Chapter 32: Aizen’s Unexpected Bite

It was another typical day in the endless, desolate sands of Hueco Mundo. The sky, or what passed for it in this lifeless realm, stretched endlessly above me. The air was dry, filled with nothing but the eerie silence that only a place like this could provide.

Aizen, my trusty three-meter tall doggo Hollow, was snoozing next to me. His giant ears flopped to the side as he laid sprawled out in the sand, his massive tail wagging occasionally in his sleep. I, however, was thinking about what kind of stupid thing I could do today to gain some more EP.

Suddenly, I had an epiphany.

"GUOOOH!"

(Translation: I'll make a sandcastle!)

I stood up and looked around. The sand was abundant, and, with no other better ideas, I decided to build a massive sandcastle. Not just any sandcastle, though — I wanted it to be the biggest, most absurd sandcastle in the history of Hueco Mundo.

I began gathering sand with my huge, bony hands, stacking it in ridiculous ways, slapping it together, making towers and walls, all while completely ignoring any and all logic. The end result was a structure that looked like a mix between a crumbled tower and a collapsing sandpile, but I was proud of it.

After a solid few hours of building, I looked around for Aizen to show off my creation.

"GUOOOH! LOOK AT MY CASTLE!"

(Translation: Behold! The greatest sandcastle of all time!)

Aizen was still snoozing, blissfully unaware of my new masterpiece. I eagerly walked over to him and nudged his massive body.

"Aizen! Aizen! Look!"

He slowly opened one eye, then yawned lazily, stretching out his massive limbs. Then, without warning, his nose twitched, and I saw something... strange. He sniffed the air and looked at me with his big, expressive dog eyes.

"GUOOOH?"

(Translation: What is this… I smell something tasty…)

I froze.

Oh no.

I forgot.

As a Hollow, I didn't need to eat. I didn't even think about eating. But Aizen, my pet, wasn't the same. I had been so caught up in the madness of trying to do something stupid for EP that I completely overlooked the fact that Aizen needed to feed.

And apparently, he was getting hungry.

I looked down at him and, before I could even react, Aizen suddenly lunged at me with surprising speed. His massive jaws snapped around my leg.

"GUOOOH!"

(Translation: HUNGRY!)

His sharp teeth dug into my flesh, and I yelped in surprise and pain, flailing to get away.

"NO! BAD DOG!" I roared, pulling my leg back.

But it was too late. His teeth had already sunk deep into my leg, and my bony body was struggling to get free.

For a second, I was reminded of the fact that I was, in fact, a Gillian — too large and awkward to escape such a situation easily.

"GUOOOH!"

(Translation: Why didn't you eat something else? Not my leg!)

Finally, with a loud tug, I managed to break free, leaving Aizen behind, chewing on the empty air where my leg had been. He tilted his head, his face utterly confused.

"GUOOOH?"

(Translation: Why don't you just let me eat you?)

I staggered backward, clutching the spot on my leg where he had bitten me. It didn't really hurt too much — I didn't have blood or anything — but the principle of it stung.

I looked down at Aizen and shook my head.

"No, bad dog," I said, my guttural voice full of sternness. "I'll feed you properly, okay? Just… no more biting me."

Aizen's tail wagged a little, but he looked at me with those hungry eyes. I sighed, realizing just how much of an idiot I'd been. I'd failed as a pet owner.

I wandered off, stumbling a bit in the sand as I tried to find something for Aizen to eat. He was very insistent on the whole "eating" thing, and I wasn't about to become a chew toy again.

After some time, I managed to find a few creatures wandering through Hueco Mundo — another Gillian here and there, too slow to escape. It wasn't much, but it would do. I used a few Ceros to make sure they couldn't fight back. In fact, my Cero was perfect for this, especially when I didn't want to mess with anything too strong.

I tossed the poor Hollow carcasses over to Aizen.

"GUOOOH!"

(Translation: Eat this, not my leg!)

Aizen immediately pounced on the creatures, devouring them greedily, his huge jaws snapping and crunching. I sighed in relief, watching him eat without wanting to gnaw on me again.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: +800 EP for 'Not Dying to Pet']

[CURRENT EP: 26,060 / 1,000,000]

I couldn't believe I had just survived my own stupidity. Yet, here I was — alive and still going.

"GUOOOH!"

(Translation: Next time, I'll make sure he's fed before I do anything dumb!)

As Aizen finished his meal, I realized that even if I was a complete idiot, at least I was surviving.