Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Bleach storyline (such as Aporro [in character, not name] and Vicenta Acere) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.
Szayel Aporro Grantz, after nearly two hundred years of being the woman's partner, knew when his mate was angry. And as he worked on the project in front of him, an overwhelming sense of fear, accompanied by an eerie feel of a skeletal, ice-cold finger trailing down his spine, made him freeze and twitch.
Someone was getting a smack down.
Some poor fool was having their ass handed to them on a silver, gold-encrusted and monogrammed platter.
Some unfortunate bastard was being plowed into the ground, six feet under, and having their name scratched onto their tombstone with a large, rusty fork.
Some deprived soul was being ripped limb from limb and strewn about the battlefield as if they were nothing more than an overly wrapped present, with the prize being their heart.
Some unlucky son of a bitch was either about to or going to experience pain so intense that even after they were sent to the Soul Society seven time over, lived in the human world seven times over, and possibly ended up in hell, they would still feel the phantom pains.
And all Szayel had to say to that was…
…He was glad it wasn't him.
"I DON'T GIVE TWO FUCKS IF YOUR GODDAMNED UNIT WENT DOWN!!" Aporro screamed, red-faced and ranting, "THAT IS NO FUCKING EXCUSE FOR YOU TO GET UP, WALK OUT, AND WANDER OFF WITHOUT LEAVING SO MUCH AS A FUCKING NOTE!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FUCKING WORRIED I WAS ABOUT YOU?! HOW EASY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR SOME FUCKING VASTO LORDE TO FIND OUT, TEAR YOUR STOMACH OUT AND FEAST ON YOUR ENTRAILS?! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!"
Grimmjow was torn between jumping to his mate's defense and joining in on the reprimanding. So torn, in fact, that his body froze up and all he could do was watch.
The livid, pink-haired woman in front of him had snapped for the first time in several months, and it was a wondrous site to behold: the veins standing out on her neck and temple, her body drawn up to its full height, her eyes giving off an almost ethereal glow, her hair somehow gaining its own gravitational field and almost floating around her head, her reiatsu…
Dear god, her reiatsu was fluctuating so wildly it was more than just visible, it was giving off her own distinct color; a radiant and wild purple that pulsed and lashed out at anything in its path, even going so far as to cut large snips out of Grimmjow and Vicenta's uniforms.
How the fuck this woman hadn't made it to Vasto Lorde before she'd been shinigamified, he had no clue; he could only assume that she'd been bordering on it.
Vicenta sat back and stared up at her mother with wide, terrified eyes, her body instinctually curling around her black box and holding it protectively to her chest as the woman continued to rant and rave.
She always known her mother to have temperament issues, all the way back to when the woman had been a human, but this…
…Clearly, turning into an Arrancar had done nothing to mellow her out.
Which she supposed was part of the reason her father had her on hormones.
…The ranting was cut short when Aporro's voice unexpectedly cut out on her, getting scratchy before tapering off into nothing.
The three paused, blinking.
Aporro twitched and pressed a hand to her throat, wincing as she opened her mouth and tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
She ground her teeth and sighed soundlessly, angrily, but narrowed her eyes down at her daughter and used a universal symbol that she wouldn't misunderstand…
Aporro dragged the length of her pointer finger across her throat.
Still pale, Vicenta nodded shakily and stood.
This wasn't over. Nowhere near. But for now—
"Let's just head home." Grimmjow grumbled, rubbing the back of his head and looking around with a scowl, "We're deep in some Vasto Lorde's territory and I'd sooner not meet up with him."
"My sentiments exactly." Vicenta nodded, zipping her pack shut and hefting it onto her back. When she saw the sharp glare Grimmjow was throwing her, though, she flinched and fell silent.
Aporro glared between the two, then nodded, turning around and crouching low before starting to sonido back the way they'd come.
Vicenta shot after her, and after her Grimmjow followed.
Now that she wasn't spending her time navigating, Vicenta found the trip back was even quicker than her trip out. Though she wished it weren't… Having gotten caught, she wasn't exactly too keen on the idea of going home; not where her father would find out about what she'd done and pick up where her mother had left off on the screaming.
Only he wouldn't actually scream.
Though he was perfectly capable of it, when it came to the kind of anger Vicenta knew her father was going to direct at her, he did something even worse than scream.
He was calm.
He would become eerily calm and speak in level, muted tones.
And because of this, it would be impossible for Vicenta to be able to tell what her father would be thinking; something that terrified her far more than her father actually screaming at her.
Because despite the fact that Szayel had both a mate and a daughter, when provoked he was still capable of becoming Szayel Aporro Grantz, Octava Espada, master scientist, and the most capable weapons researcher and developer that there ever was in the Hollow realm.
He would, for that moment, cease to be her father, and the thoughts of what he was capable of doing when he was like that chilled her to the core.
Vicenta shuddered.
No, home was definitely the last place she wanted to be right now.
But she also didn't want to stay out in the desert, either…
Vicenta shuddered, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling.
…They were being watched.
"Gillo!"
The Vasto Lorde in question, Gillo, glanced over uninterestedly as a smaller and considerably weaker Vasto Lorde ran up, sighing and turning back to watch the three Arrancar run, "What, Vaida?"
Vaida crossed her arms angrily and glared over the sands, joining him in watching the Arrancar run back to their little rat's nest, "Why haven't you killed them?"
"They aren't worth it." Gillo sighed.
"…Are you kidding me?" Vaida hissed, her eyes narrowing as her clawed hands tensed and the muscles in her shoulders bunched, "Did you feel the lead female's reiatsu?! I felt it all the way over at the edge of your territory!! I could see it!"
"And I'm sure you also saw and felt how quickly it died." Gillo waved her off, unfazed, "Large as it was, she burned herself out too quickly. They're nothing to worry about; Daramos is making this out to be a much bigger thing than it actually is."
"…Are you blind, or have you forgotten how serious that injury on his back was?!" Vaida shrieked.
"It's hardly my business," Gillo said evenly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, "Or their fault that Daramos overestimated his own abilities and let his guard down."
"…So what are you saying?" Vaida asked softly after a moment, her eyes flashing, "Are you saying you're okay with these… these… filthy creatures walking around in your territory?"
"Now, Vaida…" Gillo started slowly, pushing himself onto his feet and letting the flagella-like tendrils that slipped out from under the skin on his back so smoothly flail and twitch through the air, showing his building agitation, "You're putting words in my mouth. Of course I care…" Standing straight, he glared after the Arrancar and bit down on his webbed pointer finger, his teeth elongating slightly and his eyes flashing and glowing an eerie red as blood filled his mouth, "I want nothing more than to rend those disgusting creatures limb from limb and suck the very marrow from their bones…"
Vaida shuddered slightly, glancing away as the softest lick of his annoyed reiatsu sliced her cheek open to the bone.
"However…" Gillo calmed down, glancing at her and heaving a heavy sigh, "Those ones, in particular, weren't worth it. If we had attacked them, we would have alerted the others. They would have had time to contact their allies in the Seireitei, build their defenses, and we would have lost the element of surprise." He sighed again, shaking his head, "You're so young, Vaida…"
She twitched but said nothing to that. After a moment, she asked, "So, if they weren't worth it, and they even had one of the former Espada with them, who would you deem worth it?"
"…Coyote Stark or Tia Halibel, two former Vasto Lordes."
Vaida blinked up at him. She'd never heard those names before.
As if reading her mind, Gillo shrugged, "You wouldn't know them; they were turned into Arrancar long before your time, towards the end of the heyday of the true Vasto Lordes."
"…Weren't you alive around that time, Gillo?" Vaida perked, suddenly interested.
"Daramos and I both were." Gillo answered with a mirthless smile, "However, even back then, Daramos was still very young…" He sighed, mumbling, "That boy has so much room for growth it terrifies even an old monster like me…"
"Eh?" Vaida blinked, not having heard the last part over a small gust of wind.
"…Nothing." Gillo waved her off, "Never mind… And get out of my territory." He threw her a sour look, his flagella-like tendrils whipping through the air a bit faster, "Your mere presence annoys me."
Vaida jerked back, affronted, then flushed darkly and glared at him, sticking out her tongue, "Stupid old man!!" Before he could think about snapping at her, the young Vasto Lorde had already spun around and zipped off.
Gillo stared after her with a blank face, then sighed and flopped back onto the sand, letting his tendrils blend not just themselves, but him in with the dune, as well.
Honestly, young ones…
The moment Aporro stepped foot back within the walls of El Sanctuario, a red, synthetic feather-fletched dart zipped through the air and buried itself in her neck.
Vicenta and Grimmjow watched in mild shock as the woman's eyes widened, then turned dull and glassy before slipping closed as she fell.
Szayel appeared before Aporro in a flash of white and pink, wrapping his arm around her waist as she slumped against his chest with her chin hooked over his shoulder, bearing her full weight as her body went lax. Heaving a sigh, Szayel slipped a small, handheld gun into a discreet pocket in his hakama and bent to wrap his now free arm around Aporro's legs, hefting her up.
With his mate secured, the scientist turned to Vicenta and Grimmjow and pinned them with a flat, icy stare, "Follow me."
Vicenta winced and Grimmjow looked away and rubbed the back of his head in annoyance, both following the former Espada as he turned sharply on his heel and stormed down the hall.
Vicenta listened to the quick, light clicking of her father's heels on the floor as she walked with her head lowered, each short, sharp sound adding to her trepidation and making her heart beat faster, her palms sweating.
She was screwed, she was screwed, she was screwed. It played like a mantra in her head.
'I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed…' She swallowed hard when her father walked into his and Aporro's room, gesturing for them to wait, 'I am sooooo screwed…'
When Szayel came back out, no longer carrying Aporro, he glanced at Grimmjow and nodded slightly, "You can leave. Don't expect Vicenta back until very, very late."
Instead of her mate defending her like she had hoped, Vicenta watched in horror as he simply nodded wordlessly before walking off.
The girl stared after him, shaking slightly, then reluctantly turned back to her father when he did nothing but stand behind her silently, commanding her attention with his presence alone.
When she met his eyes, Vicenta's stomach cooled and turned.
Szayel was looking down at her with a highly condescending air, his chin held up just ever so slightly above normal level and his eyes lidded heavily, his face a mask of indifference.
It was the same look he gave everyone he didn't care to acknowledge or know, but had to for whatever reason.
Still wordless, he turned and walked down the hall at a steady, even pace, clearly expecting Vicenta to follow.
And she did.
Not only was not following not an option, it hadn't even crossed her mind.
One way or another, she was getting reprimanded by him; she may as well get it done and over with so she could get back to her lab and analyze PAPA's black box.
Szayel walked into his main lab and sat down at the large chair in front of his even larger computer, spinning around and crossing his arms over his stomach primly.
Vicenta stood in front of him, forced to look up at his silhouette in the blue light glow of his computer screen, the flash of his lenses being the only feature of his face she could clearly distinguish. He was waiting; she had to clear her thoughts.
Szayel waited 'patiently', though his stare got flatter and flatter the longer she took.
After a bit, Vicenta inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, starting a carefully thought out explanation.
Szayel listened attentively, his eyes flicking down to the backpack she'd taken off and set down by her feet when she mentioned that her black box was in there before he looked back up at her. When she was done, he closed his own eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
"I understand."
Vicenta blinked, slightly shocked, then smiled and sighed in relief.
"However…"
Ah. There it was. She winced. The shoe was about to drop…
"Vicenta…" Szayel quirked a brow, "Just how hard would it have been to send a message to my handheld? Or even write one down on paper?"
…Now that she thought about it, it would have taken her all of two seconds to send a text message…
"But Daddy…" Vicenta sighed, looking away and clasping her hands behind her back, "PAPA needed me to recover his black box…"
"…I'll take the blame for your simplemindedness when it comes to one of your experiments…" Szayel muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing heavily. He then looked back up at her and glared, "But you know full well how your mother gets. Do you have any idea how much time I'm going to have to spend calming her? She is already addicted to behavioral medications as it is, Vicenta; I don't want the same to happen with tranquilizers."
"I know…" Vicenta looked at her feet, sighing, "I'm sorry…"
"And to travel into uncharted Vasto Lorde territory!" Szayel went on, standing and pacing back and forth in front of her, "We've so far managed to avoid confrontation with them, but there is a reason we don't head out that far! It is dangerous!"
"I know, I know…" Vicenta all but whimpered, her voice even smaller, "…I wasn't approached by anything stronger than a lesser Adjuchas. And even they didn't get that close…" She offered this, as if it made the situation any better.
When Szayel jerked to a halt, though, and stiffened, she guessed it didn't.
"…That just means that you were spotted by whoever was in command of that territory." Szayel pressed his hand to his forehead and ran it through his hair, a deep scowl on his face, "Shit…"
Vicenta swallowed hard, shifting back and forth.
"…We're teetering on the edge of a very sharp knife, Vicenta." Szayel mumbled, rubbing his temples, "And while I admit that part of me does… relish the thought of going to war once again…" And, indeed, he shuddered, a sick, twisted smile curling on his lips and a heated glaze taking over his eyes for a moment, as if he were deeply aroused. It faded quickly, though, and he stood straight, glancing at her, "That part is trumped by the part that is constantly reminding me that we no longer have the fighting power we used to. We cannot afford mistakes."
Vicenta nodded, standing straight and pressing her arms flat against her sides as she bowed slightly, "I understand, Father. It won't happen again."
"See to it that it doesn't." Szayel nodded, taking his seat again and turning to the side, a thoughtful look crossing his face, "…Oh… and one more thing…"
Vicenta looked up at him, blinking. She did not like the look on his face…
Fun in The Sanctuary~!
Expecting…?
"I'm telling you, it would be a litter of kittens!"
"And I'm telling you, it would be a litter of Hollows!"
Aporro freezes, flipping around and pressing against the wall beside the corner she was about to walk around. She sucks in a breath and gradually dampers her reiatsu, hoping Grimmjow and Vicenta won't notice…
…Which, considering how deep they are in their conversation, they won't.
"…Wait, why are we even talking in litters? What if it's only one child?"
"Because cat-types deliver in litters."
"Yeah, but Hollows deliver in singles."
"No, Hollows are subjective to their type-breed. And because cat is involved, I'm sayin' it'd be a litter."
"Fine, fine, it's a litter, but still… I say kittens."
"And I say Hollows!"
"C'mon, Grimmjow! Can't you be a little less fatalistic?! Can you not imagine how pissed Mom would be if there were a litter of Hollows running around the place?!"
"Yer Mom's gonna be pissed no matter what, Centa, when she finds out we're expecting a litter."
Aporro's blood freezes in her veins and the world swims.
Her Vicenta…?
Pregnant?
Aporro passes out.
Grimmjow and Vicenta look, watching with widened eyes as Aporro topples and collapses.
"…Fuck, I didn't think that her cat knockin' up that Hollow would upset her that much…"