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.
Aporro stood by the senkaimon and watched as the three captains and three seated officers walked through, a wide smile on her face as she (unlike her fellow Arrancar who had come to watch the arrival with her) bowed respectfully.
"Captain Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Ukitake… I cannot begin to express my gratitude towards you for responding to this situation so readily."
"Responding quickly to situations such as these is vital." Byakuya said in his usual monotone, nodding to the woman slightly when she stood straight, "And it is a well known fact that, would the scenario be in reverse, you would respond the exact same way… even if you had to badger and nag your fellows into doing it, Aporro."
Aporro grinned at the noble, snickering. Stuffy bastard though he was, he could have a very amusing sense of humor… A dry one, but one that made Aporro giggle, nonetheless.
It kinda reminded her of Szayel's sense of humor… Minus the pink hair and the fruitiness.
"We don't have time for banter." Hitsugaya cut in, scowling, "Let's get going; ever minute wasted is another the girl is left out there."
Aporro's mood immediately plummeted and her eyes started watering, a thick rasp coating her voice as she nodded and mumbled, "R-Right…"
Hitsugaya noticed her about to cry and his eyes widened, one hand coming up in a defensive maneuver and a lost look crossing his face as if he didn't know how to handle emotions, "Wha… uh… I…"
Beside Aporro, Szayel sighed heavily, "Aporro…"
"'m fine." She said thickly.
"No, let's take you back to the room." Szayel insisted in his smoothly commanding voice, reaching out and setting his hand on her shoulder to direct her to the door.
"I said I'm fine!" Aporro snapped, flinging her hand out and smacking him in the stomach. Pointedly ignoring her mate when he doubled over and hacked, Aporro nodded to the shinigami and gestured to them, "Follow me."
The shinigami watched with quirked brows as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, then followed.
"So, Mrs. …Grantz…" Ichigo began hesitantly.
Aporro instantly turned on him and flashed over, stopping with her face centimeters from his as she hissed, "Don't call me 'Mrs.' anything and make me sound so fucking old!"
Ichigo paled and stared up at her, his eyes wide. On either side of him, Ikkaku and Yumichika remained stationary, and back at the front of the group the captains were silent.
Aporro blinked, then her lips slid back into place over her teeth and she stepped back, her hand flying up to her mouth as she stared at Ichigo in shock, "I… I… Fuck, Ichigo, I'm so sorry!" She sighed and rubbed her arm, glancing off to the side and mumbling, "Lately, I've found myself getting angry over the most irrational things…"
"U-Uh… That's fine… Aporro…?" Ichigo tested, sighing and relaxing slightly when she didn't lunge for his throat, "You're worried about your daughter, I get it. If anything happened to Yuzu or Karin…"
Though he didn't finish his sentence, Aporro nodded like she understood, "Yeah… Family things like this cause stress…"
Ichigo nodded again, then continued his question, "So, who all from here is joining the search party?"
Aporro blinked, then turned and started walking again, speaking as she did, "Tesla, Halibel, Grimmjow and myself."
"So, Szayel has let you carry Barracuda Bicuda for this?" Jushiro blinked, looking down at her hip and noticing the absence of her zanpakuto.
"No." Aporro sighed, shaking her head, "He's still hiding it. I don't need it, though, since we're not planning a full-scale war… Besides…" Her face darkened and her eyes narrowed, a faint purple outline glowing around her body, "I want to tear into that bitch Marccia with my bare hands."
Jushiro frowned but said nothing, glancing at Byakuya and Hitsugaya, instead.
Both captains were already glancing at him; they knew. On top of retrieving Vicenta, the shinigami would also have to keep tabs on Aporro and, if necessary, forcibly subdue her.
Though this should have been viewed as a problem (and, indeed, in formal reports it would be addressed as such), the shinigami knew how she was… and, frankly, they expected no less.
In fact, if they didn't have to forcibly subdue Aporro after this, then they would have been worried.
When they arrived at the front door of the complex, Halibel, Grimmjow and Tesla were already waiting for them, the Arrancar in clean uniforms with their zanpakuto actually strapped to their persons. (Actually, that observation really only applied to Halibel, who was one of the few Arrancar who didn't frequently carry their zanpakuto anymore.)
Aporro nodded to them, then turned to Jushiro, "Your usual room is ready; as soon as Szayel is done being a sissy about a gut shot, he'll be by to discuss your station with you."
Jushiro nodded, "Of course. Good luck."
Aporro smiled, then turned and started to key in the password to the doors.
They were just starting to open when—
"APORRO!"
She twitched and glared down the hall, watching as Szayel turned the corner sharply and stormed over to them, one brow twitching.
"We've been over this." The former Octava hissed, "You are not going."
"Yes, I am." Aporro hissed back, turning to the doors and starting to storm up the stairs.
The shinigami moved to (hesitantly) follow, but blinked when their Arrancar companions just stood on either side of the hall, clearing a path and not moving.
Soon, though, they learned why, and then they, too, were clearing a path to allow Szayel to aim a tranquilizer handgun at his mate's back and fire.
Aporro turned around in a flash, catching the dart between her pointer and index fingers and grinning triumphantly, "Ha!"
Szayel just glared at her flatly and fired off several more rounds.
Aporro's eyes widened and she dodged as many as she could before finally just holding up her arm, four red-fletched darts burying their needles into her skin.
She still threw Szayel a triumphant grin, though, and Szayel blinked when she pointed to the darts in her arm.
"HA!" Aporro barked, bearing her teeth as she grinned, "BOOM, BITCH! TRY AGAIN! I AM IMMUNE TO THESE FUCKERS!"
In a flash, another dart, this one with blue synthetic fletching, nailed her between the eyes, which rolled back into her head as she dropped flat, falling backwards and knocking her head against a step.
"Did you really think something as basic as your immune system would stop me from stopping you?" Szayel murmured pointless with a sigh as he walked over to her prone form, picking her up and turning to Halibel with a nod, "You know where you're going, correct?"
"I do." Halibel nodded, "The section above the Grove of White Trees was originally part of my territory; I know the area well."
"Good." Szayel turned to the shinigami captains, cradling his mate close to his chest as he spoke clearly, "Tesla has communication devices that he will pass out to you when you're above the sands, as they'll malfunction if you try to turn them on down here. They will link you directly to my computer and handheld; should anything go wrong, contact me immediate and I will petition for more assistance from the Seireitei. If all else fails, we can always send Stark out. Even if things go smoothly, contact me in no more than four hours for a status report." Behind him, the doors opened fully and the winds blew in and tore at his hair, preventing them from seeing his eyes, "…Find her. And… good luck…"
The rescue party nodded, then walked past him and to the world of white sand above.
Szayel walked to the bottom of the staircase and turned back, looking up and watching with disheveled hair as they walked out of view and the doors closed behind them.
The reishi barriers turned back on and a heavy oppression that wasn't entirely metaphorical settled over the area.
After a moment, rustling from behind him made Szayel turn back and nod to Jushiro, "Ah, yes… Let's get you settled in, shall we?"
The captain, though, wasn't fooled by his 'cool as a cucumber' charade; he could see the worn look on the former Espada's face and the slight slump in his shoulders as he held Aporro.
"That's fine." Jushiro insisted gently, smiling and holding up his hands, "Aporro said it was my usual room, and I know where that is well enough. You should really get her to bed…"
Szayel paused, then sighed and nodded, "Very well, then… Thank you."
Jushiro just nodded, still smiling, then turned and walked off.
Sighing as the man turned the corner, Szayel looked down at his mate, frowning when she saw how pale she was and how tears were, once again, pouring down her face.
Sometimes, he really couldn't understand how she could be Hollow-like in her rage, yet so human-like in her emotional weakness…
Shaking his head and realizing that, as always, he would have to be emotionally stable enough for both of them, Szayel let a look of utter, cold neutrality slip onto his features as he looked ahead stonily and started to walk back to their room.
His heels clicked with an unnatural loudness against the floors and echoed down the halls, and though he knew they were hardly the only inhabitants of the compound it seemed to emphasize a certain… emptiness.
As if the fact that his daughter no longer stalked the halls as he was so prone to doing had taken a certain life out of the place.
Up until that point, Szayel had been able to ignore it and immerse himself in work, but with his mate curled up weakly against his chest, her tears soaking into his jacket and her body trembling lightly, Szayel suddenly couldn't pretend that it wasn't happening anymore.
While he was, undoubtedly, a Grantz, and thus would be able to hide any… 'emotion'-type things he might feel, he was still forced to acknowledge that something life-changing was going on, and that if the situation worsened then things would no longer be the same.
Being the practical man he was, Szayel was forced to consider how he would deal with things… if his daughter died.
…He could deal with it. Easily.
Being who he was, Szayel was used to watching beings come and go in his life, and knowing what he was he had never really allowed himself to form emotional attachments.
Though he knew that complete neutrality would be impossible in this situation if something did happen to Vicenta, Szayel knew he was perfectly capable of putting on a cold front and dealing with most of what would follow in a neat and orderly fashion.
But Aporro?
No…
No, Aporro was still far too human, would always be far too human.
If something happened to Vicenta, she would be utterly devastated.
Szayel knew that she would fall into a depression so deep that no amount of medication would pull her back out, and short of drugging her into a coma Szayel found himself at an absolute loss as to how he would handle Aporro if things didn't go well…
Szayel already knew he would be wholly powerless to help his mate, and even as a hypothetical thought the situation did not sit well with him at all.
After all, he was Szayel Aporro Grantz; no situation was supposed to be beyond his control when the variables belonged to him.
And his mate definitely belonged to him…
Sighing and shaking his head, Szayel walked into their room and tapped the door closed behind him with the back of his foot, walking over to the bed and laying Aporro out at the foot of it.
He then began to carefully remove the darts from her skin, her clothes quickly following before he procured a first aid kit and started tending to the bloody spots that lined her arm, not to mention the one on her forehead.
When she didn't so much a stir, Szayel quirked a brow and pressed his fingers to her throat, both brows shooting up and his lips pursing when he felt how slow her heart rate was.
Wonderful. He'd drugged her into the early stages of bradycardia…
He'd have to stay up all night making sure her heart didn't stop. Again.
…Well, at least it was something to do. Besides, he would have to remain glued to her hip for awhile as it was to make sure she didn't try to escape and go join the search party.
Fortunately, she was drugged and still had no idea where her zanpakuto was.
Unfortunately, this was Aporro he was going to have to bodily restrain.
…He would have to keep Stark on call.
Shaking his head, Szayel walked over to their dresser and pulled out one of her nightgowns, unzipping it as he walked back over to the bed and easing her up.
When she proved to be more deadweight than he had originally figured, Szayel sighed heavily and hefted her up onto her feet, draping her arms over his shoulders and adjusting her so she was leaning against him.
Struggling slightly, Szayel grabbed her nightgown again and eased it onto her shoulders, carefully working her arms into the sleeves.
When it came to zipping her up, Szayel grasped her collar firmly and tried to do so with one hand… only to have her feet slip between his.
Szayel's eyes widened and he flailed to wrap his arms around her, letting out a rather unscientific 'urk' when her hands caught against his mask and her sudden weight in his not-so-stable grip sent them toppling, her backwards onto the bed and him forwards, right on top of her.
His arms trapped under her body and his waist between her knees, Szayel sighed heavily into her breasts and started squirming, trying to stand.
When the door suddenly opened behind him, he froze and twitched, instantly recognizing the scandalized gasp that followed.
"Szayel!" Illforte exclaimed, a wide grin painfully obvious in his voice, "Are you trying to do your mate when she's drugged again, bro? You know what happened last time!"
Grinding his teeth, Szayel jerked himself upright and turned on his brother, narrowing his eyes threateningly and hissing, "Illforte, if you lie to Aporro about this like you did the last time, she will not be able to save you again. You will have your groin sliced open, and I will prove once and for all that you aren't male."
"I wouldn't threaten me, bro." Illforte snickered, "You know how Aporro likes to be on my side when we fight."
"She's my mate!" Szayel all but whined, "She should be on my side!"
"Well, she's not." Illforte stuck his tongue out.
Szayel twitched and had to fight the overwhelming urge to kick his brother in the shin and then go coddle his mate's prone form petulantly. Oh, how he loathed his older brother…
Still, when he saw the look his older brother was giving Aporro, Szayel turned back to her and finished zipping her gown up, picking her up and moving her to her side of the bed.
"She's fine." He muttered, jerking the blankets up over her body, "She'll just… be sleeping for a while again."
"…You know, you can't solve every problem with her by just drugging her." Illforte snorted, rolling his eyes, "Eventually, you're going to have to be sensitive."
"…It will be a cold day in hell when that happens." Szayel told his brother in a flat, heavy tone, "Now, fuck off." Szayel was one of the few people he would allow himself to be vulgar around when they were alone, because no one would believe the blonde if he decided to blab.
Illforte rolled his eyes again, then turned and walked to the door, waving over his shoulder, "Fine, fine. But when the day comes when she asks you to be more than the slab of cold stone you are, don't say I didn't warn you!"
Szayel glared after his brother, then slipped his shoes off and laid back down with Aporro, pulling her into his arms and glaring off into space with his chin on her head.
Aporro, expect him to express genuine and unadulterated emotion?
Never.
The woman knew who he was and how he was, and she knew full well never to expect him to be any more than forty percent honest with how he actually felt about something.
Even in this sort of situation, she would know better than to expect him to openly sympathize.
Yes, he'd take care of her.
Yes, he'd handle all of the affairs that she usually did but was too emotional to for the moment.
Yes, he'd be there when she broke down…
But him, break down with her?
Unthinkable.
Her, expect him to break down?
Huh-uh.
Szayel, as always, would continue to be the cool, indifferent pillar of strength.
And Aporro would have no problem with it at all.
…Then again… it wouldn't be the first time the woman would have surprised him, Szayel realized with a frown as he looked down at her.
…He just hoped she wouldn't expect him to cry…
Softly, quietly, Aporro sobbed against his chest.
'…Oh, bloody hell.'
Fun in The Sanctuary~!
When Fluff Attacks…!
When Szayel is conscious and neither of them have anything better to do, Aporro loves to take advantage of his aversion to soft moments and make him squeal.
It really is quite an amusing sound…
For example, when Szayel is lounging in the sitting alcove of their room, a book opened on his lap and his mind completely immersed in the pages, Aporro loves to saunter over to him and cuddle close to his side, pulling his arm around her shoulders and nuzzling his chest…
…Because he gets all red-faced and indignant and sputters.
And when he's sitting at his computer, typing intently with his focus shifting between the screen and the notes written on a clipboard, she loves to tiptoe up behind him and wrap her arms around his neck, hugging him softly and whispering endearments into his ear…
…Because he squeaks and squirms in discomfort, sometimes nearly going so far as to throw a halfhearted cero in her direction.
And when he's walking down the hall, looking stressed about the results of a recent experiment, she loves to swing herself around the corner and into his arms, melting against him submissively and pulling him down into a slow and gentle kiss…
…Because he grumbles and 'humph's against her lips, grabbing her sides and trying to push her away before giving in and letting her make him forget why he was stressed to being with.
And when he's laying out in bed on his stomach after a near week-long work binge, she loves to sit on his lower back and hover over his form, her fingers working into the muscles as she smoothes the knots out and makes him groan softly until he passes out, all so she can lay down on top of him and nuzzle between his shoulder blades before pretending to sleep…
…Because, when he wakes and isn't sure if she really is asleep or not, he won't move.
He'll lay there, perfectly still for hours sometimes, and wait for her to 'wake up'.
True, he may grumble and flush with indignation, but the fact that he'll let her rest speaks volumes, and while she won't force him to admit it she also won't let him live it down if it happens to come up in conversation.
She really does love taking advantage of his aversion to fluff…
…Because no matter what he says/how he acts/what he does, she knows he likes it, too, and that just makes her feel all sorts of giddy on the inside.
If anyone has a topic they'd like to suggest for a 'Fun in The Sanctuary~!' episode, please feel free to do so and I'll do my best to write it out. ^.^