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.

Vicenta walked alongside the Thirteenth Division's Captain in dutiful silence, deciding to spare the man one more babbling fool since he already had his hands full trying to calm his two Third Seats.

Sentaro and Kiyone were in the middle of what only could be called a 'compliment war', each trying to outdo the other by paying their captain the most flowery compliments the could on his festival garments.

The poor captain was, as always, trying to placate them, and Vicenta could see regret written all over his face.

He was probably second-guessing himself and thinking he should have simply worn his uniform, instead.

When one of his long-fingered, pale hands flew up to cover his mouth and his face started to turn a light shade of red from the cough he was already suppressing, the young Arrancar decided she'd seen enough.

"What if we don't get there in time and we don't find a good place to sit?" She asked suddenly, sighing when the two Third Seats turned to face her, "Then the Captain would have to sit on a terrace or something, far away from the trees…"

"I'll go save you a seat, Captain!" Sentaro and Kiyone chimed in unison, both zipping off and leaving plumes of dirt lingering in the air in their wake.

Vicenta stared after them flatly, and Jushiro in slight and exasperated shock.

After a moment, the Captain turned to her and smiled, "Ah, thank you, Miss Vicenta… you manage to redirect their competitive tendencies rather well."

"They remind me of my Father's Fraccion." Vicenta said flatly, staring ahead with a blank face, "Only they're marginally smarter…" After a pause, she glanced at the Captain and smirked, "The Fraccion, that is."

Jushiro flinched slightly but still chuckled, shaking his head.

Vicenta giggled, her smirk slightly cruel as her joke was to Sentaro and Kiyone's expense, however the cruel note faded when she looked up at Jushiro worriedly as he covered his mouth and coughed lightly.

"Captain…?"

"I-I'm fine, I'm fine." He waved her off with a disarming smile, "Nothing to worry about."

"If you're already coughing, it'll only get worse if we keep you on your feet." Vicenta remarked, frowning, "And you using shunpo won't help considering you'd still exert the same amount of energy. I should carry you…"

"Really, Miss Vicenta, that isn't necessary!" Jushiro assured, holding up both hands now, "I assure you, I'll be just fine."

"Neeeeh, Jushiro, you should let the girl help if she wants!"

The Captain and the Arrancar stopped, glancing back as the Eighth Division Captain walked up to them, a playfully amused grin on his face.

"It'd be pretty hilarious to see Little Centa carrying you on her back." Shunsui finished, chuckling before flinching slightly when his Lieutenant smacked his arm with her book.

"Really, Captain, show a bit more concern." Nanao snapped, turning to Jushiro worriedly, "Captain Ukitake, perhaps you shou—"

"I'm fine." He assured both women firmly, his smile never fading, "Really."

Vicenta stared at the shinigami with a fathomless expression, then let her gaze slip to the side and muttered, "Fine."

The four fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Shunsui broke it by speaking up in his slightly booming but deep voice, "Miss Vicenta, you look lovely this evening! My Cute Little Nanao said she helped you find something, but I hadn't expected this vision before me!"

Vicenta twitched and flushed, looking down at herself and mumbling, "It's confining, limiting, and utterly impractical in a work environment…" But she still liked it. Quickly, she looked up at Nanao and muttered, "Sorry…"

"It's fine." The Lieutenant sighed, adjusting her glasses, "I find I agree with you, however as we don't really move much for these sorts of events I think you'll come to see it works out just fine." With that, the woman walked on ahead, Vicenta falling into place behind her and leaving the captains to trail behind.

When they arrived at the Kuchiki manor, Vicenta stared around in wide-eyed shock.

Because the gathering was taking place at an unusual time (close to nightfall), the corner of the grounds that the sakura viewing was being held in was lined with lanterns. Several dark red paper lanterns were even dangling in the flowering trees, themselves, and coupled with the sunset, it gave the effect that the branches of the cherry trees were burning with a pink fire.

Elevated platforms with cushioned seats and thick blankets were spread out underneath and around the trees.

Several notes of a dry but delicate twang floated through the air, all coming, Vicenta observed, from a young woman dressed in rich, silk robes fitting a courtier who was plucking away at a stringed zither instrument laid out in front of her.

From what Vicenta could tell, a majority of the guests were higher-ranking, seated officers, several of whom had come in their shihakusho. The only splashes of colorful clothing were worn by the present captains and lieutenants, and even amongst them a few had chosen their shihakusho.

Vicenta suddenly felt stupid and tried to stand behind Nanao, not wanting to be seen and missing her Arrancar uniform immensely.

If only two certain Third Seats hadn't spilled her suitcase…

Even as she thought of them, Sentaro and Kiyone noticed them from their place beneath a blooming tree slightly to the side of the festivities, near a large white wall, and stood, waving to them frantically.

Behind her, Shunsui and Jushiro chuckled and sighed, walking past the two women and weaving their way through the blankets and people.

Nanao followed her Captain immediately and dutifully, leaving Vicenta to straggle slightly and argue with herself before she finally just tucked her head and took off after the Lieutenant frantically.

And as she wandered through the blankets and people, Vicenta was suddenly and painfully aware of just what she was and how some of these people saw her; several of those who glanced at her took one look at her mask and sneered, while others huddled closer and whispered while stealing 'covert' glances.

Alienated.

While she knew, in the back of her mind, that she had friends in Jushiro, Shunsui and Nanao, foremost in her mind was a suffocating feel of isolation. A knowing that while the others around her were humanoid as she was, they were two entirely separate species and she was utterly surrounded.

Instinct made her stomach pitch and she nervously craved soul (like some macabre comfort food), her fingers twitching and itching to grab at Gavilan Pintado to sate a primal urge to feel safe.

This feeling was in strong juxtaposition with how she felt in the Twelfth Division, and she suddenly knew why, no matter how she and Mayuri butted heads, she felt so at ease there; none of the scientists cared what species she was.

The Twelfth Division was a patchwork of humanoid shinigami, some of whom, other being bipedal and possessing opposable thumbs, didn't look even remotely human, like the amphibious Hiyosu. Or who looked human but had a few mutations, like the horned Akon.

With them, what she and what they were didn't matter. There was no 'us' or 'them'.

Out in the rest of the Seireitei, though, there was plenty of animosity… And Vicenta was starting to realize just how much the Twelfth Division had been sheltering her from this knowledge.

And, unable to bring herself to feel properly ashamed for it, Vicenta found herself actually missing the Twelfth Division Captain.

Of course, she missed her mother, her father, her lab, her Fraccion, Stark, Lilinette, Halibel, Illforte, Cirucci, Wonderweiss, Tesla, and that asshole mate of hers far more than she missed Mayuri. However, at the moment Mayuri appearing was far more realistic than any of her fellow Arrancar, so her mind was locked on him.

When they finally arrived at the blankets Sentaro and Kiyone had laid out for them (one red one over one blue one, both at odd angles since neither of them had been able to come to an agreement on which angle provided the best view to the rest of the party and the trees at the same time), Vicenta sat on the other side of Shunsui, who had sat on near the furthest side of the blankets.

She hoped that, by doing this, she would be able to hide her small self behind his hulking frame and, thus, avoid the cold stares she could sill feel being directed at her…

"Kiddo?"

Vicenta's eyes flew up to meet Shunsui's, a smile planting itself on her lips automatically when she saw his worried frown, "Yes, Captain?"

Shunsui's frown deepened, "Are you alright?"

"Fine!" Vicenta had to hold back a wince when she realized she'd answered a bit too quickly, opting, instead, to pause for a second before going on calmly, "I'm just not a big party person, unlike my mother…"

The captain frowned, as if he didn't really believe her, but didn't press and nodded, turning back to his left when someone started talking to him.

Vicenta sighed, relieved, then flinched when she felt even more attention being directed at her from all around, most likely due to the fact that she was conversing so easily with a captain.

She wanted to go home…

Feeling an odd solace in that thought, Vicenta lowered her head and sighed, closing her eyes.

She wanted to go home, she wanted to go home, she wanted to go home…

She wanted to deal with her pain-in-the-ass mate.

She wanted her mother to have to scream at her for something.

She wanted to suffer the annoyance that came with her father hovering and watching her work.

She wanted to be back in an environment she knew, an environment she could control, an environment where if anyone wanted to kill her it wasn't because of her race, but rather simply out of a primal need to obtain dominance.

She wanted to feel Gavilan Pintado's weaved pommel in her hands, its silver wired basket hilt brushing her knuckles, that connection that came with being in contact with that part of her primal self…

Damn it, she wanted—

"Spawn, calm yourself down. You're making the underlings nervous."

Vicenta's eyes snapped open and she hissed softly at the sudden invasion of bright light, her head tipping up regardless so she could look up at Mayuri.

The captain, in his usual attire as one would expect of him, stared down at her flatly before letting out a long, disappointed sigh and sitting himself across from her and Shunsui, not even waiting to be invited. Just to his right, Nemu, also in her uniform, quickly ran her hands down her knees before sitting, as well, sitting up straight and holding her spine erect.

"Mayuri!" Shunsui greeted jovially, grinning and offering the captain a saucer, "Isn't this a pleasant surprise! Come, come, have something to drink."

"That is Captain Kurotsuchi." Mayuri corrected snippily, not even acknowledging the sake and, instead, staring into Shunsui's face stonily, "And thank you, but no."

Shunsui chuckled, shrugging, then downed the saucer, himself. Beside him, Jushiro turned his attention to the two Kurotsuchis and smiled.

"I didn't expect to see you two here! You almost never come to social events…"

"Well, considering this event stole the attention of one of my underlings, I came to see just what she was so interested in." Mayuri's eyes swept the scene, a sneer twisting on his lips and making his nose scrunch, "Frankly, I'm not impressed with her tastes."

Incredulous and oddly elated, Vicenta was about to automatically snap at him when someone beat her to it.

"It is hardly polite, Captain Kurotsuchi, to not only show up late to a social event, but to also insult the event on the night of and on the host's property."

Slowly, the young Arrancar turned to look up at the regal figure of Byakuya Kuchiki, her eyes widening slightly. Aside from his commanding presence and piercing gaze, the man's reiatsu was impressive.

Beyond being clearly massive but very well concealed, only the very tip of the iceberg allowed to be felt, it was trained and honed to the point where she could almost see its fine edges, like a cut diamond.

While the other captains had gone though lengths to nearly completely compress their presences, the Kuchiki lord had done so while still making his evident enough for others to know exactly who he was.

The noble had no qualms with displaying his title, it seemed.

Noticing the young Arrancar looking at him, Byakuya turned his attention away from glaring at Mayuri and nodded to her, "Miss Vicenta Acere, a pleasure to see you could made it."

"Captain Kuchiki," Vicenta stood, turning towards him and bowing slightly, "Thank you for your invitation." Despite the fact that there were no noble families in Hueco Mundo, Szayel had impressed that, for the sake of the peace, all Arrancar treat ranked shinigami accordingly.

Still, even if her father hadn't said it, Vicenta probably would have found herself bowing to him, anyway. She was simply that sort of person.

When she straightened, Byakuya inclined his head again, then frowned at her, "Is your mother coming?"

Vicenta couldn't help smirking slightly. Her mother had a habit of crashing the captain's parties… "Not that I'm aware, sir. Then again…" She shrugged, "You know how she is."

A small, small muscle beneath the black-haired captain's eye twitched and he nodded slowly, understanding completely, "Yes…"

Vicenta flinched but snickered.

"Byakuya!" Shunsui spoke up suddenly, waving his jug of sake in a way that was probably supposed to be inviting and grinning at the captain, "Join us why don't you? Take the edge off after having to greet everyone."

"No." Was the noble's flat answer. He didn't make it a point to put on any frills or add any politeness.

Vicenta supposed that the phrase "Familiarity breeds contempt" was quite true among humanoids; she'd never really noticed, considering Arrancar were contemptuous no matter how well you knew them…

Suddenly, Byakuya and Mayuri tensed, their eyes snapping back over to the entrance.

Vicenta blinked, then glanced, as well, her eyes widening when she did.

Two heads of pink walked into the courtyard side by side, one somewhat reluctant and the other pulling the first along with confidence, as if it owned the place.

Predictably enough, the second head of pink belonged to Vicenta's mother, Aporro dragging along a seemingly unwilling Szayel as she effortlessly weaved her way through the trees, blankets and shinigami.

On top of sporting a wide grin, Aporro was also wearing a fine, slick kimono of an eye-catching blue, both shoulders and the fold above her feet painted with designs of delicate flowers and leaves, accented sharply by flying white cranes.

Though she managed to blend in slightly, her pink hair aside, Szayel was what caught the initial attention of those around him, the former Octava wearing one of his pristine and neatly pressed uniforms.

What made almost all movement in the area cease, though, was Aporro spotting Byakuya, raising her hand and waving once, her pinky and ring fingers curling in slightly towards her palm as she shouted, "Yo, Kuchiki!"

…Where before Vicenta wanted to disappear because she felt uncomfortably suffocated, she now wanted to disappear out of humiliation.

And, indeed, she did curl in on herself slightly, burying her face in her hands and groaning.

Parents could be so embarrassing.

Fun in The Sanctuary~!

Why Szayel Isn't Allowed to Teach…

"Alright, class, today we will be learning about reproduction." Szayel says with a bright, cheery smile as he heads to the front of his 'class'.

"Che, you hardly look like the kind to be teachin' us 'bout this shit…" Kenpachi Zaraki grumbles from his too-small desk, arms crossed petulantly over his chest and his legs spread as he practically engulfs the small writing table in front of him with his massive hakama. Damn the Captain-Commander for making him come to this…

Szayel's smile twitches slightly and, out of habit rather than functionality, he 'adjusts' his glasses, "I assure you I am more than an expert at this topic."

"Che, sure, maybe the biology of it." Ikkaku grunts, smirking slightly, "But I betcha you don't know a thing about the practice."

"Now, Ikkaku, don't be crude." Yumichika chuckles, tossing his head slightly in a peacock-like display to grab more attention as he speaks, "I'm sure Professor Grantz has practiced quite a bit on himself…"

Illforte twitches, wondering whose fucked-up idea this little venture was…

Szayel twitches again and his eyes narrow slightly before he turns to the whiteboard behind him, starting to write, "Now, what makes reproduction between souls so much more unique than the reproduction that takes place between humans—"

"Practiced on herself? You mean chicks can do that?"

"…Is the fact that, unlike humans, who are all merely recycled souls, the offspring that can result between the mating of two souls—"

"No, Ikkaku, himself. Himself. Professor Grantz is male."

The whiteboard pen squeaks loudly and makes a bold streak before it moves on, "…Is a brand new soul, one that has never been through the cycle of reincarnation. This is possible because—"

"You fuckin' serious?!" A barking laugh, "Hell, Yumichika, you're manlier than he is!!"

Hanataro flushes.

Cirucci bites her lip hard to hold back a giggle.

Vicenta lowers her head in shame.

The felt tip of the marker is forcibly pushed back into the capsule, making the plastic leave a long, proud scratch on the whiteboard as the no longer steady hand guiding it twitches violently. "…Because souls are compose of nothing but reishi."

"Why, thank you, Captain… I suppose…"

"I mean, fuck, even his waist is all thin and girly!! And look at those hands!!"

Said hands clench, long, artistic fingers making the walk crack and the marker shatter.

Rukia, who has been taking extensive notes, looks up with a worried face, though guilty amusement burns in her eyes. Beside her, Orihime nearly has her whole hand shoved into her mouth to muffle her giggles.

"And just look at that as—"

"Alright, you uncouth, vile cretins, we all get it!" Szayel roars, spinning around and looking at the troublemakers in his glass with a sadistic gleam in his eyes and a wide, strained grin splitting his face, "Yes, I am effeminate!! Now, shut your disease-ridden oral cavities before you become part of today's lesson pla—"

Abruptly, a long, lithe arm latches onto Szayel's waist and his mate sets her chin on his shoulder, ignoring the look he gives her as she grins at the class, "Yeah, ya know what? My bitch is fuckin' girly, ain't he? However, while I may top when I tap this ass every night, I assure you…" She slaps Szayel's hip loudly, "I'm the one who receives, and he is always quite generous… Now, Szayel, get in your seat."

Szayel stumbles forward as he's pushed, barely managing to grab a desk and swing himself into a chair as Aporro takes his place and pulls out a collapsible silver pointer, elongates it and makes the entire class jump when she slaps the whiteboard with it.

Aporro grins sadistically, "Alright, bitches, today we're gonna learn about sex…"

…Then again, Aporro really isn't much better, is she?