Family

Harribel's gaze drifted upward. Frowning, she stared at the pale, round moon, lost in thought.

She shook her head gently. "I was thinking about your progress... and what new things I should teach you."

She had truly thrown herself into her role as his mentor, to the point of obsession.

That obsession, coupled with the fact that neither of them had become an Arrancar yet, had made him put off his plan to seduce her.

Even though they both looked mostly human, the thought of sleeping with her in his current physical state still felt awkward.

Apparently, I'm not interested in sleeping with a monster.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, although Harribel was the closest to human form, most of her body was still covered in fragments of her Hollow form.

He rested his head on Harribel's thigh, looking thoroughly comfortable.

The white shell covering her legs felt cool and soft to the touch.

"While you rack your brains trying to figure it out, I'll stay right here."

After she had beaten him up badly during training, he had enjoyed the privilege of resting on her lap.

And she also liked to tend to him with great care after giving him a beating.

Cangya closed his eyes and tried to breathe evenly, pretending to be asleep.

Harribel sighed softly, her fingers gliding gently through his messy white hair.

He secretly opened his right eye and saw a tender look in hers.

That was exactly the confirmation he needed.

I was right about her.

During the month they had spent together, he had noticed many unusual things—she was always coming up with things to teach him.

Whenever he faced a Hollow, her protective nature showed itself; her gaze softened when she looked at him; and she never let him out of her sight for too long.

All those signs indicated that Harribel loved him, like an older sister loved her younger brother, or a mother loved her child.

Familial love.

That was why Harribel's attitude had changed when he mentioned his age as a Hollow.

A Hollow as young as him was exactly the kind of person she wanted to spoil and protect.

Considering the location of her Hollow Hole, she had subconsciously chosen him as the one to care for.

Her Hollow Hole is where her womb used to be.

Harribel's death was most likely connected to a child. Her instincts were unconsciously searching for a replacement for the child she had lost, and then she had found him.

A Hollow thinks of me as family.

The situation was so absurd that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This was truly an unprecedented experience.

What should I do now? Call her Mom? Shark Mom?

He shook his head.

There were more important tasks to accomplish than pursuing Harribel, such as improving his strength and unlocking the evolution chains of his other races.

Baraggan will come for us eventually.

Driven by his own arrogance, Baraggan expected everyone in Hueco Mundo to regard him as a god-king.

He wouldn't allow two Vasto Lorde to roam freely, which would be tantamount to challenging his authority.

Sooner or later, Cangya would come to Baraggan's attention.

If he wanted to survive Baraggan's wrath, he needed to grow stronger.

After all, a short period of training wouldn't help him defeat Baraggan and his army.

My only other option is Bleach Academy... the nest of those hypnotized souls, and its secret ruler, Aizen. It would definitely be fun to go there and stir things up.

Aizen was everywhere until he was brought down by his own creation.

Leaving also meant it was time to say goodbye to Harribel, Apache, Sun-Sun, and Mila Rose.

Although it would only be a temporary separation, it was a parting nonetheless.

He had grown too accustomed to teaming up with Sun-Sun, and the two of them were always terribly fond of teasing Apache.

Mila Rose still hadn't opened up to him, resenting him for disrupting their group dynamic.

Yet strangely, he liked her irritable complaints, even more than he liked the other nameless Hollows he had encountered in Hueco Mundo.

He would miss them.

I wish I could take them away from this godforsaken place.

But his dream couldn't come true.

That was because the Soul Reapers held a deep prejudice against every Hollow, seeing them as lost souls who needed to be purified in the afterlife.

He couldn't blame them either, since most Hollows lived to devour innocent souls.

I'll think about it once I've helped them become strong enough to survive.

"Well, what do we have here?" Mila Rose strode toward them, looking smug.

Seeing that Cangya seemed to be asleep, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Lady Harribel, you spoil him too much."

Harribel looked at Mila Rose, then at Cangya, and withdrew her hand.

"Rose is right, but I just can't help myself."

Spoiling Cangya was like an instinct to her, just as it was a Gillian's instinct to devour other Hollows, or a bird's instinct to spread its wings and soar through the sky.

"It's all right..." She smiled gently.

"Cangya needs to rest, or his training will have been for nothing."

She made excuses for her "instinct," genuinely believing that spoiling Cangya was the right thing to do.

"Oh..." Mila Rose lowered her head and slumped, squatting down on the ground.

Harribel's matter-of-fact answer was like a gust of wind that blew away her courage.

After pretending to sleep for a few minutes, Cangya stirred and stood up.

He gave Mila Rose a surprised look. "When did you get here?"

"I was here before you were born..." Mila Rose said quietly. "Lady Harribel saved me before you all came."

His presence had become a negative influence in Mila Rose's life.

Because of her unwavering loyalty to Harribel, she couldn't voice her dissatisfaction.

I need to talk to her while there's still time.

He stretched his arms and beckoned to Mila Rose. "Come with me. We need to talk."

Harribel's gaze sharpened as she understood his intention. "Don't push her too hard."

As a quiet and observant leader, she understood Mila Rose's dissatisfaction with Cangya.

She looked forward to seeing how Cangya would handle the problem with Mila Rose.

From what she had observed, Cangya wasn't reckless, but he wasn't friendly to strangers either.

She would spare those who stood in her way, while Cangya would kill them without mercy and then feed them to Apache, and sometimes to Mila Rose and Sun-Sun as well.

This will be a good lesson for him, Harribel thought, like a mother watching her child grow. I look forward to him finally convincing her.

He was too stubborn to ever admit defeat.

Mila Rose clenched her teeth.

Harribel's words made her feel as though she was the problem, and she didn't like that feeling one bit.

Even so, she followed Cangya like a puppy, moving farther and farther away from Harribel.

Once Cangya was sure they were out of Harribel's sight, he stopped and turned to face her.

"Franceska Mila Rose, are you a coward?"