BLEACH Chapter 141-142: Internal Crisis (Patreon)

“What the fuck, Skull? Why did you do that?”

The air was thick with tension as Mila Rose directed her piercing gaze towards Kazuya, her face veiled by an uncharacteristic scowl. His offense was trimming his majestic silver hair. The new slicked back hairstyle added a touch of professionalism to his overall look. The person who saw him in Hueco Mundo as a Hollow would have easily identified him by his eye-catching hairstyle.

(A/N: Imagine Archer’s hairstyle lol.)

His new haircut unexpectedly caused Mila Rose to freak out, leaving him a bit bewildered.

Apacci rolled her eyes and let out a disdainful huff. “Why are you throwing a tantrum? He looks so much better.”

Mila Rose, usually so assertive and fearless, looked momentarily flustered. Her lips parted as if to retort, but all she managed was a whisper. “He looked better before.”

Sung-Sun moved closer, eyes glinting in the face of an opportunity to tease Mila Rose. “Oh, I think I understand,” she purred. “Husband’s previous locks resembled a lion’s mane, and we all know Rose is a lioness through and through.”

“Yes, I loved his previous hair.”

Kazuya reached out and stroked Mila Rose’s black mane. “They’ll grow back.”

The tender caress and the subtle smirk in his eyes had the desired effect. Her cheeks bloomed into a subtle rose hue. “Promise you won’t cut it again without telling me.”

“I promise,” he agreed, letting his fingers linger a moment longer on her scalp before retracting his hand. “You own my hair now.”

Laughing softly, she yanked him down next to her on the plush couch. “You’ve given Apacci enough of your time. Now it’s my turn.”

Sung-Sun quietly moved over and snuggled up next to him, putting her head in his lap. “He can spoil us both. It saves him the time he can spend with our Queen Harribel.”

“Works for me.”

The bully and the bullied resolved their issues when they had to be around him. He couldn’t be more ecstatic about their bond.

Apacci watched Kazuya’s sunny smile as he was surrounded by her friends. An indescribable warmth washed over her. “I’ll fetch the groceries then. Kazuya, do you want something?”

Kazuya didn’t miss the fleeting yet tender expression that briefly crossed Apacci's face. This time, she genuinely felt happiness for him, rather than envy.

“Some sweet dango,” he requested, the very mention of the treat causing his eyes to light up with anticipation. “And lots of sake.”

“You want to drink Alcohol?”

“Yup.”

Apacci’s lips curled into a tender smile as she twirled her keys around her finger, pivoting gracefully on her heel. “Got you.”

{Drinking tonight, are we? Who is the lucky lady to accompany you?}

‘How about everyone?’

{Hooo, an orgy. I’ll watch it from the sidelines then.}

‘Coward.’

{The Demon Empress is no coward but a bashful maiden in love,} Nami said with a giggle. {I have an idea to indulge Apacci’s Aspect of Death. Make her dress as a nun! Let her worship you and the land you walk upon, as if you’re her god.}

‘Nami, that’s too much. I’m not going to degrade her existence to raise her power.’

As much as he loved a nun cosplay, he’d never force Apacci to do anything against her wishes. He fought for his own freedom and believed that his lovers deserve nothing less than the same.

{Then you can turn her into your maid. Teach her the ways of a devoted maid!}

‘I’ll see.’

He nudged Sung-Sun. “I don’t see Tier anywhere.”

“Took the kid outside with Lisa,” Mila Rose chimed in with a mischievous grin. “You got replaced by a little girl. If you want to cry your heart out, feel free to borrow my shoulder.”

“Can I borrow your chest?”

“Eh, I don’t see any problem with that,” she giggled. “Just know Harribel-sama won’t ever replace you. She loves you too much.”

Sung-Sun guided his hands to squeeze her breasts. “You haven’t wifed her up yet. You may use my royal pair to heal your broken heart.”

“Don’t mind me.”

Mila Rose’s eyes narrowed as she watched Kazuya playfully teasing Sung-Sun’s breasts. Though she found Kazuya to be the epitome of all the traits she admired—strength, protection, compassion—there was an intangible force that held her back, preventing her from fully surrendering to her emotions. A whisper of doubt without a discernible origin. All she could hear was the persistent whisper of her instincts, warning her that things would never work out with Kazuya.

He abruptly stopped his playful antics and directed his attention towards her. “Rose, like I told you before, you don’t have to bottle up your troubles and anxieties. We’re here to listen.”

“It’s nothing,” she deflected, evading the weight of her own feelings as she fumbled with the remote. “What do you wanna watch?

“Anything you suggest.”

Mila Rose searched through the channels, hoping to find something captivating, but all she found was a sea of mediocrity. “It’s all boring.”

“Husband, come to my room. We’ll read my spicy older women manga I borrowed from Lisa.”

Lisa had led her down the rabbit hole, and now Sung-Sun wanted to pull him in too. What they didn’t realize was that Kazuya was already a bigger degenerate than both of them.

Mila Rose glared at Sung-Sun. “Why are you so damn horny all the time?!”

“You’re the strange one who doesn’t get horny around Husband!” Sung-Sun retorted, her laughter filling the air as she slid next to him on the couch. “Husband, let’s make some heartwarming memories in my abode.”

“No, he’ll stay here.”

The Snake and Lioness began pulling at his arms in a literal tug-of-war. He found himself yanked back and forth, both growling at each other as they fought over him as if he was a toy.

“Girls,” he commanded, his voice dropping to a chilling tone that sliced through their heated battle. “Stop right now.”

Sung-Sun relented with a sigh. “I concede. Snakes aren’t meant to win against gorillas in raw strength.”

Mila Rose hugged his arm like a trophy and stuck out her tongue, her expression the epitome of childish gloating. “Loser~.”

Sung-Sun leaned in, her lips lightly brushing his cheek as she whispered her next move. “Husband, your objective now is to make her accept you as her mate. Succeed or no threesomes ever.”

“Challenge accepted.”

Losing the pleasure of a threesome, especially with the erotic Sung-Sun, was not even an option. After the earlier event in Hueco Mundo, he had full confidence to make Mila Rose accept him.

{Rise to the occasion, O’ Prince of Hollows.}

As Sung-Sun left, Kazuya gazed into Mila Rose’s eyes. “Rose, do you remember our talk on the Ferris wheel?”

“...It’s been a long time.”

The hesitation in her response was a telltale sign she was lying. It was so out of character for her, as she was usually so direct and assertive. It wasn’t as if she had never rejected his advances before. He needed to figure out the cause of her indecisiveness, or he’d be forever stuck at the ‘close friend’ status.

“I’ll remind you then. You told me you’ll accept me as you mate if I make it back alive. I’ve done that twice now.”

“I said I’ll consider the idea!” Mila Rose shot back, springing up from the plush couch like a lioness ready to pounce. Her gaze, full of conflicting emotions, met him. “I want to be with you. I don't think I can be with you.”

The more she thought about her complicated feelings, the tighter the knot in her stomach became. Her anxieties reached a breaking point, compelling her to slam her fist onto the table, shattering it completely. She sank onto the couch, her head throbbing and her breath coming in ragged gasps. “It doesn’t make any damn sense… Skull, I love you but I can’t escape this nagging feeling that I can’t make you happy. Why?”

He couldn’t answer her confusion until he recalled Sung-Sun’s statement on Mila Rose’s nature. Out of every Hollow around him, only Mila Rose fully embraced her bestial instincts, finding genuine joy in activities such as hunting and leisurely lounging. He had to shift his perspective and adopt the mindset of a lion for Mila Rose’s current problem.

“Skull, say something. Is my gut feeling right? Or am I overthinking things? I’m so… confused.”

Facing her vulnerable look, he let out a sigh. “You’re not entirely wrong, Rose. But you’re not entirely right, either.”

“You aren’t helping, Skull…”

He chuckled. “You like to hunt, right?”

She quizzically nodded, still unsure why he brought up her pastime activity. “I love it.”

“Do you want to hunt for me?”

Her eyes widened dramatically. “How do you know that?”

“What you’re feeling is a clash of your emotions and your instincts.”

“Emotions and instincts? I don’t understand.”

{She is a little thickheaded.}

He cleared his throat. “You’re a lioness, right?”

“Of course. My Zanpakutō is named the Lioness General.”

“What’s the role of a lioness in a lion’s pride?”

“Pride like the lioness’ group with a harem of lionesses? What do they do?”

Born in Hueco Mundo, she lacked the basic knowledge on animals — the biggest reason for her current confusion.

“A lioness hunts for her pride.”

“Okay… what does that have to do with us?”

“It has everything to do with us,” he said, shaking his head. “You see me as a mate, the leader of our ‘pride.’ Your instinct is to always hunt for me and provide me with sustenance. But when I bought the mansion and became a wealthy man, you lost your purpose.”

He was a perfect mate with one flaw — his lack of dependence on her, which led her to lose self-esteem in herself as a ‘lioness.’ Her depression was also deeply linked to her instincts — with her ‘mate’ far away from her grasp, she lacked motivation to do anything and ended up lounging around all day. When confronted by Apacci, she even tried to prove her worth by hunting Grimmjow and his group for him.

Alas, it wasn’t enough to cure her confidence issues.

A look of dawning realization spread across her face, as though she were piecing together a complex puzzle. The weight of this revelation settled over her. “Motherf… I’m useless in your pride.”

Gently taking her hand, he brought it to his lips and tenderly kissed her knuckles. “That would be the case if we were beasts living in a forest. Don’t forget that we’re Arrancars — hybrids of Shinigami and Hollow. We don’t need to live by our animalistic instincts.”

She raised her eyebrows. “What you’re saying is I can be a good mate without hunting for you.”

“Exactly. Aside from hunting, you can do so much more to be a good wife.”

She beamed a smile when he mentioned being a good wife. “You glib-tongued pervert, you’re suggesting sex.”

Clearing his throat as if to downplay her insinuation, he chuckled. “Sex is just one of those things.”

She giggled at his innocent gesture before moving to straddle his lap. “Alright, Skull. Let’s give this thing a shot. Me, Snake, Apacci, Harribel-sama, and you being part of a pride.”

He had changed her entire perspective on every male in the world then got rid of the problem that made her fall into depression for months. He was the most reliable man in her eyes, with Harribel coming in second.

“What about Cirucci? She won’t be a part of us?”

Cough Cough A sudden, exaggerated cough reverberated through the room, pulling them out of their private world. There stood Cirucci, leaning against the banister of the staircase above them, a smile stretching across her face.

Mila Rose shot her an unamused look. “Cirucci, what will you say to my mate’s proposal?”

Cirucci shrugged with casual indifference. “What I’ve always said. Family and mates aren’t for me.”

“The audacity,” Mila Rose muttered and turned her attention back to Kazuya. “What do you say about tying her up?”

“Forget it,” he leaned close to her ear. “Is she still depressed?”

“Kind of… I don’t understand her sometimes.”

He shook his head, his expression turning contemplative. “It’s better you don’t understand her circumstances.”

Even he wasn’t sure he could heal Cirucci’s heart.

Seizing the moment of his contemplation, Mila Rose leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. “Kazuya, let’s go on a date.”

The bold spark in her eyes and the allure in her voice were signals he couldn’t possibly misunderstand with his experience. And quite frankly, he was more than willing to take the hint.