Underneath the false sky of Las Noches, Yylfordt Granz limped towards his brother's palace, his body weighed down by his leader and Espada (likely ex-Espada if Aizen was as angry with him as he assumed), Grimmjow. The Fraccion had managed to stop the bleeding where his king's arm had been severed by cauterizing the wound with a weak Bala, and they were now making their way towards Szayel Aporro's palace to have their wounds properly healed. Grimmjow groaned as his feet were dragged across the sleek white marble floors, refusing to let himself pass out from pain and show weakness, no matter how much it hurt. He refused to give his only remaining Fraccion another reason to think he was unworthy. After all, who wanted to follow a weak king who couldn't even protect his subjects, let alone stand up to a tyrant? Yylfordt grunted as he picked up the pace. They were almost at the entrance to his brother's lab.
"Come on Grimmjow, we're almost there.", Yylfordt said in an attempt to comfort him. Grimmjow moaned in pain.
"Yylfordt… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left without you, but Tousen- ", the blue haired Arrancar started to apologize. Yylfordt cut him off with a sharp look, his red eyes glinting.
"Don't even start. You have nothing to apologize for. I know you wouldn't have left me or the others unless you didn't have a choice. If anything, getting left behind was my own fault because I wasn't able to win my battle. But my opponent was strong. You should have seen her fight.", Yylfordt said nostalgically. Grimmjow glanced at him, confused.
"Again with this 'she' stuff. Who are you talking about? Your opponent?", Grimmjow asked, and Yylfordt was about to answer him, but he was cut off when the doors to Szayel's laboratory slammed open.
"GRIMMJOW JAEGERJAQUEZ! YOU BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD EXPLANATION FOR WHAT YOU DID!", the Octava Espada screamed at the top of his lungs, righteous brotherly fury burning in his golden eyes. Grimmjow winced. It was clear the eighth Espada had been told about his misadventure in the human world… and he obviously wasn't happy about it.
"Here we fucking go… ", he grumbled. Just the thing he needed, dealing with an angry Szayel on top of a missing arm. Yylfordt winced at his younger brother's loud tone.
"Brother, please.", he pleaded, but Szayel wasn't listening. He marched over the threshold of the large white double doors and pointed his finger at Grimmjow.
"Invading the human world without permission?! Dragging my brother along with you?! Getting almost all your Fraccion killed?! And for what?! Some stupid codpiece measuring contest with Ulquiorra?! Yylfordt could have died! I thought he had died when I heard the news, but thankfully I had the good fortune to be proven wrong! And now look at you! No arm, almost no Fraccion, facing a possible demotion! How could you let yourself become this pathetic over a stupid one-sided rivalry?!", Szayel yelled furiously. Usually, the man was controlled and sly, but now that his only family had been threatened, he was letting loose the legendary temper very few knew he had. Yylfordt gasped at his brother's hurtful words.
"Szayel!", he hissed at the pink haired scientist. Usually, he and his brother were on good terms. Grimmjow had been the protector of his and the rest of his Fraccion's little pack when they were still Gillians and Adjuchases, and had been the one who made sure Yylfordt had survived long enough to be reunited with his brother that death had separated him from. Szayel was always grateful to him for that, but that didn't stop the man from going off at his brother's leader every time he did something he perceived as out of line. Szayel may have been the younger brother, but he was definitely the more protective one. Szayel laughed derisively at his brother's protest.
"What? It's not like I'm saying things that aren't true! Some king you are! For a king is nothing without subjects, and you clearly have none. Well, aside from Yylfordt, but he'll stay with you for very long given that you abandoned him- ", Szayel continued to say mockingly, and Yylfordt gave him a fierce glare.
"Szayel Aporro Granz! You shut your mouth! You may outrank me now, but that won't stop me from giving you a piece of my mind! Grimmjow had no choice but to leave me in the human world! He was forced to by Tousen! And as for the rest of his mistakes, he doesn't need you rubbing salt in the wound! Need I remind you that he didn't just lose his Fraccion, he lost his pack. Shawlong and the others had been with us since before Aizen, and now they're all gone. So if you could please shut up, heal him and let him rest, that would be most appreciated.", Yylfordt growled at his younger brother. Szayel stared at him in bewilderment, not used to be snapped at by his usually easy-going brother. Eventually, the Scientist of Las Noches got over his surprise and began to look ashamed of his actions
"Very well, if that is what you wish… my apologies, Grimmjow. I… I forgot myself.", Szayel said awkwardly as he pushed up his mask fragment, which took the shape of bone-white glasses on his face. Grimmjow, who had just sat there and took the punishment Szayel had dished out with uncharacteristic calm, just grunted in response without meeting his eyes.
"It's okay. It's the least I deserve.", Grimmjow told him. His words only made Szayel even more ashamed.
"Come inside.", Szayel said, before turning on his heels and walking back towards his lab. Yylfordt continued to carry Grimmjow, this time having to walk faster than before to keep up with the Octava's long strides. After a bit more pained limping, the pair of injured Arrancar arrived at the infirmary room Szayel kept in his lab. Yylfordt deposited Grimmjow onto one of the many beds in the room and took a seat on the one beside him, taking a moment to catch his breath. Normally carrying someone would be easy for him, but after his fight with Valentina he had been running on empty. Szayel pulled up a chair from a nearby desk and sat in between his brother and his fellow Espada. He reached out and examined Grimmjow's burned stump, frowning in concentration.
"You did the right thing, cauterizing the wound. If you hadn't, he likely would've bleed out before you got halfway across Las Noches. No matter how much pressure you would have put on it.", Szayel remarked clinically, clearly talking to his brother. Grimmjow shot Szayel an irritated look.
"I'm right here, ya know.", the blue haired man reminded him. Szayel glanced at him and chuckled.
"There's the great, brash Sexta we all know and love.", the golden eyed man joked as he began to use a healing technique similar to what the official healers of Las Noches used on his stump, his hands glowing as they did so. Grimmjow snorted bitterly.
"Soon-to-be ex-Sexta, in case you've forgotten. After what I did, Aizen'll probably have my tattoo burned off and demote me to Primera, at least for a little while. He'll likely replace me with that bastard Luppi. Fucker's been sniffing around an Espada seat for years.", Grimmjow speculated callously. He could live with being demoted for a month or so. Even with just one arm, he knew he could kill Luppi with ease and get his post back. It would just be a matter of waiting for the right opportunity. Szayel raised at eyebrow at his insightful prediction.
"And what makes you think Aizen won't just kill you outright?", Szayel said, dropping the usual 'Lord' everyone was forced to attach to Aizen's name. It was the Arrancars' secret sin. Almost no one called him 'Lord' unless they were in his presence or in the presence of one of his genuine supporters, like Zommari or Tousen. Calling the man 'Lord' without absolutely needing to was a sign of respect, and almost no one in Hueco Mundo would ever willingly respect Sousuke Aizen. Grimmjow laughed bitterly.
"He won't kill me, he needs all the manpower he can get for this stupid war of his, but he will try to humiliate me in every way possible. What I did went against his orders, and as we all know, Lord Aizen doesn't tolerate insubordination.", Grimmjow spat out angrily. Szayel gave him a sympathetic glance as he continued healing his arm.
"Careful Grimmjow, that sounds like treason.", the pink haired Arrancar warned.
He and the majority of Las Noches felt the same way as Grimmjow towards Aizen. He was an outsider. A Shinigami trying to play god and rule over people who were not his to rule over. A man who wanted to use Hollows as chess pieces with no regard for their lives or customs. An unworthy king. But also like the rest of Las Noches, Szayel was too weak to do anything about the situation. He was an academic, not a fighter, and he had a feeling that even if all of Las Noches teamed up against Aizen in a rebellion, they would still lose. So they kept their heads down, did as they were told, and tried to make the best of things, even when things were awful. But Grimmjow had always been a firebrand to Aizen's regime, and he wasn't about to stop now. In fact, the deaths of his Fraccion had seemed to light a fire in him that wasn't there before. Grimmjow ground his teeth and snarled at Szayel.
"If telling the truth is treason, then I guess I'm fucking guilty. Come on Szayel, you can't seriously be okay with this! Being soldier-slaves to some smirking Shinigami on a throne! We used to be free! Sure, we were weaker and a little less sentient, but we were free! And now look at us. We're puppets on Aizen's strings, ready to be used and discarded at the drop of a hat. Just like… just like Shawlong and the others were. Just like I let them be.", Grimmjow said, his words starting out passionate and loud, before turning quiet and sad the more his rant went on. All the anger left Grimmjow's face and was replaced with grief at the mention of his fallen comrades. He buried his face in his only remaining hand.
"God Szayel, what happened to us? How did we get here? How did I get to a point where I was willing to put my entire pack in danger to get one over on Aizen in the only way I knew how? It wasn't even about Ulquiorra. Not really. Even if his 'I have no emotions' schtick really pisses me off.", Grimmjow muttered to the pink haired scientist who was still healing his stump. Szayel gave him a look that was filled with a haunted amount of empathy and resignation.
"I don't know, Grimmjow. I really don't know. But there's no use dwelling on the past. All we can do is keep moving forward, try to survive and hope we don't outlive our usefulness.", Szayel said, saying the words with the haunting familiarity of a man who had had to say those words to himself everyday when he looked in the mirror.
'That's not living, that's just existing.', Grimmjow wanted to say as he lifted his head from his hand, but he knew Szayel was far from in the mood for more depressing conversation, so he kept his opinion to himself.
'Then again, no one really lives in Hueco Mundo. We're all just surviving. Existing. Trying to survive other Hollows. Trying to survive Shinigami. Trying to survive the never-ending hunger in our souls. Trying to survive Aizen and his whims. If I was more of a pussy, I probably would have killed myself by now.', Grimmjow mused, and Szayel's hands stopped glowing white as he finished healing him.
"I've restored most of the skin on what's left of your arm. Obviously, without the severed appendage I won't be able to reattach it. Do you have it somewhere else or… ?", Szayel trailed off. Grimmjow brushed some dirt off his white jacket.
"Tousen destroyed it with a Kido when he cut it off. Wanted to make sure the punishment would stick.", Grimmjow informed him, and Szayel's already present frown deepened. The two of them wouldn't admit it to anyone (they couldn't, in a place like Las Noches), but they did care about each other in a way similar to how Grimmjow cared about his Fraccion. It was why seeing Grimmjow in his current situation upset Szayel more than a bit, but ever the king of concealing his emotions, Szayel kept his negative reaction at the news to a minimum.
"Normally, I would offer to make you a prosthetic, but I doubt Tousen or Aizen would allow it given the circumstances. Are you sure you're going to be alright? The arm you lost is the one you hold Pantera with. Not having may make fighting difficult for you.", Szayel asked, concern lacing his voice. Grimmjow shot him a glare and scoffed at what he perceived as pity.
"I can hold my sword with my left hand just as well as I could with my right. So if you're done playing catch-up with me, you might wanna finish up here and go heal your brother.", Grimmjow said with steel in his voice, and Szayel sighed. There was no talking to Grimmjow when he got all defensive like this.
"If you say so. Yylfordt, do you require any medical assistance?", Szayel asked as he turned to look at his brother, who had remained quiet during his and Grimmjow's conversation, staring off into space with a contemplative expression. When he heard his name, however, he snapped out of his daze and shook his head at Szayel.
"Uh, no not really. I mean, I don't have anything as serious as Grimmjow. All she gave me was a few bruises and cuts.", Yylfordt responded, and Grimmjow scowled at him in confusion.
"That doesn't sound right. Those Shinigami were fighting to kill. Your injuries should be worse.", Grimmjow remarked. For all his brash behaviors and love of fighting, he could be very intelligent and observant when it came to those close to him. Yylfordt gave the Espada a crooked half-smile.
"I know, they should. But they aren't. Because unlike the others, she was kind. She was never aiming to kill. She beat me, and then she… she let me go.", Yylfordt revealed, and both Szayel and Grimmjow's eyes widened in shock.
"Your opponent let you live? To do what? Send a message about their strength? That they could kill us all if they wanted to but don't want to expend the energy on 'monsters like us'? That's not like the Shinigami.", Szayel speculated disbelievingly.
Hollows didn't know too much about the Shinigami (their knowledge consisted mostly of how they fought, how their powers worked and what their uniforms looked like), but one thing every Hollow knew was that Shinigami despised them. To them, they were monsters that ate souls and harmed the innocent, even if most Hollows never left the safety of Hueco Mundo to chance finding a meal in the human world or Soul Society, places that were usually crawling with Shinigami, and would rather resort to cannibalism to avoid them. Shinigami hated Hollows and killed them all indiscriminately, so hearing that one had willingly spared an Arrancar was shocking to say the least. Yylfordt shook his head at his brother's words.
"That's the thing, I don't think she was a Shinigami. Originally, I was fighting this red haired Shinigami and this freakishly strong little girl who showed up halfway through the fight to back him up, when she appeared and demanded I fight her. She had no idea what was going on and no idea what I was. She could see me, but… she was human.", Yylfordt started to explain, shocking the two Espada in front of him even more.
"A human?! Are you serious?!", Grimmjow blanched. How had a human defeated his strongest Fraccion?! Szayel, meanwhile, was both shocked and intrigued.
'A human defeated Yylfordt. Just what kind of powers does this human possess to make her capable of doing that?', Szayel wondered, and Yylfordt nodded at Grimmjow.
"Yes, a human. But you have to understand, she wasn't an ordinary human.", Yylfordt said, and Grimmjow raised an eyebrow.
"How so?", he asked. Yylfordt chuckled as she recalled the first things Valentina said to him.
"Well for starters, she interrupted my battle with the red haired to cuss me out in Spanish. She had some really creative insults.", Yylfordt said, amusement in his voice as he remembered Valentina's angry face yelling up at him from the ground outside of the Urahara Shoten. He had understood what she was saying because he, as well as every Hollow capable of speech, spoke Spanish as well. It was the first language of Hueco Mundo… before Aizen came along and banned its use because he didn't want people talking behind his back or plotting treason in a language he didn't understand. Szayel nodded at his brother to continue his story.
"Okay, and then what?", he asked. Yylfordt thought about what had happened.
"After cussing me out, she demanded I fight her. At first I laughed at her. She was a human and sure she could see me, but she didn't feel all that powerful at the time. I agreed anyway though, since Grimmjow had given me orders to kill anyone with any spiritual pressure. I thought it would be an easy kill… boy was I wrong. The fight was easy for me at first. I probably could have killed her then, but… fighting her was fun. And she had this attitude about how she fought that I didn't want to see go away, so I let the fight get dragged out. I released my Resurrección, but I still went easy on her. All she had to fight with was an old beat-up sword that wasn't even a Zanpakuto, so what damage could she do? Then I pointed out to her why she couldn't win against me; her sword wasn't a spirit weapon, so it couldn't cut through my Hierro, and she didn't have the ability to use Sonido or any other speed technique, so she couldn't keep up with me. She told me fat chance she was going to let that stop her and asked me to give her ten minutes to figure out how to manipulate her reiatsu so she could perform those techniques. I agreed, not seeing the harm in it.", Yylfordt explained, telling the story of his and Valentina's fight as best as he could. Grimmjow groaned and face-palmed when Yylfordt told him he agreed to give Valentina time to learn reiatsu manipulation.
"Yylfordt, you dumbass! What was the first thing I taught you?! Don't give your opponent a chance to get the upper hand, no matter how small! And what did you do? You went and did just that! Fucking hell man, you know better than that!", Grimmjow said exasperatedly, and Yylfordt shot him an annoyed glare.
"Don't get mad at me! She was a human with no powers at the time, I thought I had the fight in the bag! Honestly, the only reason I agreed was because I was starting to like her. She was spunky and fun and was really great at banter. I just wanted an excuse to keep talking to her.", Yylfordt admitted with an embarrassed blush. Szayel chuckled at his brother's mortified state.
"Aw, big brother has a crush!", he teased. Yylfordt turned his glare onto him.
"Sh-shut up!", he stammered bashfully. Grimmjow rolled his eyes at the display.
'Why do I spend time with these two?', the blue haired Arrancar thought exasperatedly.
"Okay, she was hot, we get it. Now can you tell us the rest of what happened?", Grimmjow urged, and Yylfordt regained his composure.
"Right, sorry. Anyways, I gave her the ten minutes and she started thinking. A few minutes later, she suddenly starts freaking out and talking to people that aren't there. She was acting like a new Gillian. I don't remember exactly what she was saying, but she was confused and upset. I didn't really know what to do since she didn't seem capable of fighting anymore, so… I kind of offered to leave and come back later when she had a better hold on herself.", Yylfordt admitted reluctantly, knowing what Grimmjow's reaction would be. The man groaned yet again.
"Are you fucking serious?! That girl better be a fucking bombshell for you to be so nice to her.", Grimmjow complained.
'Oh trust me, she is.', Yylfordt thought privately, resisting the urge to blush at his intrusive thought.
"Anyway, the girl eventually got a hold of herself and was able to fight again. This time, though… she had awakened a Zanpakuto, and her spiritual pressure was through the roof. I'm talking as big as an Espada's.", Yylfordt revealed, and Grimmjow and Szayel looked shocked once again.
"But you said she wasn't a Shinigami!", Szayel said, and Yylfordt nodded.
"I did, and she isn't. She just… has the powers of one, or powers similar to one I think. Powers that she used to beat me. And her reiatsu felt different from normal Shinigami's. There was some Hollow reiatsu in there, just enough for it to be noticeable.", Yylfordt explained, and Grimmjow's eyes widened a fraction.
'Hollow and Shinigami… just like Kurosaki… ', the blue eyed Arrancar thought, images of the orange haired boy that he fought in the world of the living flooding his brain. Szayel, meanwhile, looked like Christmas had come early.
'A human girl with Shinigami and Hollow reiatsu? How fascinating! And she has the spiritual pressure of an Espada! I've never heard of such a being, aside from that Kurosaki fellow Ulquiorra reported on. Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to run some tests on either of them… ', Szayel thought whimsically, the scientist in him becoming very gleeful at the thought of such intriguing test subjects. Yylfordt ignored the looks on their faces and continued with his story.
"After she awoke her powers, I started putting up an actual fight, but she was stronger. She took me down in minutes and pierced my Resurrección's armor with ease. She had her blade to my neck. She could have killed me… but she didn't. She told me she had never been able to bring herself to kill anyone, and she wasn't about to start now. She told me to get out of there before other Shinigami's came, and that's what I did. But not before thanking her. If it hadn't been for her interfering with my fight with the redhead and making herself my opponent, I might not be here. That guy was a regular Shinigami, so I doubt he would've been merciful. She saved my life by wanting to kick my ass, as hilarious as that is.", Yylfordt finally finished, gratitude and warmth shining in his red eyes. Szayel and Grimmjow just stared at him.
'Just what the hell kind of girl did he fight?', the two of them thought. Grimmjow sighed and leaned back on the bed.
"If that really is the case and spared you for no reason other than to be nice, then I owe her a debt. She's the reason I still have at least one Fraccion. For that, she deserves something.", Grimmjow said. Hollows were ruthless beings, but if they felt genuinely indebted to someone, they wouldn't rest until that debt was paid. Mostly because they didn't like being trapped by ambiguous I-owe-you's. Unlike what the Shinigami's liked to believe, they had at least some honor. Szayel nodded in agreement with his fellow Espada's words.
"I'm indebted to her as well. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have a brother anymore. Yylfordt, did you catch the name of the girl you fought? If you tell us her name, we'll be able to find her more easily so we can repay her when the time is right.", Szayel said, and Yylfordt smiled.
"Of course I did. Her name is Valentina de la Rosa.", Yylfordt answered. Grimmjow engraved the name into his mind and tucked his remaining arm under his head and he closed his eyes. Szayel blinked at the name.
"Valentina de la Rosa, huh? Sounds like an Arrancar name.", the pink haired man mused. Grimmjow exhaled softly as he thought about the intriguing mystery girl that he was quickly starting to think was more interesting than Kurosaki. The Sexta grinned.
'Well Miss Valentina de la Rosa, looks like you've got two Espada and a Fraccion indebted to you. Let's see how you handle it.', he thought, before opening his eyes and sitting up again.
"I'll try to convince Aizen to put you and me on the next mission to the human world, Yylfordt. We can try to find this Valentina girl and repay our debt while we're there. I'm assuming you won't be using the same tactic, Szayel.", Grimmjow said. Szayel chucked at his accurate observation.
"Oh no, absolutely not. A combat mission to the human world? I'd be eaten alive! I'm under no illusion that my fighting skills are beyond subpar. But if you find the girl while you're there, tell her who I am and that if she ever needs a scientist, I'm the one to go to.", Szayel said somewhat self-deprecatingly. Yylfordt rolled his eyes at his brother's humble words.
"He says that like he's not stronger than me.", the blonde Arrancar grumbled. Unfortunately for him, Szayel heard him and whipped his head around to glare at him.
"You hush.", he scolded him. Yylfordt glared at him.
"It was a compliment!", the Fraccion retorted. The two brothers then proceeded to bicker like the siblings they were, while Grimmjow laid back down on the bed and tried to get some rest. He let the sounds of the two Granz brothers' venomless barbs and retorts drown out the thoughts of his fallen Fraccion that had been haunting him all day. Grimmjow let out a sigh as he thought about the girl that he was now indebted to, and the powerful spiritual pressure he felt during his fight with Kurosaki that he now knew belonged to her.
'Valentina de la Rosa, huh? I wonder what kind of person she is… clearly someone interesting. I wonder if she'll agree to fight me if I ask nicely enough.', Grimmjow wondered as he felt himself drifting off to sleep, unidentifiable images of a girl he had never met floating through his head as darkness greeted him.
Here you all are! A chapter dedicated entirely to Hueco Mundo, just like I promised! I tried to balance angst with the stuff that was necessary for the plot and giving you guys a feel for Yylfordt, Grimmjow and Szayel's relationship, so I hope I didn't drop the ball on that. They were most definitely OOC, but with a story like this that's sort of expected. Next time, researching and clubbing!
So Long and Goodnight, Thackery Binx.