For the next week or so, Gabriel did his best to bond with the three girls. The results were... mixed.
Apacci still didn't like him. At all. Every conversation with her was met with resistance, insults, or outright hostility. If he so much as breathed in her direction, she acted like he was plotting something.
The fuck they thought he was... some predator?
They weren't his type, really. At best, they were like cousins, or annoying sisters that he had to deal with in order to get with Shark Mommy.
Anyway, he got their names. The deer was Apacci, the lioness was Mila Rose, and the snake lady was named Sun-Sun.
Shark lady was Harribel.
That was progress.
Also, snake lady had given him his arm back, so yeah, he didn't have to waste energy healing his soul.
Mila Rose, on the other hand, was neutral. She wasn't actively hostile like Apacci, but she wasn't exactly friendly either. It was like she tolerated his presence but had no real investment in getting to know him.
Once again, it felt like she was conflicted about him. No biggie, he was sure she would accept it one way or another.
She didn't do anything when he patted her fur... if we removed the fact she shot a Cero at him. Just the minor shit, really.
Sun-Sun was the only one he had real success befriending. Unlike the other two, she actually entertained conversation with him, sometimes even initiating it herself. Of course, most of the time, it was layered in sarcasm and teasing, but still, progress was progress.
He tried to learn more about them, starting with their names. He'd already done the soul stabilization process for Sun-Sun, making her incapable of regressing into a Gillian. She had accepted it without much resistance, more intrigued than anything.
Apacci, however, still refused.
Gabriel quickly realized that she was the most tomboyish of the three, always carrying herself with a tough, combative energy. She constantly found reasons to argue, to throw jabs, to make it clear she wasn't going to be "handled" by anyone, especially not some random Hollow she barely knew.
Well, Gabriel was like the second strongest here. Shark lady was still stronger, by a decent margin.
Hm, how could he protect those he loved if he was weaker than them? What if the enemy was stronger than them...?
And with this mentality, his power once again began to grow. The 300 Gillian he ate a day were somehow enough to satiate his hunger.
Apacci refused his offer to stabilize her soul.
"I don't want some creep touching me," she snapped when he brought it up.
Sun-Sun, of course, took that as an opportunity to tease her. "Oh my~ But Gabriel is so gentle with his hands~ You're really missing out, Apacci."
"Shut up, Snake!" Apacci shot back, her face heating up in frustration. "I just don't want some guy messing with my soul, okay? It's weird!"
Gabriel, for his part, didn't push her.
"At the end of the day, it's your choice," he said with a shrug. "I'm not forcing anything."
That seemed to catch her off guard, as if she expected him to insist. As if his whole presence screamed pure evil.
Looking at his hollow which was outside his body, he decided to transfigure it, make it appear on his chest.
It felt hella uncomfortable but he could manage.
It was during one of these conversations that Sun-Sun finally asked him about his ability.
"What exactly is your power, Gabriel?" she mused, her tone laced with curiosity. "You've never really explained it. You just keep performing these little miracles."
Without hesitation, he answered. "I can manipulate souls. Mine and others."
That was the simplest way to put it. No need to dress it up.
The three of them fell silent for a moment, processing that information.
"...That's it?" Mila Rose finally asked, her arms crossed.
Gabriel arched a brow. "That's it? Lady, you do realize Hollows are basically just piles of souls, right?"
Sun-Sun chuckled. "Yes, I suppose 'controlling the very essence of our existence' is rather significant."
Apacci, predictably, was skeptical. "Sounds fake."
Gabriel just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, because ripping my own arm off totally screamed 'con artist.'"
That was about as much as he told them. He didn't go into specifics about how deep his ability went or what he could really do if he wanted to. No need to scare them.
One day, unexpectedly, Apacci changed her mind.
Sort of.
She didn't outright ask him to stabilize her soul, oh no. That would be too direct, and Apacci wasn't about to admit she wanted something from him. Instead, she did what any stubborn, prideful person would do—she framed it as a challenge.
"All right, fine, I'll let you do your weird soul thing," she grumbled, arms crossed. "But only because I want to see if you're full of shit or not."
Sun-Sun wasted no time capitalizing on the moment. "Oh my~ So eager to have Gabriel's hands on you, Apacci?"
"Shut up, Sun-Sun!" Apacci barked, her face immediately turning red. "I just— I just wanna see if he's actually doing anything or if you two are just gullible idiots!"
Gabriel just blinked at her. "...Right. Sure. That's why."
Apacci scowled. "Just get it over with already!"
He stepped forward, reaching out toward her shoulder, but Apacci immediately took a step back.
"Wait, wait, wait—don't touch me yet!"
Gabriel sighed. "Apacci, I literally have to touch you for this to work."
Apacci fidgeted slightly, avoiding eye contact. She looked like she was arguing with herself.
Sun-Sun, meanwhile, was having the time of her life. "Oh my, are you nervous?"
"I— I just don't like being touched, okay?!" Apacci snapped.
Gabriel exhaled through his nose, then took a step back.
"Look, I don't have to do this. If you're uncomfortable, we can forget about it."
That only made Apacci more frustrated. "No! I just— Ugh! Fine! Just do it already before I change my mind."
With that, she squared her shoulders and stood firm, as if preparing for battle.
Gabriel reached out once more and rested his fingertips lightly on her shoulder.
Purple energy glowed from his palm as he reached into her soul.
And what he saw was the same as the others—thousands of souls, chaotically intertwined, all struggling for dominance beneath her anchor soul. The constant battle for identity. The endless hunger. The instability that all Hollows suffered from.
Just like with Mila Rose and Sun-Sun, he eliminated the identities of the sub-souls and fused them into the anchor soul, stabilizing it permanently.
As the energy faded, Gabriel removed his hand.
"...That's it?" Apacci muttered, almost disappointed.
Gabriel tilted his head. "You feel any different?"
"...No?"
"Are you hungry?"
"No, I just—" She stopped.
She wasn't hungry.
Not even a little.
Her eyes widened as she slowly processed what that meant.
Sun-Sun giggled. "It worked, then."
Apacci blinked, still stunned. Then, ever so slowly, she turned her head toward Gabriel.
"...I still don't like you."
"I'd be worried if you did." Which was true. If it was that easy to get someone to like you, relationships wouldn't be so hard.
Apacci huffed and crossed her arms, turning away. "...Thanks, I guess."
That was the closest thing to a compliment he was ever gonna get from her.
But that wasn't the biggest surprise of the day.
During the conversation that followed, something came up that Gabriel hadn't expected.
At one point, Apacci threw out another insult, calling him an "old creep."
Gabriel raised a brow. "Old? Lady, I've only been a Hollow for, like, six months."
...Silence.
A very strange silence.
The air shifted.
Gabriel could feel the weight of Harribel's gaze on him, heavier than it had ever been before.
When he turned his head, he saw something he really didn't expect—Harribel staring at him with an unreadable expression.
No, wait. He could read it.
It was... maternal.
Oh.
Oh no.
A/N let hope y'all catch up soon.