A/N: Hey, all, this is your (somewhat) favorite author, Ziggy! I have bad news, here…I am going on another extended hiatus. BUT! WORRY NOT! There is an end to this one in sight, and it will be relatively short! I WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU! However, the reason for this break is so I can earn money for school. Sorry…
As such, I leave you with this gift, a oneshot that takes place in the TD universe, and is a sort of prequel to the events in TD. I hope you like it!
I do not own Bleach. Wish I did.
Skin Deep
Apacci looked at her reflection in the mirror with distaste, a scowl marring her features.
'Ugly.'
She held her hand in front of her eyes, frowning at her thin fingers.
'Skinny.'
She looked down her front into her bare feet. Easy, since she had almost none of the comely excess bounty that graced most other women.
'Flat.'
She sighed.
This was so unfair.
Apacci reflected upon the events that had brought her here. She had spent an untold time alone, first as a basic Hollow, then a Gillian, and finally an Adjucha, always running, running to find food, running from the stronger Hollows, running from the males who wanted her because female Hollows were so rare, running, running, running, always running.
And then, Lady Halibel had found her. Saved her, brought her to a warm, safe place, away from others, away from those who would devour her. Lady Halibel had taken Apacci into her own home, and given her a family.
A contentious, rag-tag family, yes, but a family nonetheless.
There was Sung-Sun, first. An enormous serpent, easily three times as long as Apacci was, with an enormous mouth capable of swallowing anything, it seemed. She was demure and prim, though, and forever correcting those around her of their misbehaviors in a slightly arrogant manner. She did not mean any harm, however, and always tried to be an example to the other two.
Then, there was Mila-Rose, a very large lioness Hollow. She was always guttural in her manner of speaking, forever growling and snarling her words out, insults and curses bitten off at the end as though she wished to see them bleed in the air. Warlike and violent, she always seemed to look down on everyone but their mutual savior, but she was always behind you if you happened to need her.
Finally, there was Lady Halibel.
The first time Apacci had seen Tia Halibel, she had been afraid. She had been chased into a canyon by a large male Adjuchas intent on eating her. She had prepared herself to make her end as violent as possible…
…when the male suddenly disappeared. Behind him stood another Hollow.
Small.
Almost Human in appearance, except for the mask, armor, and large blade in place of her right arm.
And such power.
Apacci had laid her eyes upon a Vasto Lorde.
But the only thing she could think of was how beautiful this creature was.
Time passed, and she was happy. She had two friends (dare she think of them as sisters?), and Lady Halibel to follow, to fight alongside. Apacci had seen her stare down King Baraggan as if he were an annoyance, had seen her swat aside other Hollows like nothing, had seen her spare those Hollows as well.
She was strong, merciful, kind, beautiful, graceful…
She was everything the weak, awkward little Apacci had ever wanted to be, and more.
Then, that fateful night.
An Arrancar had found them, and utterly destroyed them. Lady Halibel had faced him, and even her strength was not enough to sway him. He beat them into submission, and, in a fit of berserk battle-rage, prepared to annihilate the entire group.
He was stopped by another.
A Soul Reaper, Sosuke Aizen, killed him, and took them in. He promised them power, shelter, companionship. He spoke honeyed words of trust and loyalty, of forging a new world with them by his side.
Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun, always rather simple in their thoughts, listened eagerly.
Apacci merely watched Lady Halibel. And when Lady Halibel accepted, so did Apacci, for who was Apacci to say that she would not go where her mistress would?
Aizen had taken them to Las Noches, where he ruled Hueco Mundo using Baraggan as a front for his regime. He had brought them into his throne room, where there were other Arrancar waiting.
Apacci shivered in disgust at the memory—leering male eyes had taken them in constantly, hungrily. But she had not shown any emotion at them, following Lady Halibel's example. Let them look, as long as they didn't touch.
The Soul Reaper had taken something from a box. He told them it would grant them power, power to make even a Vasto Lorde kneel before them. Remembering the fight not hours before, the three Adjuchas stepped forward…
…only for Lady Halibel to stop them. She would go first, she told them. She would not let them sacrifice themselves if it proved that the Soul Reaper was lying to them. If anything untoward were to occur, they were to run.
A glow had enveloped her mistress, then, and a time passed. Lady Halibel's figure was obscured, and the occasional cracking sound filled the air.
And, when the glow had faded, allowing Lady Halibel to step out, Apacci nearly wept in wonder at what greeted her eyes.
Tanned skin, toned muscles, full graceful curves blessed Tia Halibel's naked form, free of armor, except that which covered her breasts, neck, and face.
Mila-Rose jumped at the opportunity to be next. She, too, was swallowed by the glow, and Apacci's excitement grew when she saw how beautiful the lioness was in a human-esque form.
Sung-Sun emerged, all graceful, willowy lines, and Apacci nearly crawled out of her skin in anticipation. She shifted from one foot to the next, eager, excited, her stomach twisting with the want, no, need to be next in that wonderful metamorphosis, the change that would make her strong, that would make her graceful.
That would make her like Lady Halibel.
She stepped forward to Aizen, letting that glow swallow her whole. The change, when it began, felt not unpleasantly strange, like she was stepping out of her flesh, but was still whole. She felt nothing of her forelegs becoming arms, nothing of her mask breaking, nothing of her being made into something new.
The glow faded, and she stepped forward. She did not hear any of the words being spoken, any of the talk of Espadas, or Lady Halibel's new status, so great was her excitement. Cloth filled her hands (clothes for her new body, oh, how wonderful!), and she saw Lady Halibel being led away, Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun trotting along behind, all whispers of awe and gazes at their new state of being.
She did not look. She would wait until she found a mirror, to see her new beauty.
They were led along seemingly endless corridors, hallways, arches, until they reached a large, near palatial estate, and were told that this was their new home.
Immediately, Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun had raced to the rooms they had automatically chosen as theirs, curses of astonishment from Mila-Rose gently falling upon the air as they went. Apacci, however, was lost for words as she looked at the impossibly high vaulted ceiling.
She turned to Lady Halibel, who merely blinked at her, her version of a reassuring grin. She watched as Tia turned and went into the largest room, obviously meant for her, and closed the door to explore her new body in privacy.
Apacci looked down at her clothing, and raced to the small room next to Mila-Rose's and Sung-Sun's. There! A mirror! She could finally see!
A race to the shining object in the corner, and Apacci looked into it, anticipating the tall, blithesome beauty that the others had become, that she had become…
…only to see a small figure.
Rough blue hair.
Mismatched eyes.
An unattractive body.
After a few moments of shock, attempting to see if the mirror was tricking her somehow, she looked at her reflection in the mirror with distaste, a scowl marring her features.
And then, a single tear slipped from her blue eye, making its sad little journey down her face.
Apacci was ugly.
Tia Halibel was in her room, trying out the features of her new body. She was amused at the novelty of a right arm, as well as the sensitivity of various parts and places she now possessed. Possibly the greatest source of this amusement for her was her mask.
She was able to open it at the teeth, due to some form of hinge at the jawline, enabling her to eat and drink, then close it again at will.
She didn't even need to use her hands.
How novel.
She had tried on her new clothes (they were rather strange: a pair of pants that did not meet her waist, barely covering her Hollow-hole, and a short jacket that barely concealed her breasts, all attached at the back), and given her new…Zanpakutou?...Tiburon a few experimental swings.
All seemed well.
She sat at her vanity in front of the mirror, allowing her mask to open and close, open and close. She wished to make sure that it was not a mere fluke, something that would disappear at a moment's notice.
And, well, it was good fun, as well.
Tia was interrupted by a knock at her door.
"Lady Halibel? May I come in?"
Apacci.
She closed her mask with a click.
"Enter."
She watched as Apacci slowly opened the door, an air of sheer and complete melancholy following her. Tia frowned.
This was not like Apacci at all.
The girl (how odd to think that word) stood there, wringing her hands slightly, obviously distressed. She had put on her clothes, just a basic jacket and pants, all white with black trim, and Tia had to say that they suited her well.
"Uh…may I…talk…to you, ma'am?"
Tia turned toward Apacci, fully facing her. Something was wrong, and she wanted to speak to Tia about it, and Tia always listened to her subordinates.
She had a special connection to Apacci, however. They were closer to each other than they were to the other two. A special kinship existed between them.
A sisterhood of sorts.
"What is it, Apacci?"
The girl shifted a bit. "Um…it's…uh…" She turned, heading back to the door. "Never mind, ma'am, it's stupid…"
"Apacci."
She stopped.
"Come sit down, please."
Apacci sat down on the edge of the enormous bed, and studiously looked at the immense salt-water pool in the corner.
"Tell me what is wrong."
Tia looked at her with compassion in her eyes. She had already guessed what the girl's problem was, and she felt sympathy.
"Well…I just…"
"You feel unattractive."
Apacci looked up sharply, a blush of shame on her cheeks. She then hung her head, her bangs hiding her eyes.
Tia, attuned to the element of water, was acutely aware of the tear that hit the soft carpeting.
"I'm sorry…I know it's stupid…but…"
Apacci looked back up, and Tia was unsurprised to see tears falling down her face.
"It's not fair! Everybody else was made pretty but me! Look at me! I look like a…like a boy!"
Tia nodded her head. "I can see where you might think that."
Apacci sniffled a bit, slightly collapsing in on herself. "You can?" Even her Lady thought she was ugly.
Tia, ever straightforward, nodded. "Yes. You don't have my or Mila-Rose's figures. We are rather buxom, and our curves are more pronounced. Sung-Sun is more akin to your body type, but she is rather graceful, whereas you-"
"I look and act like a man."
Tia waited for a moment, letting Apacci's fit of pique pass. "Whereas you, on the other hand, are built more athletically."
Apacci shot her eyes at Tia. "You mean I'm ugly."
"No," Tia replied, shaking your head. "Not ugly. Merely different."
Apacci furrowed her brow. "But I'm-"
Tia held up a hand. "Apacci. Just because you do not have the traits that you find desirable does not mean that you are undesirable yourself. Will everyone think you are beautiful? No. But, really does it matter what they think?"
Apacci shrugged.
Tia sighed. "Apacci, look at me." Meeting her eyes, Tia continued. "I am most certainly not what many would call beautiful, Apacci."
Apacci started. "But you are, milady!"
Tia paused, and began to unzip her jacket. As each inch passed, more and more of her front was exposed, showing hard, ugly Hollow mask covering soft, inviting flesh. Her neck was embraced in much the same way. "Am I?"
Apacci stared, unsure of the point of this.
"I am able to withdraw this mask to a limited extent, Apacci, but there will always be some there. It can never truly be hidden, can it? But does this make me ugly to you?"
Apacci shook her head rapidly. "No, ma'am! You're still beautiful!"
Tia nodded. "So how does what you look like, the things you cannot change, make you ugly?"
She was getting through to the girl, Tia could tell. She leaned forward.
"If it helps at all, Apacci…I do not think you're ugly."
Apacci jerked as if struck. "You…you don't?"
On a whim, Tia opened her mask, allowing her small, reassuring smile to be seen. "Not at all. In fact, I think you are rather pretty, indeed."
Apacci stared at her mistress's exposed face. Several feelings were roiling through her. Shame, since her Lady's face couldn't be easily seen and hers could. Honor, since Tia had let her be the first to see her face. And finally, a great surge of pure, honest love and appreciation for the one she had chosen to serve, who told her she was pretty, that she was desirable.
Apacci smiled, a blush dusting her face.
"Thank you, Lady Halibel."
Tia nodded, allowing her mask to click shut again. "Now," she said, standing up and re-zipping her jacket. "I don't know about you, but I want to give this 'food' thing a try. Go get Mila-Rose and Sung-Sun, and find out what they want to eat. I'll get somebody to run to the kitchens for us."
Apacci leapt to her feet. "Yes, ma'am!" She saluted smartly and raced out the door.
On her way to the other's rooms, she realized she felt happy again. While it was true that she wasn't the most beautiful Arrancar in existence, that her breasts weren't large, or her curves weren't especially pronounced, or that she wasn't even all that graceful, she was pretty.
She was pretty.
Lady Halibel said so.
And Lady Halibel was always, always, right.