Chapter Four: Summer Time
"You don't need to be so worried things will be fine." Yoshiro chimed.
"Easy for you to say these people are essentially your family." Apacci retorted. "Forgive me for being a little nervous meeting them for the first time."
It had been a week since the incident with the soul reapers and this was Apacci's first visit back since then. She had chosen to keep away longer than normal to let everything from last time effectively die down. Yoshiro during that time had made plans to meet up with the Kurosaki's. Even if she had a gigai to effectively hide that she was a hollow. She couldn't help but be a little nervous about meeting new people. Living in a place like Hueco Mundo will do that to a person.
"Look I can get where you're coming from in this," Yoshiro replied. "Try not to think too much about it. The Kurosaki's are some of the most understanding people around. I'm sure they'll like you just fine. Besides, like you said before these people pretty much are my family these days. So, it's better to go about meeting them sooner rather than later."
Apacci let out a sigh. "Okay fine I concede, you're right."
The blond let out a chuckle. "It's all good though we should get going. Though you'll need this." Yoshiro said as he handed her a helmet.
"What's this for?" The disguised hollow asked.
"You gotta wear it for when you ride on the back of my Harley, for safety."
"I didn't realize you had a second helmet."
"I didn't, I bought it for you." Yoshiro spoke. "Speaking of which, we'll need to buy you a whole wardrobe. To keep here in the spare room along with your gigai. You can't be wearing the same clothes all the time."
"You don't have to do that for me you know. Allowing me to keep my gigai stashed here is doing a lot as it is. Including everything else you've already done."
"It's not a big deal at all Apacci." Yoshiro said with a wave of his hand. "You're a friend and despite how new our friendship is. I think we've become rather good friends fast. I don't mind helping out my friends however I can."
Apacci couldn't but feel a slight blush creep onto her face at his words. "Thanks, Yoshiro." That was all she could muster to say in response, as she felt an odd feeling of warmth in her chest. "What an odd feeling? Though not an unpleasant one." She thought to herself.
"Come on we had better get going." The mocha-skinned blond spoke up, grabbing her attention. Apacci nodded and followed Yoshiro out of the house. Apacci positioned herself on the passenger seat of the motorcycle. Placing her arms around Yoshiro's waist and leaning slightly into him. With a roar, the engine kicked to life and soon enough they were on the road.
Apacci smiled from behind her helmet, she understood why Yoshiro loved riding as he did. The power of the engine vibrating, feeling the wind against you. There was an odd but enjoyable sense of freedom to it all. Maybe it had something to do with her being a deer hollow. Something about it just seemed to resonate so well with her.
Yoshiro rode down the toad towards the Kurosaki house with Apacci with him. It was the first time he'd ridden with a passenger. Feeling her arms wrapped around his waist and her chest leaned slightly against his back. He wouldn't deny, it was a rather enjoyable experience. "I could get used to having her ride with me more often." He thought with a small smile.
Not too much longer they arrived at their destination. He parked his Harley in place and the two made their way to the door.
"You may want to take a few steps to the side just in case Isshin decides to do something stupid." Yoshiro stated.
Apacci raised an eyebrow in curiosity at this but said nothing and took a few steps to the left. Yoshiro opened the door to the house and before he could do anything else, it happened.
"Surprise stri-" Isshin's words were cut off. When a fist solidly connected to his gut. Knocking all the air clean out of and sending tumbling backward into the house. "Excellent…counter…I'm so proud." Isshin wheezed out while laid out on the floor.
"What the actual fuck?" Apacci spoke more to herself than Yoshiro.
Yoshiro simply shook his head. "As much as I have come to love him like a father figure. He does shit like this every so often and makes me question his sanity. Come on let's head inside."
"Excellent *cough* strike as always my boy." Isshin spoke as he got back on his feet. To see Yoshiro and a girl he'd never seen before, walk in with him. He already knew who and what the girl really was. Yoruichi had informed about the incident with the soul reapers. As well as Kisuke fitting the girl with her own gigai for everyone's sake. If Isshin was, to be honest, he wasn't completely comfortable. With a Vasto Lorde being so close to his other son or Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu for the matter. While she hadn't caused any harm to anyone, he was still going to keep an eye on her. Not to mention trying to figure out just what Yoshiro was to her and vice versa. He would just have to make sure to keep his intentions hidden is all.
"Big brother Yoshiro!" A pair of voices exclaimed.
Yoshiro turned to Karin and Yuzu in front of the stairs. With Ichigo standing behind the two of them. The orange-haired boy greeted Yoshiro with a wave of his hand. The twins ran over and hugged him at the legs. Both of them were so short they barely reached his knees. The blond gave the two girls a pat on their heads in response.
"Good to see you all." Yoshiro cheerily replied.
"So who's your young lady friend you brought?" Isshin stated, playing innocent.
"Oh right, I told you I was going to be bringing someone with me today. Everyone I'd like you to meet Emilou Apacci. Apacci this's the Kurosaki's, they've basically been my family for some time now." Yoshiro spoke for introductions.
"Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you. Yoshiro speaks highly about you all." Apacci said with a slight bow, still feeling a bit nervous about this meetup.
"I'm Isshin Kurosaki nice to meet you." Isshin spoke with a smile. "That's my son Ichigo and my daughters Karin and Yuzu. Of course, you know my un-official second son Yoshiro. Hopefully, this ruffian hasn't given you too much trouble?"
"Oi!" The blond piped up in protest. "I know I can be a bit on the wild side but I'm not that bad, thank you kindly."
"Is she your new girlfriend?" Yuzu asked with her child-like innocence.
Apacci eyes went a bit and became red-faced at the thought. Yoshiro simply choked on air for a brief moment before getting control of himself.
"As flattering as the suggestion is, we're not dating. Were good friends is all right now." Yoshiro simply replied.
"But the two of you look so cute together." Yuzu simply replied.
Apacci's face couldn't help but turn a deeper shade of red. While Yoshiro gave a flat look to the Kurosaki patriarch.
"Isshin, what have the hell have you been teaching these kids?" Yoshiro accused. "Ten-year-olds aren't supposed to be playing match-maker."
"I have nothing to do with this I swear!" Isshin replied defending himself.
"So, I take it your foreign Apacci, judging by your name?" Ichigo questioned looking to change the subject.
Apacci quickly snapped her attention to the young orange-haired boy. "Oh yeah, I am." She quickly replied. "I'm originally from America I'm in Japan on an exchange student program. I came here right as the summer started, so I would have time to settle in before school started."
Ichigo nodded his head, seemingly satisfied with the answer. Apacci mentally gave a sigh of relief. She was glad Yoshiro worked with her to come up with a proper backstory beforehand.
"So, what do you all feel like doing today?" Isshin questioned.
"How about we all take a trip to the mall?" Yoshiro suggested. "Apacci still needs some things and the others will enjoy it too I think. Your Subaru Outback should fit us all well enough."
"Let's do it!" Yuzu exclaimed.
"Sounds good." Karin responded with a shrug.
"I'll get the keys then." Chimed the Kurosaki patriarch.
After getting settled in the car and about a thirty-minute drive later. All five had arrived at the local mall. While Isshin wanted to stick close to Yoshiro, he realized that soon wasn't going to happen. The girls wanted to go to the toy shop and Ichigo wanted to hit the mall bookstore. Both places on the opposite side of the mall from the clothing store. The blond and hollow woman in disguise was going too. Both sides agreed to meet up at the food court in a couple hours.
"So, what do you want to grab first?" Yoshiro mused as the two approached the clothing store.
"I'll need to grab underwear first. I do remember that sort of thing from my previous life." Replied the deer hollow.
"I assume you already know your sizes?"
"Need to figure out my bra size."
"Can't you just check the one Kisuke provided for your gigai?" The blond questioned.
"He didn't provide one, so I'm only wearing my shirt at the moment." Apacci remarked.
"Well, that explains a few things I felt on the ride to the Kurosaki's" Yoshiro spoke absent-mindedly before coughing a little on purpose. After noticing the odd look Apacci was giving him. "Anyway, let's find someone who works the store to help with that one." He quickly spoke and strode into the store with Apacci following.
They found a female employee and got her to help Apacci figure out her bra size.
"I'd say you're a B cup." Remarked the store worker. "I'll go grab you a few different styles for you to try on." After a few minutes, the employee returned with a dozen different bras. After giving them to Apacci, the employee left. Leaving Yoshiro waiting outside the dressing room. As Apacci began to try on the various styles. However, a problem soon arose within the first few minutes.
"Hey, Yoshiro?" Apacci called out.
"Yeah?" The blond replied with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm having trouble keeping this thing up."
"Shouldn't it just hook together?"
"I'm having trouble getting it to hook. Could you help me out?"
Yoshiro's eyes widened and he couldn't help but become kind of red in the face. After all, he was being asked to help dress a half-naked girl in a mall dressing room. It was like one of those video's he totally didn't have saved on his computer. He shook his head of such thoughts and quickly cursed his hormonal teenage mind. As he made his way into the dressing room.
Apacci was still struggling to hook the cursed piece of fabric over her chest. She noticed with the dressing room mirror Yoshiro walked in to assist. He didn't say anything simply went straight to helping hook the bra on properly. She couldn't help but notice he was red in the face and looked a bit nervous. Why though? She only asked to help put on her b-. Her thoughts cut out as her eyes widened and a blush crept onto her own face.
She only just now realized what she had unintentionally done. She had just invited a guy into a dressing room. While she was inside it and essentially half-naked. It was just like that video she accidentally found on Yoshiro's computer!
"How…how does it feel?" Yoshiro asked after he hooked it while looking away from the dressing room mirror.
"It's...it's fine." Apacci mumbled back.
Yoshiro nodded his head and simply walked right out of the dressing room. He let out a breath he was holding once he did. Apacci did the same from inside the dressing room once he was gone.
Thankfully the rest of the shopping went smoothly and soon enough. Apacci had a full wardrobe picked out. Amusingly enough to Yoshiro, he noticed the hollow woman taste in fashion. Was rather similar to his own but just with a feminine touch, one could say. As they made their way to the register, something on display caught Apacci's eyes.
"What's that?" The disguised hollow asked, pointing at what she was looking at.
"That's a swimsuit, people wear them for when they go to the beach." Yoshiro explained when he turned to see what had caught the woman's attention.
"The beach huh?" Apacci mused to herself thinking for a moment. "I've never been to a beach before."
"Do you want to go?" The blond questioned in return. "If you can make it to me tomorrow. There's a beach we can head-off to, I've been there a few times in the past. We can make a whole day of it."
A smile came across Apacci's as she looked at Yoshiro. "I can manage to come over tomorrow. However, I need a swimsuit now for myself, so can spare enough cash out of your wallet for one?"
"Yeah, sure thing." Yoshiro spoke as he managed to pull out his wallet. Giving enough bills to Apacci. "Any reason you want to buy one yourself?"
Apacci got a playful look in her red and blue eyes. "I want to make it a surprise." That was all she said before plucking the cash from his hand and walking off.
Yoshiro stood in place for a moment before simply shrugging his shoulders. "I'm ok with this idea." He muttered before walking off to go pay for the rest of Apacci's things. A little while later the hollow woman met up with him with a small bag. They walked together to meet up with the Kurosaki's. Yoshiro carrying the multitude of bags from the shopping.
After finding Isshin and the others they found a place to eat and hang out for a bit. Once everyone had finished eating, Yuzu found her eyes set on an arcade across from the group. Soon enough Yuzu, Karin, and Ichigo were asking if they could go it.
"I can take them over." Apacci volunteered, she honestly didn't mind the kids. Plus, she couldn't help but have the feeling. Isshin wanted to talk to Yoshiro one on one for some reason.
Isshin watched as Apacci walked to the arcade with his kids. While a bit nervous about his kids being with a hollow. He knew that the woman meant no harm to anyone for the time being. He put his focus on Yoshiro, studying the boy's expression as the others walked off.
He could tell the young man's gaze was on Apacci. He saw the small smile on his face and the expression in his eyes. "I looked at Misaki the same way." Isshin thought to himself. He knew he had one of two big choices to make in this situation. One, he could encourage Yoshiro to make a move and start a more personal relationship with Apacci. Two, he could instead try to suggest not doing such a thing. "Ah hell, it's not like I have any right to judge who falls in love with who." He mused mentally after a bit of internal arguing.
"You know she looks to be a pretty nice girl." Isshin chimed, getting Yoshiro's attention. "She also looks to have a good grasp with kids, she'd make a good wife."
"Jumping the gun there a bit don't you think? We're not even dating or anything, we're just friends." Yoshiro retorted a slight blush creeping on his face from Isshin's suggestion.
"Well, what's to stop you two from dating?" Isshin replied. "I can tell you like the girl in that way. You should try asking her out. Take it from someone who's been down this path before. I think that girl likes you as well, even if she doesn't fully realize it herself yet. A few nudges in the right direction will help her realize it I think. What do you think when you imagine being with her in such a way?"
Yoshiro sat quietly for a few minutes as he contemplated the question. "I won't deny I find her attractive." He finally began. "For what differences we have, we also have plenty of similarities. Despite the short time we've known each other, I have gotten along with her better and faster than almost anyone else I know. As weird as this may sound, something inside of me on what seems like an instinctual level. Makes me feel like being with her would be the right thing for me to do."
Isshin gave a fatherly smile. "Well then, sounds like you need to ask her for a date and see where things go."
Yoshiro said nothing and simply nodded his head as he continued to ponder things. A few minutes later Apacci and the others returned. With business at the mall handled, it was time to head home. Though, there was no way to put all of Apacci's bag on the bike. So now Apacci was riding in the passenger seat of Isshin's car. With all her bags in the back, while Yoshiro was ahead of them on his Harley. They had dropped all the kids off at the house beforehand.
"So Apacci I noticed you and Yoshiro get along rather well with one another." Isshin suddenly spoke gaining her attention.
"I suppose we do." She replied. "Despite not having known each other for that long. We have come to get along pretty well with each other."
"Just what is Yoshiro to you?" Isshin questioned. "That boy is like a son to me after all. I don't want to see him getting hurt in some way."
Apacci scowled a little at that one. "Why the hell would you think I would hurt him?" She growled. "Yoshiro been nothing but good to me and done more than most ever have for me. I'll admit that I can a bit of bitch at times, but I'd never purposely hurt someone. Who's done so much to help me."
To her surprise, the man simply started chuckling. Apacci couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in confusion at this.
"Sorry if I came across somewhat rude there." Isshin remarked. "I just wanted to make sure you were genuine. In your actions and emotions towards Yoshiro is all. Now I know you are without a doubt. This takes me into my next question. Just how much do you like him by chance, if you get my meaning?"
It took Apacci a moment to get what he was asking. "I won't deny that he certainly has his attractive qualities. It's just I'm not sure if it would be proper for us to be like that."
"How so?" Isshin replied.
"It's just, we haven't known each other for that long as I mentioned before. Plus, I'm not sure if he even likes me in that way. Then there's the fact that I have zero experience in dating or how to go about it." The disguised Vasto Lorde remarked.
"As someone who's been through all of this, let me give my advice from experience." The Kurosaki patriarch chimed. "While you two might not have known one another for that long. That doesn't mean you can't create a strong bond in a short amount of time. Me and my late wife Masaki forged a strong bond with one another in a short time. Let me tell you right now, I've seen how Yoshiro glances at you from time to time. He definitely likes you, no doubts about that. While you may not have any experience in dating. My suggestion in that regard is to just let your feelings guide you."
Apacci took in the man's words and thought about them. "So basically I should just follow my instincts and see where things go?" She mused eventually.
"That's not a bad way of going about it. Just don't overthink things and you two will be just fine. If he doesn't make the first move soon, then you should."
Apacci leaned back into her seat and mused everything in her head for the rest of the ride. Not long afterward, they had all arrived at Yoshiro's home. After unloading everything, Isshin bid good-bye to the two and headed back home. Thinking to himself as he drove home, Isshin was glad that he decided to help nudge the two, closer together. Though a small part of his mind couldn't but wonder whether he had done the right thing.
After taking the time to get all of Apacci's things settled in what was essentially her room at this point. Yoshiro decided to speak up his mind thanks to Isshin's talk.
"Hey Apacci about tomorrow's beach trip. I was wondering if you wanted to make a date of sorts out of it. Instead of a simple trip between friends." The blond stated, rubbing the back of his head.
Apacci stared at him in surprise for a moment. "Like a real date?" she got a nod for an answer. "I…I would like that actually."
Yoshiro couldn't help but grin at the response. "Great, as I said back at the mall we can make a day out of it. We can even spend the night there, I have all the gear for a night at the beach. Me and dad would go to the beach a lot when I was a kid. Spending days at the beach was something he and mom did a lot. Mom really loved spending time at the beach. At least that what dad always told me, when he talked about her."
"Your parents had a real good marriage by the sound of things." Apacci chimed.
"Yeah, they really did." Yoshiro remarked as an idea then struck him. "I have a few photos of my parents hanging around. If you want to see them out of curiosity? Want something to drink to by chance? I'm feeling a little thirsty."
"Yes, to both"
Yoshiro walked out of the room and returned with a picture frame in his hands a minute later. He handed it off to Apacci before heading down to the kitchen to grab drinks.
Apacci studied the people in the photo, her focus going to Yoshiro's father first. He was dressed in casual attire, short black hair, brown eyes, taller than most Japanese men. He was a fairly well-built man with a rather handsome face as well. She could where Yoshiro got some of his attractiveness from.
Her eyes then fell on the woman in the photo, Yoshiro's mother. She was in a tropical white sundress. She had the same messy golden blond hair as her son. Her skin had the same mocha-colored skin though hers was a slightly darker shade than Yoshiro's. Her eyes were also more of an aqua green instead of his emerald green. She was also quite tall for a woman, though not quite as tall as her husband. She also had arguably the largest chest she'd ever seen. The only people she knew who had boobs that big were Mila and her mistress. In fact, something about Yoshiro's mother was oddly reminiscent of her mistress.
Apacci's mind froze up in an instant when the thought of Halibel came to mind. She looked at the photo and thought about her mistress. The skin tone, hair color, eye color all matched up. Hell, even the height and chest matched up perfectly. Apacci shook her head, the very thing she was contemplating seemed borderline insane. Though curiosity got the better of her and decided to check something. She took a finger and covered the bottom portion of the woman's face. Apacci nearly dropped the photo from shock at what she saw. Yoshiro's mother looked just like Halibel.
"There's no fucking way this's happening right now?" Apacci mumbled to herself. "Yoshiro's mom is mistress Halibel? No, it has to all be a coincidence that the two just happen to look so much alike. I'll ask a simple question to Yoshiro once he returns, that will sort things out." She did her best to keep a straight face as Yoshiro returned with the drinks. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice anything. After a few sips, she decided to ask her question.
"Out of curiosity, what were your parents' names?" Apacci asked with a calm tone.
"Well, my father's name was Rockuro." The blond replied. "My mom took my dad's last name of Abe when they married. Though before that my mom's full name was Tia Halibel."
Thankfully Apacci was looking down at the photo when she heard the answer. Otherwise, Yoshiro would have clearly seen the look of shock and mild horror on her face. The deer like Vasto Lorde couldn't even give a reply immediately. Her mind was running like crazy at the revelation.
"Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIT!" Apacci screamed mentally. "Yoshiro IS mistress Halibel's son from her human life. This changes things a bit, what the hell do I do? Do I reveal this to him, do I reveal this to my mistress? No, I can't say anything right now about this. I need time to think things out more and think of a more proper way to go about this. For now, I just need to keep rolling with things as they are. I just need to act like I didn't just have a massive bombshell dropped on my fucking head."
"You ok Apacci?" Yoshiro asked with a little concern, noticing she still had her head down towards the photo.
Apacci whipped her head towards the blond, chuckling a little trying to play things off a bit. "Yeah, I'm good. I just sort of spaced off a bit is all, your parents are cute together."
Yoshiro raised an eyebrow inquisitively for a moment but ultimately didn't question things. "Yeah they were, dad always said he and mom always managed to be the center of attention."
"I can imagine so." Apacci replied playing cool still and handed the photo back. "Anyway I should get back to Hueco Mundo, I'll be back in the morning for our beach date."
"Alright, I'll see you then. I'll have things ready for when you arrive."
With that handled Apacci left her gigai, opened Garganta, and left. Yoshiro meanwhile got to work on preparing everything for the beach trip.
*Hueco Mundo*
Apacci landed back onto the familiar sands of Hueco Mundo, taking a few moments to compose herself. She couldn't let herself slip up when she saw the others. Especially her mistress, that was something she wasn't ready to deal with it. After preparing herself and putting on a rather stoic persona, she made her way towards her home. As she made her way inside the first to greet her was Halibel.
"Apacci, I see you've returned at last." Halibel mused greeting her subordinate. "You've been gone for most of the day."
"Just out alone thinking about certain things is all, my lady," Apacci replied keeping herself calm and collected. While she hated lying to her mistress, she knew she couldn't reveal the truth of things just yet. "Old memories from my past life, not the pleasant kind either. I like to be alone as I deal with them."
Halibel studied Apacci for a few moments in silence with an unreadable expression. "I understand." She finally said. "If you ever wish to speak of these memories, you can always come to me or the others about them."
"Thank you, my lady, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Apacci remarked as she gave a slight bow and walked to her own room. Giving a mental sigh of relief as she did.
Halibel watched the deer like Vasto Lorde in curiosity as she walked away. Humming to herself in thought, Halibel went off to another section of the cave where Mila and Sung-Sun resided. The two other Vasto Lorde's gave their attention to Halibel as she entered. After making sure Apacci was out earshot, Halibel addressed the other two.
"I wish you two to follow Apacci in secret the next time she departs from here. I'm not sure what she's been up to, but I have concerns." Proclaimed the shark-like Vasto Lorde.
"You think she might be plotting something against us?" Mila questioned.
"I doubt that." Sung-Sun cut in. "Apacci might not be the sharpest person around but not even she would dare to be so bold."
"I do not believe whatever she's been doing holds any malicious intentions," Halibel remarked. "However, her behavior lately has still been too suspicious. To not warrant some amount of investigation. Follow her in secret and report to me what you find. I'll make my decision on what to do next, depending on what is discovered."
Mila and Sung-Sun both nodded their heads in understanding. As Halibel then left to her own quarters.
*Yoshiro's House, The Next Day*
Yoshiro was putting the finishing touches on the preparations for the beach trip. He had done most of the prep last night but certain things like food and drink. Had to be done in the morning before leaving. His attention was pulled away when he heard a zipper sound. He recognized it as a Garganta opened up in his living room, to reveal Apacci. He greeted her with a smile which she returned.
"Everything is pretty much ready on my end. I got camping stuff, a cooler with some food and drink. I also got my acoustic guitar for a little later on and whatnot. Will need to take the train out towards the beach and then just a short walk from there."
"Sounds good, I'll pop into my gigai, throw together what things I'll need and we can take off." Apacci mused as she headed upstairs. While she was still trying to process the fact, Yoshiro was Halibel's child. She decided to push that to the back of her mind for now. She figured it was best to simply enjoy the day for what it was. She could sort out that other business afterward. After a few minutes, Apacci came downstairs in her gigai. With a small bag on her back ready to head out. Yoshiro nodded his head and tossed the large bag of gear on his back. Grabbing what else he needed and the two took off for the train.
It was about a thirty-minute train stopped a mile away from the beach. From there they hiked till they reached the beach. Continuing until reaching a sector of the beach far and away from where anyone else was. The area had a nice large patch of grass underneath a nice collection of trees, right next to the beach edge. It would make an excellent spot for camp.
Yoshiro set up their tent and everything else needed for the day. Apacci went into the tent once it was ready to change into her swimsuit. Yoshiro continued on with a few more things outside. Yoshiro had just finished when Apacci came out of the tent in her swimsuit, his jaw practically hit the sand.
Her swimsuit was a dark forest green color two-piece that hugged her body's curves rather nicely. Nothing too revealing but not too prudish either. A perfect mix of modesty and sex appeal. He slapped himself back into focus before he let his stare linger for too long. He then headed off to change into his swimwear. He didn't miss the satisfied and playful smirk on Apacci's face as he walked by.
Apacci had seen the blonde's reaction to her in her swimsuit, she almost couldn't hold back a laugh from the look on his face. Then she heard Yoshiro come out of the tent and she looked at him. Now it was her turn to stare in awe.
He had no shirt on showing his well-built and hairless physique reflecting off of the sunlight. Apacci knew Yoshiro was in good shape but never actually seen his toned body more or less on full display. His abs were well-built with the muscles near his waist tapering off into a v shape. His arms while not large had noticeable defined muscles. His legs had a light yet strong shape to them. His actual swimsuit went down a few inches below the knees. It was all white in color except for a black skull and crossbones. That covered almost the whole right pant leg.
"Hey Apacci, you're starting to drool on yourself a bit just so you know." He said with a cheeky tone.
She quickly stiffened in surprise and went red in the face from embarrassment. He proceeded to come over with a can of spray-on sunscreen.
"Here let me spray you down, it will keep you safe from any sunburn, your skin is much more sensitive to the sunlight than mine and it's waterproof, so it'll be good even after swimming," Yoshiro stated.
She simply nodded her head in agreement and let him spray her down. A few moments later she was completely protected from the sun's rays.
"Alright, lets' hit the water!" Yoshiro said with excitement.
"Ok!" she replied with joy but then suddenly stopped when a realization hit her. "I don't know how to swim for shit." She proclaimed.
He laughed and said in response "Don't worry I can teach you and have you gliding through the water in no time." He walked up and gently grabbed her by the hand and led her to the water.
As she entered the water of the sea for the time ever, she noted the water was warmer than expected. The wet sand under her feet felt surprisingly nice. She noticed the water had a relaxing cerulean blue color to it. Once they were deep enough that the water was about to her chest they stopped, and Yoshiro spoke.
"Ok! So, for starters, I'm gonna swim around a bit and want you to watch how I move. So, you can have an idea of how it all works." He said in a teaching tone. She simply nodded her head in response. With that, he turned around and dove headfirst into the water. He swam with his legs and arms moving in perfect tandem with each other gliding through the water for a few minutes before stopping. "You see the general idea of how it works?" he asked.
"Yeah." Apacci had seen the gist of it, it seemed easy enough. Yoshiro strode over to her. "Ok," he said. "Just lay belly down in the water I'll hold you in place so you can practice and get used to the motions of things. Then I'll let go so you can try to swim for real and see how it goes?" He said with encouragement.
Apacci did as instructed and floated in the water belly down and head up, with her arms and legs sticking out. As Yoshiro gently placed his hands on her waist to hold her place, it sent a jolt through her and she could feel herself blush a bit. She did her best to focus on the task on hand and practice the movements she had been shown.
The blond-haired teen was gently but firmly holding Apacci in place as she practiced her movements. He focused on teaching and decided to test Apacci a bit. Noticing she had seemingly picked up on the movements pretty quickly. Plus, he noticed she was fully engrossed with her practice. So, he ever so gently, simply let go and watched as Apacci took off swimming through the water without missing a beat.
Apacci was so focused on practicing her movements, she never even noticed that Yoshiro had let go of her. It wasn't until she had tried shifting her waist a bit did, she notice his hands were missing. She suddenly stopped and realized her feet could no longer reach the bottom of the shore. She looked around and found Yoshiro standing some 20 yards behind her. Then she suddenly realized it, she'd been swimming perfectly fine.
She waved and smiled at Yoshiro. Who giving off his own beaming smile, that was positively dripping in pride. She then proceeded to swim back all the way to him until it was shallow enough for her to walk. She spoke with excitement as she approached him.
"I almost can't believe I was actually doing it! I didn't think I would pick up at it so fast! That felt amazing!" Apacci said in excitement.
"You must be a natural swimmer." Yoshiro chimed.
"I think I just had a great teacher." Apacci said as she without thinking wrapped her arms around Yoshiro and pulled him into a hug. Yoshiro on reflex gently wrapped his arms around her, and softly pulled her closer to him.
They both simply looked at one another with smiles towards one another. Apacci wasn't exactly sure what to do at the moment. Isshin's words came to mind about following her feelings and trusting in them. Right now her feelings were practically yelling at her to do one thing, so she listened. She placed her hands on the side of Yoshiro's head, pulled his head towards her, and placed her lips against his.
Yoshiro was a bit surprised by the sudden kiss but didn't try to stop it. In fact, he pulled Apacci even closer to him. Deepening the kiss even further, while Yoshiro had kissed others before. He couldn't really explain but something about doing it with Apacci just felt right. In truth, it felt more satisfying with her than it had with anyone else in the past. Eventually, the two had to separate, needing air.
"Wow, that was rather intense I have to admit." Yoshiro chimed.
"Yeah, it was." Apacci remarked in return.
"So, uhhhhh… I guess that makes us officially boyfriend and girlfriend?" The blond mused.
"I would certainly say so." Apacci said with a grin, as she gave a quick kiss.
They continued to swim in the sea for the rest of the afternoon, now as a couple instead of just friends. Eventually, the night began to fall so they headed back to the tent to dry off and change for the night. Yoshiro changed into a pair of green gym shorts and a black t-shirt. Apacci meanwhile changed into a pair of yellow yoga shorts with a light blue tank top.
Yoshiro set up some portable lamps for light and laid out a large beach towel for the two of them lay on. He laid on his back, head pointed looking up at the star-filled sky. Apacci laid next to him with her head resting on his chest, with an arm slung around him. He moved an arm to wrap around her and hugged lightly. So, they both laid there enjoying the quiet relaxing night in each other's embrace.
"I'm really happy things worked out like this." Yoshiro spoke.
"So am I." Apacci replied.
"I have to be honest. I never imagined when we met on the rooftop that night, it would lead to something like this. Interesting how things work out at times in life." Mused the blond.
Apacci thought about it all, that night of their first meeting felt like a whole lifetime ago. So much had happened since then and while there still certain things that would need to be handled. At the moment she couldn't be happier with how things were going.
"It really is, granted I'm not complaining about a thing." She spoke up. "Though I will ask that you don't go trying to confront anymore soul reaper captains. I'd probably wind up having a heart attack otherwise."
"I thought you couldn't get those?"
"You're missing the point I'm making here."
Yoshiro chuckled lightly. "I get it, don't do anything to make you worry too much. I understand."
"Thank you." She replied quietly. Then she lifted her head and up and gave a soft gentle kiss to his lips. He merely gave a happy smirk in response. Which made her smile in return. They laid there for a while longer before heading into the tent for the night to sleep wrapped in each other's embrace.
Unknow to the new couple sleeping soundly in their tent. Two individuals had seen the exchange of things at the beach. Mila and Sung-Sun gave each other a knowing look before leaving to report their finding to Halibel.
*Hueco Mundo*
Halibel was meditating when she felt the presence of Mila and Sung-Sun approach her. She stopped what she was doing and gave her attention to the two.
"What did you find?" Halibel questioned.
"Something we weren't quite expecting in truth, my lady," Sung-Sun answered. "Apacci isn't plotting anything against us as you suspected. In fact, she hasn't even been keeping to Hueco Mundo. It would appear this entire time, she's been sneaking off to the human world. Not only that but she's been doing so to see some human boy by the looks of things."
That got an honest look of surprise from Halibel. "Are you certain of this?"
"We are my lady," Mila replied. "We followed Apacci in secret and her trail lead to a house. We assume belongs to the human we then followed her trail to a beach. Where we found her and the human she's been seeing. She and the human boy seem to be romantically involved with one another. We saw the two of them kissing and embracing one another. Were not sure how but she seems to have somehow managed to disguise herself as a human. I also noticed this human she's with has high spirit energy for whatever reason. We left when the two went to sleep for the night at the beach.
Halibel brought her hand to her chin as she pondered all that she had heard. "This is an unexpected turn of events." Halibel mused. "Return to the human world and wait for their return to the boy's home. Confront Apacci and bring her to me so I may speak to her about all this."
"And the human boy?" Sung-Sun inquired.
"Bring him as well, when you bring Apacci. I wish to meet this human, who Apacci has become so enamored with." Halibel ordered.
Mila and Sung-sun nodded in understanding and left.
A/N: Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story thus far. We see things progress along with Yoshiro and Apacci's relationship. Some interesting revelations are made. Soon enough things will get even more interesting. As Yoshiro will soon meet Halibel for the first time to his knowledge and the rest of tres bestias.
Not much else to say, so stay tuned for more. In the meantime, please leave a review as they do help keep me motivated to write. Please like and fav if you have not already and stay safe, stay healthy. I'll see you next time. I'm out!
Edit 10/10/21