Wandering Hueco Mundo

The Quincy massacre 150 years ago had thrown their race into chaos.

Some prominent Quincy had chosen to live in seclusion, away from the affairs of the spiritual world.

As a result, many young Quincy had grown up knowing nothing of their ancestors' history.

Izumi guessed that Cangya might be one of those lost Quincy descendants.

To protect the Quincy race, she needed all the surviving Quincy to unite, so they would not be easily wiped out.

She firmly believed in the saying, "There is strength in numbers."

Cangya rubbed his chin and frowned, as though struggling to remember something.

"You mean Quincy? Before my mom died, she told me to look for someone wearing a cross in this town..."

Izumi clutched the Quincy Cross hanging around her neck, drawing Cangya's attention to the silver necklace. "Is it this cross?"

Cangya's face lit up. "That's it! That's what my mom told me about. Are you Quincy?"

His voice carried a hint of innocence as he perfectly put on an innocent act.

"It's all right. Would you like to come with us?"

Izumi extended the invitation, willing to take a chance on testing his potential.

Even if he was a Mixed-Blood Quincy with limited potential, she could find a use for him within their family.

That was far better than being eaten by a Hollow while isolated and helpless.

"Are you kidding? Of course I would. I want to learn more about the Quincy."

"Akira, Katsumi, escort our guest."

"Yes, Lady Izumi."

"All right, Lady Izumi!"

Cangya followed the two Mixed-Blood Quincy with a spring in his step.

Meanwhile, Izumi glanced sideways at the Soul Reaper squad.

They exchanged a few words in hushed voices, then dashed off in different directions to continue searching for clues about the incident.

"Until Mr. Sōken returns, I'll have to keep an eye on these Soul Reapers... It's already been three weeks."

Her gaze rested on the moon, its silver light spilling over the earth and bringing her a measure of comfort.

After Tirutī returned to Hueco Mundo, she could sense Apache's Reiatsu and the others' in the distance—but all she saw was Tier Harribel sitting alone in the cave, her back against the wall and the egg in her lap.

"You're back." Harribel broke the silence. "Did you find the Soul Reaper?"

"No, I didn't." Tirutī answered softly and curled up quietly in a dark corner of the cave. "He told me to wait a few days."

"Tirutī," Harribel said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice, "do you think he'll come back to Hueco Mundo?"

"Why wouldn't he? His friends are all here. I saw how much he cares about you and the others. He even lost an arm protecting you from me... though it was only temporary."

Tirutī thought the question was unbelievably stupid, but she didn't say so to her face.

Though she looked down on Cangya's playful nature, she admired his unwavering loyalty.

Any other Hollow with the ability to change races would have left Hueco Mundo for the World of the Living long ago.

But Cangya didn't share her logic.

He put his companions first, or he wouldn't have waited so long to leave Hueco Mundo. She couldn't fault his decision.

Harribel raised her head and fixed Tirutī with an intent gaze. "Do you really mean that?"

Tirutī paused and frowned. "If I were in his position, I would never come back to this godforsaken place... I despise it."

She made no secret of her hatred for Hueco Mundo—a place that had brought her nothing but despair.

Harribel nodded in acknowledgment, then lowered her head. "Thank you for helping me make my decision."

"What decision?"

"I'll tell you when the others get back."

A few minutes later, lively conversation sounded from outside the cave.

"Apache, what's with you? How can you eat so many Hollow souls?"

"Oh my, Apache is a growing girl. Let her eat as much as she wants."

"Sun-Sun's right."

Apache and the others walked into the cave in high spirits.

The three of them had feasted on the Gillian Hollow that had attacked Apache earlier, and Apache had made full use of the feast to build up her strength.

"Hey." Mila Rose grinned at Tirutī. "How's Skull doing over there? Has he been flirting with any girls?"

Tirutī shook her head. "He's doing fine... I don't know if he's been flirting with anyone, but that guy actually asked me to be his 'mom.' Can you believe it?"

Tirutī had meant to amuse Mila Rose, but she accidentally angered Harribel.

Harribel's eyes flew open, and her gaze locked onto Tirutī. "What did you say?"

The Vasto Lorde's voice turned the atmosphere in the cave icy in an instant.

Tirutī felt as though Harribel's sharp Reiatsu and intense killing intent were tearing her apart alive.

She resisted with her own Reiatsu, but she was no match for a mature Hollow of Hueco Mundo like Harribel.

If she had been at her peak, she might have been able to stay calm.

But as she was now, she was no match for Harribel's icy Reiatsu.

"You... you." Tirutī misunderstood Harribel's actions, believing she was brazenly trying to intimidate her, the newest member, to establish her dominance while Cangya was away.

She stood her ground, unwilling to submit to such oppressive tactics. "Harribel, this is your true face."

The heavy pressure bore down entirely on Tirutī, and she trembled beneath it.

Seeing Tirutī's plight, Mila Rose stepped forward and gave Harribel a hard punch on the shoulder.

"Lady Harribel, stop! Why are you taking your anger out on Tirutī?"

Harribel came out of her daze.

Faced with the blunt question, she couldn't help but think.

The thought of Cangya calling someone else "mom" filled her with rage, as though she had unconsciously come to regard him as her own child.

"I... I can't use Cangya like that."

It was too selfish to project her own desires onto Cangya, even if playing his mother satisfied her pride.

"Lady Harribel?"

"I don't like Cangya calling someone else mom," Harribel confessed quietly. "I know it's stupid..."

Mila Rose crossed her arms and fixed Harribel with a piercing stare. "Lady Harribel, you're not his mother. Why are you jealous?"

"Because..." Explaining it this way made her both embarrassed and disgusted, and the feeling radiated from her.

She shifted her feet uneasily and sat cross-legged, the tail on her head swaying with her movements as though making a show of her embarrassment. "Never mind... We're leaving."

"..."

"We're going far away from here."

"What? Why?" Apache asked. "Cangya will be back soon. How will he find us if we leave? Are you trying to abandon him?"

Mila Rose's eyes widened. "Skull went to the World of the Living to find us a safe place. It makes no sense to leave him behind!"

Sun-Sun also looked somewhat surprised. "Lady Harribel, don't tell me we're leaving to get rid of Cangya."

Harribel was a little surprised by everyone's objections.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who had formed a deep bond with Cangya over the past month.

"No one's leaving Cangya behind. We're just changing bases so Baraggan can't track us," Harribel said, holding the egg.

"Cangya is a Menos Grande of Hueco Mundo and an Arrancar... He can sense us from far away... the Reiatsu of his Zanpakuto."

Harribel's explanation settled everyone's concerns for the time being.