No Need to Rush

After firing Cero after Cero at Dordoni, Apache wanted to sleep, but the storm in her heart only grew fiercer, leaving her tossing and turning.

"Damn Cangya..." she muttered, her voice full of frustration. "I met you first... I saved you. Why did you go looking for her...?"

She felt like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away, but she couldn't vent to anyone.

It wasn't her fault that Cangya no longer paid her as much attention. As far as she was concerned, it was all Mila Rose and Tier Harribel's fault.

They had something she didn't, some quality that could captivate Cangya.

A humanoid body closer to Cangya's own.

Apache angrily slammed her head into the soft sand. "I can't... damn it, why am I blaming my friends?"

Before her negative feelings could drag her down any further, she pulled herself together.

She got up from where she had been resting and left the cave, hoping the fresh air would clear her head.

The walk did lift her spirits, dispelling the gloom in her heart.

As she walked, a dark shadow flashed past her.

She looked up and saw a group of Gillians, the lowest class of Menos Grande, moving in eerie synchronization. Their ghostly gliding sent a chill down her spine.

Strangely, they didn't treat her as prey. Something seemed to have attracted them that was more important than a powerful Adjuchas, an intermediate Menos Grande.

Curious, she followed them and soon found the source of their desire—a fresh Arrancar corpse filled with Reiatsu.

"These thieves are stealing Cangya's spoils. How dare they?!"

She gritted her teeth and stepped forward, her Reiatsu surging to its limit. After using it all on her Cero, she had little left.

She couldn't withstand the combined Reiatsu of a dozen or so Menos Grande. "Get away!"

The Gillians surrounded themselves with their own Reiatsu, shielding themselves from Apache's sharp energy.

One by one, they turned their necks toward her, their long noses pointing at her like swords.

"Chirp, chirp."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."

They let out vicious shrieks and floated toward Apache, their massive bodies towering over her comparatively small deer-like form.

Fearlessly, Apache formed a small Cero at the tip of her horn. "Don't make me kill you trash."

In response, the Gillians opened their mouths wide and formed a Cero far larger than Apache's.

Even so, she didn't back down.

She couldn't let these lowly Gillians steal the spoils Cangya had worked so hard to earn.

Of all the Hollows they had found, this Arrancar corpse was the only chance to increase Cangya's strength.

She would do everything she could to protect it.

"All right, I'm going to kill you all."

Driven by passion and recklessness, Apache charged at the dozen or so Gillians, even though her Reiatsu was less than a quarter of its maximum.

Mila Rose stopped a few steps from the cave entrance and met Cangya's gaze.

Startled by her fierce look, Cangya gasped dramatically.

"So aggressive! Did transforming put you in heat? Are you going to push me down and violate me in an Amazon warrior position? I—I don't want to be defiled like that!"

Mila Rose rolled her eyes and snorted disdainfully. "An Amazon warrior position? I swear, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll violate your ass."

Cangya instinctively covered his ass with his hands and said, trembling, "That place is off-limits. If you insist on violating my ass, I'll fight you to the death."

"This isn't about my preferences or my feelings for you. It's about my honor as a man!"

Amused by his exaggerated performance, Mila Rose grabbed his shoulder.

"Put your manliness away. I didn't bring you here to mate, or for any of those filthy things you're imagining."

"Besides, what would be the point of two Hollows mating? As far as I know, we can't have children."

She saw no logic in Hollows engaging in reproduction.

"Ahem, sex is a pleasurable act... I think?" He put on an innocent expression, his face thoughtful and curious. "I think sex should feel pretty good."

Mila Rose frowned, looking confused. "Did you remember something important?"

Cangya's human form was so handsome that Mila Rose couldn't help imagining he might have had a beautiful partner when he was human. He must have recalled some memories of his past life.

Hmph, I'm much stronger than anyone he was close to in his past life.

A surge of jealousy rose in her heart, and she wanted nothing more than to defeat anyone close to Cangya.

Cangya fell into thought and murmured, "What does it matter? I'm a cruel, bloodthirsty Hollow now, just like you."

"True." She playfully tapped his chest. "Hey, how do you know about mating?"

"Then how do you know about it?"

"I was born with these memories," Mila Rose said thoughtfully, scratching her chin as she searched the depths of her mind.

"Or maybe I overheard it among the Hollows. Yes, that must be it. Someone mentioned that there's a tribe of Hollows in the darkest part of the abyss."

"They belong to the same species and perform mating rituals to produce more Hollows of their kind... that's what the legend says."

A flicker of understanding passed through Cangya's eyes.

Ulquiorra might have been born in a tribe like that, surrounded by Hollows of the same species.

He thought that was how Ulquiorra had been born.

"You said Hollows couldn't reproduce, but now you're saying there's a tribe of Hollows that can. What exactly are you trying to say, Rose?"

Mila Rose's eyes widened. "I've never thought about that before."

Cangya grinned slyly and spread his arms toward her. "Then, shall we try making some offspring of our own?"

"Absolutely not." Mila Rose shuddered at the thought of having children. "Even if I could, I wouldn't want children. Never."

Cangya mocked her decision. "Why not?"

Mila Rose spread her arms. "Look around us. We're barely surviving here. If we brought a child into this hellish place, he would only suffer."

"Do you want to give our child a better place?" He raised an eyebrow. "Then let's talk about it after I kill Baraggan. Hueco Mundo should be more peaceful then."

He wasn't in a hurry to start a relationship.

After all, if he became too intimate with Mila Rose and the others decided to give up, he would miss the chance to develop relationships with them.

He had to seduce every one of them and show them the wonderful world of romance and love.

It was a difficult but worthwhile task.

Mila Rose hesitantly nodded, then her eyes widened.

"Wait, why am I discussing having children with you? Damn it, come with me! We have something important to talk about."

Without waiting for Cangya to respond, she leaped gracefully over the hill and ran toward another.

Cangya chuckled and used Sonído to follow her, playing along with her playful behavior.

Together, they raced across a pale, open expanse, covering several kilometers in a few minutes before finally stopping at the edge of a cliff.