Clearing Up the Misunderstanding

Cangya's voice was calm, but his words were infuriating.

"Coward?!" Mila Rose roared fiercely, faint yellow reiatsu flickering around her.

The reiatsu the Lioness unleashed with all her might failed to frighten him in the slightest.

"Who are you calling a coward? I've been devouring Hollows longer than you have."

"What's there to be proud of?" He shrugged.

"Well, gnawing on bones won't make you any less of a coward. Only a coward would keep her thoughts bottled up for so long," he said slowly, his gaze piercing her soul.

"You have a problem with me, right? If you're not a coward, say it to my face."

Mila Rose frowned. "I don't have a problem with you. You're the one causing trouble for us!"

"You don't need to repeat what I just said. I want to know why you say I'm trouble. Every phenomenon in the universe has a cause. There should be a reason for your hatred of me, too."

"Because..." Mila Rose paused and looked around.

After making sure no one was listening, she glared at him, her eyes flashing fiercely. "Lady Harribel has spent so much effort training you. She'll make you strong, even stronger than she is..."

"And then?"

"You'll betray us!" she roared.

"All male Hollows are scum. You'll kill Lady Harribel, Sun-Sun, and me, and then eat us... I've seen it happen too many times. Men are all disloyal, backstabbing bastards."

The group she belonged to had fallen apart because of one man's arrogance and internal strife.

If Harribel hadn't saved her in time, she would have become a victim long ago.

In her eyes, Cangya had all the traits of the man who had destroyed her former group, even though their personalities were completely different.

She didn't trust him in the slightest.

Cangya had expected some complicated reason behind her hatred.

Instead, her words left him confused.

Mila Rose was like one of those women who came to hate all men after having their heart broken once.

Perhaps that was what she had been like before she died and became the dominant soul in an Adjuchas.

"God, you're really... strange. In your mind, I'm an ambitious man who would destroy everything to gain power, right?"

He was a little twisted, but he wasn't a psychopath without compassion.

Mila Rose's impression of him was far from the truth. After all, he was very fond of his four Hollow friends.

Mila Rose nodded involuntarily, wondering how he could read her thoughts so accurately. "Yes..."

He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Tell me, what have I done to earn that judgment? Go on. Take as long as you need to think."

He crossed his arms and tapped his left foot lightly, as if to show he was waiting.

"That's easy—" Mila Rose paused, finding herself unable to speak.

No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't find a solid reason to refute him.

He had always supported them silently, just as Harribel did.

So far, his actions had been nothing like those of the evil man in her mind, and her fantasy collapsed like a precarious house of cards.

"Was I... wrong?"

As she realized her mistake, a wave of embarrassment washed over her. The confrontation put an end to the prejudice that had blinded her because of her past tragedy.

She avoided his serious gaze, regretting her immature judgment. "I'm sorry..."

She apologized quickly, fitting the image he had of her as "headstrong and impulsive."

"Mila Rose."

He raised his hand and extended his index finger, sky-blue reiatsu enveloping his hand.

Just as she thought he would hit her as punishment, he unexpectedly gave her chin a quick flick.

The attack wasn't as fierce as Mila Rose had imagined, but it still made her flinch slightly.

"That's your punishment. Now we're even," he said quietly, his voice calm.

He raised his hand and stroked her mane. "I know there are plenty of bad people out there, but their gender doesn't determine what kind of people they are. There are just as many evil women as evil men."

His face was full of sympathy and understanding, drawing her back from the path of gender discrimination.

She nodded, as if his words were the truth of the world.

He smiled. "But I don't care what you think of anyone else. They can all go to hell for all I care."

"..."

His fingers lingered on her mane for a while, stroking it gently before sliding along it to her ear.

He stepped back and gave her a satisfied smile.

He had cured her severe gender discrimination without the slightest effort, an achievement worth celebrating in itself.

"My words are far too convincing to these innocent girls."

He couldn't wait to see his Hollow friends reach the Arrancar stage and take human form.

Then he could settle on a plan to take them away.

"Does this count as coaxing them? Hmm... who cares?"

Mila Rose came closer and bumped his leg with her head. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Are you going to stalk me? That's a little scary."

"In your dreams! I'm doing it to make sure Lady Harribel doesn't get hurt by you."

"That's funny coming from you. I was worried Harribel would make a move on me before I could do anything to her."

Mila Rose recalled the extreme methods Harribel used to train him. Harribel's attention toward him had reached the point of obsession.

She thought it was more likely that Cangya was right than that Harribel would be hurt by him.

This was another thing she had overlooked while she was one-sidedly hating Cangya.

"Then I'll make sure Lady Harribel doesn't hurt you."

"Wow. Your concern is almost enough to move me to tears."

"Why are you so annoying?!"

"Because it makes me happy? Don't tell me—"

Suddenly, a Hollow radiating dangerous reiatsu entered his range of perception.

Mila Rose shuddered involuntarily, the fear brought on by the powerful Vasto Lorde spreading through her body.

"We have company," he said quietly, his eyes fixed on a blurry figure flying rapidly toward them. "A strong one."

The Hollow landed on a mountain in front of them, and its appearance became clear.

His mouth fell open in surprise.

In the darkness, the Hollow stood out: a young woman with curly purple twin tails and eyes of the same color.

Her frilled dress clung tightly to her body, its large, puffy sleeves cut off above her shoulders, and two pairs of short wings extended from her back. The wings were part of her dress.

She also wore opera gloves, knee-high boots, and leg guards attached to thigh garters.

A pale purple teardrop was painted on each cheek, and purple lipstick and black nails completed her flamboyant Gothic Lolita look.

Cangya's brow twitched. "Fucking hell. Baraggan sent an Arrancar to capture us."

She was what Cangya was striving to become—an Arrancar. The remnant of her Hollow form was a spiked hairpin.

He wondered what his own Arrancar form would look like, and what shape his Zanpakuto would take.

The woman's eyes widened, and then she nodded.

"Knowing about Arrancars won't change your fate. I am the Fifth Espada, Cirucci Sanderwicci, and I've come to capture you and your Vasto Lorde friends."