye. It was inevitable though. Groaning like she was about to do something she'd regret, which she most certainly was, she held up the brown bag in her right hand.
Ggio took a whiff of the bag to ascertain what was inside. His first guess was food, and he was right, the question was what kind of food it was. "Apple?" He inquired.
"…Close. It's…pie, Kininaru ringo. One of the, urgh, friends of Ichigo Kurosaki stopped by and…was handing out some of her sweets. I napped a few slices of pie for certain occasions." She clarified, a very visible red streak across her face. Ggio would have mercilessly teased her on it were it not for the tantalizing scent coming from the bag. His pet cats had caught a whiff of it as well and were clawing at Soi Fon's leg to get at it. "Consider it my…gift to you, but don't get used to it, got it?"
That sounded like the woman he'd gotten to know over these last two months…and the woman he'd come to respect. Grabbing a pair of sticks, he made a pair of goal posts for the cats playing about, large enough that they can maneuver as they pleased while the two observers could keep an eye on them. Wearing a calm smile, he sat beside the Soul Reaper.
She chuckled, "Shūkyū, huh? Have you been teaching them?"
"Is that what it's called here? Well…kind of." Ggio admitted leaning back with a somewhat distant look on his face. "I found Melina and Aida in a back alley playing it. After a while, I joined in and that's pretty much how I ended up taking them in." At the end of the story, the Arrancar smiled showing his fondness for the memory. "You ever played it? Kind of seems like a commoner's game, and you're a blue-blood last time I checked."
"Oh it is." Soi Fon responded in her characteristic haughty voice. Her expression too softened as she recalled fonder memories that she chose to keep private. "But even we nobles have our…indulgences from time to time."
"Like this here?" Ggio responded with a hint of snark.
The Soul Reaper Captain chuckled. "You could say that. So, you want a piece of this or not? I'd be more than willing to eat it all up myself while enjoying the game." There was a part of her that wanted to slap herself. Getting this…chummy wasn't in her nature, yet it was happening and Soi Fon couldn't bring herself to stop it. She supposed hanging around this Arrancar was driving her insane.
"Well, I guess that's not a bad way to spend this afternoon. Thanks, Soi Fon." He responded n an unapologetically cheery voice free of sarcasm.
Chuckling back, Soi Fon unfurled the knives and forks and napkins for their little snack. This was a quiet moment between the two of them that they'd never speak of in public, nor would they ever let anyone find out about. Well, no one expect the cats around them, all of whom seemed to purr in delight at the pastry being shared between the two as the sun shined down in fully glory. It was a perfect moment, one that would pass as quickly as it came, but it would be enjoyed to its fullest.
And perhaps some day in the near future replicated.
And there it is, my second Bleach One-Shot for a rather obscure pairing. Not a bad starting point for me to write some more for the wide and varied cast of characters (including some of my favorite couples). It's practically canon that Soi Fon's a cat person, and I like to think Ggio would be one too which gives them something to talk about in this case.
Shūkyū means "kick-ball" and is a pre-World War II term for soccer, or football to those outside of America.
Kininaru ringo is apple pie made from the Fuji apple, an apple grown in Fujisaki of the Aomori Prefecture. It's soaked in syrup before being wrapped in flaky pastry and baked until it's nice and crispy with a golden coloration. A nice, tasty treat that Soi Fon wouldn't let anyone know she's sharing with anyone not named Yoruichi. I've got more little moments like this planned in my Bleach story library. Until next time, everyone!