CHAPTER 30: Hatred for Men

As the group settled into a comfortable silence, Kazuya called forth his status.

[General Information]

Name — Kazuya Ishihara

Gender — Male

Race — Human

Reiryoku Level — Great Level (Captain-Class)

Alignment — Neutral Evil

Affiliation — None

…

Racial Abilities

None

Innate Abilities

[Silvery Voice]

[Crumbling Heart (Human): You can walk unhindered upon any surface.]

[Regeneration]

[Pain Resistance]

Acquired Abilities

[Seduction: The ability to seduce those of the opposite gender.

Mastery level - Basic]

[Riding: The ability to ride a mount.

Mastery level - Intermediate]

[Arithmetic: The ability to process arithmetic problems.

Mastery level - Intermediate]

[Provocation: The ability to anger people with your tongue.

Mastery level - Basic]

His Crumbling Heart ability had changed along with his race. Instead of providing support to allies, it had transformed into a self-serving skill that was absurdly underwhelming. After all, he could easily create Reiryoku platforms to fly anywhere. What was the point of this innate ability?

'Can't have all the good things. Well, Cirucci won't recover for a while. Should I train in my human form?'

He shook off the idea. The only potential evolution for his human race was becoming a Quincy. Normal Quincy's weapons and techniques were nothing extraordinary. Schrift — the greatest ability of the Quincy race was gatelocked by Yhwach, the Father of Quincies.

'Blut is the most useful. I'll focus on my Hollow powers first. Who knows if I can unlock a form beyond Vasto Lorde?'

He was already so far in his Hollow evolution. He might need to train for years to achieve comparable power with Human and Shinigami forms. They would merely be side quests compared to the priority of his Hollow form.

After all, he wasn't confident about achieving Bankai in ten days, like Ichigo. Fighting a Captain-Class without Bankai would be tough.

'First priority Hollow, second Shinigami, and last Quincy.'

Leaving his cave, he found Mila Rose perched atop a mountain. She vigilantly scanned the surroundings for any threats encroaching upon them. He soared above her and playfully launched a tiny Reiryoku orb at her head.

"Hello, my sweet kitten."

Mila Rose snarled, eliciting a chuckle from him. He zipped away, soon pursued by an irritated Mila Rose. Landing on the ground, he turned to face her.

"Wanna train?"

Mila Rose's grumpy expression transformed into one of excitement. Casting aside her shirt, she took on the stance of a predator ready to pounce upon its prey. "Dordoni's nonsense didn't let me show my full potential. Devour… Leona! (Gold Lioness General)"

Her Resurrección form was unleashed with a torrent of Reiatsu. It was just as eye catchingly feral and seductive as he remembered. She set her green eyes on him. "Kazuya, I'm coming. Try not to become a flat corpse."

Dordoni hadn't provided her with a proper opportunity to display her physical prowess. Kazuya became the ideal contender for her to unleash her full force. He fortified his arms with Oppression and released his Reiryoku to augment his defenses with Reiatsu.

Mila Rose closed the gap in a split second and swung her broadsword. "Get wrecked!"

He tilted his head, narrowly evading the immense arc of her blade, and drove his knee towards her belly. He forced her to face him in a range where her weapon was hard to use. She countered by swiftly raising her knee to intercept his strike, then launched a vicious elbow towards his face. He deftly ducked beneath her assault, snaked an arm between her legs, and hoisted her onto his shoulder with surprising agility.

Mila Rose writhed on his shoulders, pounding the hilt of her weapon into his ribs and battering him with her knees. "W-What the heck are you planning?"

Grimacing through the pain, he found a firm grip on the back of her neck and flung her skyward. She slammed into the ground, sending plumes of white sand exploding in every direction.

She was buried a couple of inches under the Hueco Mundo.

"You bastard!" She leaped out, fuming with rage at being tossed about like a sack of potatoes. "Y-You're despicable. How can you treat a woman like that?"

"Everything is fair in love and war. I approach every battle as if it's war, and I also love you. So everything I do here is fair."

Mila Rose stared at him, stupefied. "You love me? When the hell did that happen?"

Aside from their kiss and some moments, their relationship bordered on the verge of acquaintance and friend, leaning into the latter after their kiss. Suddenly hearing him confess his love shook her mind.

He lunged at her with his fist. She blocked his punch with her broadsword and pushed him back.

"Focus on training first. Don't get distracted."

"Don't ignore my question, dammit. What the hell did I do to earn your love?"

"I don't know. You being sexy might have something to do with it."

"So you're just after my body." Mila Rose's face turned dark as though she hated the thought of being lusted after for her body alone. Golden Reiatsu crackled around her as a tidal wave of murderous intent bore down on Kazuya. "All men are the same. I thought you were different. In the end, you're like everyone else."

He was certainly wrong about curing her hatred for men in one conversation. It would take time to cure her prejudice.

Before he could ease the misunderstanding, Mila Rose charged at him with the ferocity of a lioness, slashing at his chest. Her attacks were lethal, aimed to kill. He enveloped his hand in Reiatsu and caught her Zanpakutō with his bare hands. Her Reiatsu sliced through his skin like a hot knife through butter, but her blade failed to penetrate his flesh.

The sight of his blood poured cold water on her impulsive fury. She retracted her Zanpakutō, her gaze fixed on his rapidly healing wound.

While she regretted injuring Kazuya, he was of a different mind. 'Will my Hollow Mask regenerate if it's broken?'

He decided to test the theory later. "Rose, I didn't mean it that way. Don't try to murder your man over a misunderstanding, dude."

"What else did you mean by those words?"

"You completely ignored the 'might' part… Your body is just one part of my love equation. I am still trying to figure out the other part."

He hadn't completely fallen for her but he absolutely adored her.

Mila Rose sighed, her shoulders sagging. She raked a hand through her hair, hoping her impulsive words hadn't wounded him. "Something went off in my head when you said that… I'm sorry."

"You hurt me. It was emotional damage…"

"Is that so?" She let her Zanpakutō fall to the ground and encircled his waist with her arms, seemingly attempting to crush him in her embrace. "Forgive me or I'll crush you with my bear huuuug."

"O-Oi, stop. It's starting to hurt."

He hadn't strengthened his waist with Oppression, focusing on his limbs to increase his explosiveness. Mila Rose's hug genuinely squeezed the life out of him.

"Just say the damn words."

"Okay! I forgive you! Stop it now!"

Mila Rose laughed and tightened her grip before hoisting him off the ground and twirling him around. She set him down after a dozen dizzying spins and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You brute…"

She continued laughing. "Oh my god… Kazuya, I don't hate whatever we have right now. Let's, you know, defeat Baraggan first then sort the rest of this stuff… I want to focus on training and becoming stronger."

"I see."

She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, drawing eyes to her abs. "What am I saying is—"

"That you love me and you can't live without me, but Baraggan is a bitch who won't let you sleep peacefully. So, we got to take care of him first."

"You got nothing!"

Kazuya chuckled before dodging a broadsword strike. They continued training with an intense, pulse-pounding battle. He found it increasingly difficult to counter her devastating blows. She exhibited far greater brute strength and agility than in her clash with Dordoni. Had she grown stronger within hours, or had she been holding back during her previous battle? It had to be the former, since she was still adapting to her new Arrancar form.

'Was she this strong in the story? I don't believe it.'

Mila Rose had a blast swinging her sword all over the place. She fought him to her heart's content until her Reiryoku couldn't support her release form.

***

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