Not a Mob: Psycho

After moving everyone to a reasonably safe location, Ohta gave Karin a flick on her bone forehead protector, surprising her as she actually felt a sharp pain.
"Ow! What was that for...!?" shouted Karin, staring at Ohta with a pout as she rubbed her forehead or, at the very least, tried to. The bone mask representing her Hollowfication prevented her from massaging the area directly, so she promptly gave up.
"Karin-chan...is that you?" asked Orihime, recognizing Ichigo's little sister at a glance but refusing to believe her eyes as it indicated Karin had been killed or had her soul extracted from her body...
"Oh, hey, Orihime," replied Karin, raising her hand as if nothing was out of the ordinary while looking around at the surprisingly large group of people accompanying Ohta, presumably to come to her rescue. Her eyes lingered on Rukia for a bit, but she didn't say anything and simply smiled. It wasn't by much, but she was taller than the 144cm woman, and her breasts were markedly larger. Not 'large,' but big enough.
"Did all of you come here to rescue me...?" asked Karin, already knowing the answer but still feeling compelled to ask.
Before anyone could respond, Karin shrugged her shoulders and added, "Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. I'm not human anymore, but the same can be said for everyone here."
"What are you saying, Karin!?" exclaimed Ichigo, staring at his younger sister in disbelief as he shouted, "You've been turned into a Hollow! How can you be so calm...!?"
Digging into her left ear with her pinky, Karin rolled her eyes, sporting an annoyed look as she contended, "You and that big guy in the back also have Hollow powers. Or what, are you mad because you're not the only one who's special? Well, tough luck. This is the new me. I'm never going back to being weak, defenseless, and scared all the time."
Punctuating her words, Karin grabbed Ohta's arm, asserting, "I'm going to live and train with Ohta from now on. You and Tou-san couldn't protect us, so I might bring Yu-"
Before Karin could say anything else, Ohta plopped his hand atop her head, ruffling her surprisingly cold hair with a bit of force as he said, "Don't think your newfound power allows you to say or do whatever you want, boku. That Aizen cunt clearly messed with your common sense, so remain calm and choose your words carefully. You're someone who cares about their family and was willing to endure extreme hardships to become strong enough to protect them. Your brother is the same, so don't criticize him for being too weak at sixteen to overpower enemies that have sucked air for hundreds or thousands of years..."
Retracting his hand from Karin's head, Ohta added, "Besides, just look at you. In your current state, you wouldn't be able to return and reside in the human world for an extended period due to the lack of Reishi. I doubt you want to devour human souls to live, so we need to recover your body and find a way to seal your Hollow powers. Then you can work to master them like your brother..."
As she had conditioned herself to listen to Ohta during her training, Karin hung her head and reflected on his words. The thought of devouring the souls of humans didn't bother her, but she knew it 'should.' She also knew Ohta would hate or regard her as a monster if she acted like one, so even though she felt no attachment toward Ichigo and her father, the two who had 'betrayed' her, Karin knew she should at least pretend to get along with them. As for her twin sister, Yuzu, she was still determined to protect her with her life...
"You're right..." conceded Karin, staring down at her body and the palms of her hands as she added, "I'm...not myself right now..."
Raising her head, Karin forced a smile as she looked at Ichigo, adding, "Sorry, Ichi-nii...I know you're doing your best..."
Feeling relieved now that Karin was back to 'normal,' or at least getting there, Ichigo exhaled a sigh, adopting a far more heartfelt smile as he replied, "And I'm sorry for keeping secrets and not being there when you needed me the most. Once we return to the human world, let's sit down and have a long talk with dad and Yuzu, okay?"
Nodding her head, Karin's smile broadened as she replied, "I'd like that," in a sincere-sounding tone. However, while Ichigo was easily convinced, everyone else had the distinct impression something was 'off.'
("Looks like we have a little psychopath on our hands...") thought Ohta, recognizing many of his qualities in the current Karin. His 'condition' had improved since his reincarnation, but his opportunistic nature was a side-effect of a much darker period in his life. A time when he would have done just about anything to get his revenge...
Ruffling Karin's hair a second time, this time much less forcibly, Ohta said, "That's better. Now, explain to us what happened. If that's too much right now, settle for telling us where your physical body is."
Shrugging her shoulders, Karin replied, "I have no clue, but that Aizen guy told me to tell you it's being kept in the palace of something called an Espada. He also said the order to preserve it would only last thirty-one hours, so if I want to regain my humanity, you should stay away from his throne room and give him a good show."
Though his expression didn't change from a relaxed smile, Ohta internally growled, ("I seriously fucking hate scheming bastards...")
"Anything else...?" asked Ohta.
"Three things," replied Karin, holding up three fingers as she revealed, "He said there are three rules you must obey if you enter Las Noches. First, he said my body isn't being held by the Primera, Secundo, or Tres Espada, so you're not supposed to attack them. Secondly, the other Espada have all been told to remain in their palaces and are prohibited from leaving unless you attack them directly. Lastly..."
Looking directly at Ohta, Karin said, "He said that if you choose to ignore his rules and attack the Primera, Secundo, or Tres Espadas, you shouldn't kill more than one of them as it would ruin the balance between the three realms."
"Of course, it would..." replied Ohta, rolling his eyes so forcefully it hurt. Yoruichi had given him a similar warning in her texts, but he told her he would slaughter each of them if push came to shove. After all, it was far better to kill them and deal with the consequences later than allow them to be weaponized by Aizen...
"Then that settles it," said Ichigo. "We can't leave without Karin's body, so we stick together and find out which of these Espada bastards is keeping it. After that..."
Looking at Ohta, Ichigo furrowed his brows as he asked, "Can I ask you to ensure she gets to safety? You're the only one that can move freely in this place. If the enemy tries to pursue us, I'll defend the rear with my life..."
"Did you forget what comes after this?" asked Ohta. "Alongside me, you're one of the 'weapons' meant to counteract Aizen's Zanpakuto. The thirty-one-hour timeframe coincides with the timeline of the final battle, so if we can't find Karin's body within twenty-four hours, we'll need to leave it and find a way to return..."
"What are you&ndash;we can't do that!" shouted Ichigo. However, before he could say another word, Ohta silenced him by drawing his lips together with psychic energy, stating, "Calm down. If we can't recover her body, that bastard Kisuke can supply her a Gigai no different from a normal human. If Aizen slaughters us and succeeds in supplanting the Soul King as literal God, do you think recovering her body will have any meaning...?"
"..."
Though he initially panicked when Ohta zipped his lips, Ichigo had calmed down by the time the former was finished speaking. He didn't like it, but it was true that if they couldn't defeat Aizen, it wouldn't matter if Karin was a Hollow or a human. They would all be dead...
Not really helping the situation, at least from Ichigo's perspective, Karin shrugged her shoulders and said, "If I can acquire a new body once we return, we might as well just leave. This place isn't nearly as creepy as it was, but I'd rather not stay here if I don't have to."
"As reasonable as that is, I'm going to have to disagree," declared Ohta, crossing his arms and asserting, "I might have come here to rescue you, but I also came to beat the asses of the people who kidnapped you. The rest of you can return, but I'm not leaving until I paint these sands with at least one of the top three Espada..."
"If you're staying, I'm staying," declared Rukia, prompting Orihime to add, "And if the two of you are staying, I 'have' to stay~!" in a forcefully bubbly tone.
"Yeah, there's no way I'm leaving my little sister's body in the hands of these monsters," appended Ichigo, meeting Ohta's gaze as he affirmed, "Twenty-four hours..."
Nodding his head, Ohta repeated, "Twenty-four hours..." before pulling out his phone and setting the alarm. He knew he wouldn't get any signal in a place like Hueco Mundo, but he had brought it with him, just in case.
Waiting until Ohta had returned his phone to his pocket, Karin said, "I'm fine with sticking around for a while longer, but if we're going to split up into groups, I'm going with you. I want to show you how useful I am, and if we meet that asshole who abducted me, I want to give him at least one good kick before you tear him apart slowly."
Not expecting to hear such 'violent' words from his little sister, Ichigo muttered, "Karin..." in a faint tone. Inversely, Ohta had to suppress a smile as he ruffled the feisty lass's head and said, "Of course. Just remember to back away when I tell you to and make sure to guard Orihime. If you can't do that, you can follow your brother."
Before Karin could respond, Ichigo asked, "Wait, are we actually splitting up? Wouldn't it make more sense for us to stick together...?"
"We can cover more ground if we split up," contended Rukia. "Also, in case you've forgotten, Ohta's power isn't very friendly to his allies. If there are too many of us around, he won't be able to protect and attack effectively."
"Yeah, I get that..." replied Ichigo, scratching the back of his head as he looked around at the rest of the group with an awkward look. He was fine with splitting up, but he could tell at a glance how the groups would be broken down. Chad, Uryu, and Renji had gotten much stronger, but Ichigo didn't think they could survive without his or Ohta's protection. However, if they were with him, he also couldn't go all out due to the instabilities of his Hollowfication...
"Chad, Uryu, Renji...I think the three of you-"
Before Ichigo could finish speaking, Chad materialized his red and black gauntlet, throwing a powerful punch that sent the ginger Shinigami flying. At the same time, as if they had coordinated things in advance, Uryu lept into the air, forcing Ichigo to evade a rain of arrows while Renji activated his Bankai, manifesting a giant red-maned snake whose body was formed of interconnected bones. He also gained a furry mantle and pauldron with a baboon's skull affixed to it, but the most notable thing about his Bankai was how much it screamed 'overcompensation'...
With the trio refusing to let up even after he screamed at them multiple times to cut it out, Ichigo was eventually forced to release his own Bankai to escape the pressure. Once he had, the trio immediately ceased their assault, Chad representing the group by asking, "Still think we're weak...?"
Retorting from the side, Karin, standing with her arms crossed, said, "Ichi-nii can be really full of himself. He thinks he-"
Though he didn't say anything, Ohta interrupted Karin's grousing with a light chop to her head. He had similar thoughts about her brother's hero complex, but there was a time and a place for everything...
...
..
.
(A/N: My psychotic kouhai can't be this cute...also, daily reminder that Not a Mob: Psycho is NOT a harem novel.)

Figuring they could cover more ground if they entered on opposite sides of Las Noches, Ohta told Ichigo, Renji, Chad, and Uryu to wait around an hour while he took Rukia, Orihime, and Karin around the perimeter of the megalithic structure.
Less than a minute after separating from the other group, Karin asked, "Say, Orihime, since when were you a Shinigami...?" while staring at the voluptuous ginger with a hint of suspicion.
Answering in Orihime's stead, Ohta explained, "I made her into one after she saved my life and helped me save Rukia." Then, before she could ask, he said, "I was willing to make you one as well, but only once you were a bit older. The higher your concentration of Reiryoku, the slower you age in soul form. That's another reason to reclaim your body and seal away your current power. I doubt you want to be caught in the middle of puberty for a hundred years."
"Ugh...yeah, that's a hard pass..." groaned Karin, borrowing a phrase from Ohta. She had only had to endure her period twice, but it was a harrowing experience. The thought of falling behind Yuzu in terms of 'development' also wasn't particularly pleasant, so as long as it didn't require her to give up her current power, she would revert to being human for at least a few years, maybe until she finished college.
Realizing there were still many things she wanted to accomplish in the human world, a grimace marred Karin's face. She and Yuzu planned to become fully-fledged Nurses, working at their family's clinic even after moving out to start their own families. Now that she knew just how 'big' the world beyond her family's clinic was, Karin wasn't sure she could ever be satisfied with such a 'mundane' lifestyle. Not when there was so much more to see and experience...
Though he had no idea what Karin was thinking, Ohta asserted, "You're overthinking things. Only fools think long-term when they don't even have control over their present. Focus on being happy at any given moment. If that proves difficult or impossible, focus on fixing or removing whatever it is that's making you unhappy..."
"I know what would make me happy..." contended Karin, staring at Ohta with half-lidded eyes as she added, "But I also know that's not an option right now..."
"You've got that right..." replied Ohta, meeting the petite Arrancar's gaze with half-lidded eyes of his own. She had become increasingly aware of her feminity during their training, and, thanks to her dumbass of a father, an otherwise ordinary crush became the seed of precociousness. It was perfectly normal for elementary and middle schoolers to have crushes on boys older than them, but because Isshin gave her 'permission,' Karin had expectations outside the norm, exacerbated by her induction into a world that defied general conventions and common sense...
Keying in on the 'tension' between Ohta and Karin, Rukia raised her brows before adopting a serious expression as she said, "You're much too young to have that sort of relationship with Ohta-kun, Karin-san. I could permit it once you reach your third year in Middle School, but not a day sooner..."
Blinking in surprise, Karin shifted her attention to Rukia, asking, "What do you mean you'd permit it? You allow other girls to be in a relationship with Ohta-kun...?"
Directing her gaze toward Orihime near the end of her query, realization struck Karin like a hammer to her head. At least, that's what she thought had happened. In reality, Ohta gave her a firm karate chop, stating, "This isn't a conversation that's going to happen right now..."
Turning to Rukia, Ohta made no effort to hide his displeasure as he said, "You crossed the line on this one, Rukia. I was fine with making Karin my protege, but now you've planted a dangerous seed in her mind that won't go away unless I crush it willfully..."
Realizing she had overstepped her bounds, Rukia hung her head, offering a faint, "It was never my intention to make things more difficult for you..."
Plopping his hand down upon the petite Shinigami's head, Ohta remarked, "Woman, if I didn't adore you, I'd have given your perky ass the boot the moment you started spouting crazy shit like having me 'gain experience.' Just let me decide when, how, and who I gain that experience with...I 'do not' need you scouting, much less grooming future lovers for me. I might be a monster, but I'm not a degenerate..."
Returning his gaze to Karin, Ohta firmly asserted, "I have no intention of entering a committed relationship with anyone but Rukia. If you overstep your bounds and attempt to force me to overstep mine, don't doubt for a moment that I won't cut ties with you..."
Though she furrowed her brows deeply, Karin didn't hesitate to respond, "I understand..." in an affirming tone. However, while she knew she didn't stand a chance in the present, she wouldn't give up. Not after what Rukia had just said...
Seeing the resolution in Karin's eyes, Ohta's frown deepened as he turned his gaze to the front. He knew the person most responsible for this series of events was Isshin, so while he was more than a little annoyed by Rukia and Karin alike, he didn't blame them. The former simply wanted him to be happy, and the latter was at an age where even normal kids were prone to delusions. Karin 'knew' she was special, and the more that sentiment was reinforced, the more disconnected she would become from conventional standards and reasoning. After all, there weren't exactly an excess of 11-12-year-olds that could fly around and fire off nukes at will...
("Looks like I need to give Isshin a piece of my mind once we return...") thought Ohta. At the same time, he increased the speed of his psychic construct, feeling a sudden urge to reclaim Karin's body and expedite her return to 'normality' before things became even more convoluted...
...
..
.
After reaching the opposite side of Las Noches, using the imprints he had placed in Ichigo and the others as a point of reference, Ohta drilled a hole through its incredibly thick walls before leading the way in on foot. Inside, they found themselves in a seemingly well-lit corridor lined with torches, but if you looked up, the ceiling was so far away it was completely cast in shadow.
"From this point on, the three of you must remain together at all times; is that clear?" asked Ohta.
Representing the group as its de facto leader, Rukia answered, "We'll do our best to stay out of your way. However, unless a powerful enemy like an Espada appears, you should let us deal with them. Orihime and I need the experience, and Karin clearly needs to acclimate to her powers as an Arrancar..."
Punching her right fist into the palm of her left hand, producing a tiny shockwave, Karin exclaimed, "Right on! These assholes kidnapped me because I was weak. Now that I'm strong, they deserve to experience what it feels like to be helpless...!"
Noticing Karin's vest open to a dangerous degree when affected by the shockwave she produced, Ohta promptly removed his cloak, throwing it over her head as he said, "Put that on. Also, unless you have no choice, you should avoid killing anyone in your current state. I'll let you fight, but if I determine that things are getting out of hand, I'm pulling you out and grounding your ass. Understood?"
While donning Ohta's cloak with a smile, Karin half-heartedly responded, "Whatever you say, boss man. So long as I get a kick on that creepy emo bastard that abducted me, I'm fine with protecting Orihime and cheering from the sidelines."
Though it was a little awkward hearing Karin state she would protect her, Orihime pumped her fists and said, "Let's do our best to provide the best support, Karin-chan~!"
Raising her gaze to stare at Orihime's breasts, noticeably even with the cloak she wore, Karin clicked her tongue and repeated, "Whatever you say..." before averting her gaze to scan their surroundings. Her spiritual sense was unrefined, but her instinct and other senses had been amped far beyond their natural limit, compelling her to remark, "I think someone is watching us..."
"More than one..." affirmed Ohta, raising his gaze to the darkness above and peering into it without issue. There were hundreds of large, beetle-like Hollow 'slumbering' on the walls, but what caught his attention was the complex network of tracks resembling a miniaturized railway on the ceiling. He had seen similar setups in the factories of his previous life, but this particular setup seemed to be for surveillance as there were hemispherical devices resembling security cameras...
("The technology here is pretty advanced...") noted Ohta. ("An advanced monitoring system, and I'm assuming these beetles function similarly to maintenance drones or some kind of automated defense...")
Though he was tempted to extend his hand and trash the entire system, the circumference of Las Noches' outer wall was approximately 500km. It would take significant time and energy if he wanted to do any meaningful damage to it, especially if the slumbering, beetle-like Hollows really were maintenance drones. Considering the almost incomprehensible size of Las Noches, it made the most sense...
"What are you looking at...?" asked Karin, unable to sense the slumbering Hollows. Instead, what she felt was the figure wearing a skull-like Hollow mask, standing motionlessly atop a support beam that ran about halfway up the inordinately tall wall. Similar figures stood on every other support beam, functionally identical in terms of height, appearance, and Reiryoku.
Instead of responding to Karin's words, Ohta asked, "You assholes going to come down and say hi, or should I be the one to greet you...?"
In response to Ohta's words, an Arrancar with a bull-like mask appeared around a hundred meters away, his body garbed in a long-sleeve jacket with a high collar, a soot-black sash, white hakama, and black gloves. As for his Zanpakuto, it had a pale blue, practically white hilt, a rectangular tsuba, and an inordinately straight sheathe that matched the color of his grip.
Standing with his hands behind his back, the bull-masked Arrancar introduced himself, declaring, "I am Arrancar #61, Rudbornn Chelute of the Exequias. The place you have infringed upon is near the domain of Lord Barragan, the Segunda Espada. Lord Aizen advises that you leave and resume your conquest elsewhere..."
"Sure," replied Ohta. "Just tell me where the Primera and Cuatro Espadas live, and I'll be on my way..."
"Lord Ulquiorra's palace can be found near the southern gate, opposite your current location," replied Rudbornn. "As for Lord Starrk, he does not have a palace of his own but guards the entrance to Lord Aizen's..."
"Then I'm guessing that Harribel chick can be found in the East...?" asked Ohta, assuming the most powerful Espada guarded the cardinal directions while the weaker ones defended the intermediates.
"That is correct," replied Rudbornn, adding, "However, I would advise you to remember Lord Aizen's warning. If you attempt to eliminate-"
"I'm going to 'advise' you to shut the fuck up," interjected Ohta. "I didn't come here to play your Master's game. Once I'm finished with Ulquiorra, that gunslinging bastard will pay for what he did back in Karakura Town. Now, piss off before I fuse every single one of you into a sphere the size of a grapefruit, perfect for shoving up your Master's ass."
".."
Though he had been ordered not to engage Ohta, Rudbornn's body trembled with silent fury as he suppressed the urge to unsheathe his Zanpakuto. He was among the most loyal of Aizen's subordinates, so he couldn't stand hearing Ohta badmouth him. Fortunately for him, his loyalty also meant he wouldn't dare disobey Aizen's orders, so after a very tense silence, he abruptly disappeared along with the entire group of identical, skull-masked Arrancar...
...
..
.
(A/N: Could this be the start of Ohta's speedrun...?)

"This guy is starting to annoy me..." remarked Ohta, slowing the psychic platform to a crawl as Runuganga materialized a 20m tall wall of sand to block their path. He could easily break through it, but, having grown tired of the sand-formed Hollow's antics, he decided to end it once and for all.
"I see you've consigned yourself to your fate!" shouted Runuganga. "Now, prepare to have your bones ground to dust...!"
Extending his hand, Ohta released an invisible wave of energy with the intention of crushing Runuganga as he had the contortionist Hollow back in the underground passage. Before he could, Rukia leaped from his lap, shouting, "Leave this one to me...!" as she manifested Sode-no-Shirayuki without calling her name.
"I'll help...!" added Orihime, rising to her feet but staying atop the psychic platform as she shouted, "Cry gently, Kokoroyoi! Suzu-no-Kyoshin...!"
Empowered by Orihime, Rukia brandished her Zanpakuto to freeze the entirety of Runuganga in a single go. Moisture happened to be the natural enemy of the monstrous Hollow, so while he wasn't killed outright, he was incapacitated and would suffer tremendously for the next couple of hours.
Returning to the psychic platform, landing near Ohta, Rukia puffed out her nearly non-existent chest and hummed, "Did you see that? You don't have to try and do 'everything' yourself. Orihime and I make a great team, even without-"
Interrupting Rukia's bragging, Ichigo abruptly shouted, "When did Orihime become a Shinigami...!?"
"Are you kidding me?" asked Uryu, staring at Ichigo in disbelief as he added, "It was right after we returned from the Soul Society. Just how oblivious are you to your surroundings?"
"I was focused on my training!" contended Ichigo. However, as he had seen Orihime wearing a Shihakusho numerous times, that wasn't a good excuse. He just thought she was cosplaying to fit in or not draw attention to herself during battle...
Jingling the bells of her Kokoroyoi, Orihime, feeling much better after releasing it, adopted a radiant smile and explained, "I wanted to be of better help to everyone, and..."
Directing her gaze to Rukia and Ohta, focusing on the latter, Orihime added, "I wanted to stay beside the people I respect and admire the most..."
Though she wanted to say something a little different, Orihime didn't want to put Ohta on the spot in front of so many people. She also didn't want to make it sound like she was betraying Rukia. However, as there was a good chance they could die on this mission, she had to say something...
Fortunately for Orihime, Rukia promptly gave Ohta a swift smack when he initially just stared at her, shouting, "Stop trying to act cool and pat her on the head or something, you dog-brained buffoon...!"
"I don't approve of domestic violence..." muttered Ohta, rubbing the spot Rukia had slapped him even though he hadn't felt the blow. Then, eliciting a startled yelp from Orihime, he pulled the buxom ginger to sit in his lap, wrapping his arms around her abdomen as he said, "Protect me from the monkey-bun, Gingersnap...!"
"Uh...o-okay...!?" replied Orihime, surprising both Ohta and Rukia as she pointed to the flower-shaped pins in her hair before producing a triangular barrier to 'protect' him.
Adopting a shit-eating grin, Ohta pat Orihime on the head, saying, "Good girl," while Rukia stared at him with narrowed eyes before sighing in mock exasperation...
...
..
.
After finally reaching the base of Las Noches, Ohta asked, "So, what now? Are we passing through or going up? Those towers at the top of the dome are pretty conspicuous."
"Do you think that's where they're keeping Karin?" asked Ichigo.
Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta replied, "I genuinely have no idea. But I doubt someone who wants to depose the closest thing in this world to a god would be content concealing their throne in a heavily guarded area. At least one of those towers should be Aizen's ego den..."
Furrowing his brows and crossing his arms, Ichigo put his few surviving brain cells to work, seriously considering his response before stating, "I don't think it's a good idea to fight Aizen without the support of the Gotei 13. Unless we confirm that's where Karin is being held captive, we should try and avoid it..."
"I don't agree with that plan," said Ohta. "Kidnapping Karin had to have been Aizen's idea, so even if she isn't being kept near him, he's the most likely to know where she's being held."
Shaking his head, Ohta's expression became serious as he said, "The six of you can enter the main complex of Las Noches to lure the enemy and search for Karin there. I'm here for the snake's head..."
"That's crazy!" exclaimed Renji. "There's no way you can take on Aizen by yourself! We should use this opportunity to diminish his forces before the final battle...!"
Furrowing his brows, Ohta asserted, "We came here to rescue Ichigo's tomboy sister. Besides, do you believe the enemy will line up and wait for us to gang up on them individually? What if the opposite happens, and we must battle all the Espada simultaneously? Ichigo can barely hold his own against one of their mid-tier fighters. What-"
Interrupting Ohta's tongue-lashing, a powerful Reiatsu descended on the group from above, compelling him to move the psychic platform backward to evade a small yet exceptionally fast figure. When the figure impacted the ground, an explosion of white sand and crystalline debris hundreds of meters tall was produced. At the same time, a powerful shockwave struck the outermost layer of Ohta's barrier, causing it to shimmer before peeling away like a plastic wrapper.
Before the massive cloud of dust had a chance to disperse, several fast-moving projectiles, remarkably similar to the arrows fired by Uryu, struck the second layer of Ohta's barrier, piercing through several others as they got lodged into the invisible membrane. Then, a much larger, spherical projectile impacted the center of his barrier, causing it to become visible as it indented and began to fracture.
Leaping toward the powerful projectile, Ohta slapped his hands together, transforming into his jackal form as he shouted, "Get to a safe distance...!" before slamming his fist into the rapidly spinning spherical projectile. He intended to shatter it to pieces. Instead, the sphere deformed under his fist before rebounding into the cloud of dust, creating a cylindrical tunnel through the veritable column of sand.
To Ohta's surprise, a vaguely familiar figure came into view when the 'ball' of dense Reiryoku returned to its origin, producing a large shockwave that created a void within the cloud of dust. They, or, more accurately, she had darker skin, aquamarine eyes, a mask resembling a forehead protector, a Hollow hole just below her navel, and an incredibly skimpy outfit, but Ohta immediately recognized the raven-haired individual as Karin...
After catching the sphere of Reiryoku with the sole of her foot, the Karin-like Arrancar briefly juggled it like a soccer ball, ultimately resting it on her knee as she asked, "How is it? Still think I'm weak...?" with a smug grin on her face.
"I think you're in serious need of an ass whopping..." retorted Ohta, his expression a deep-set frown as he resisted the urge to attack the Karin lookalike, forcing himself to ask, "What happened? Why are you attacking us...?"
Instead of answering Ohta's question, the Karin lookalike turned her body sideways, grinning mischievously as she gave herself a firm smack on her perky bottom and teased, "I always knew you were a sadist, what with all that intense training you put me through. Did you know, every time you pushed me to the point of exhaustion, I imagined you taking advantage of me? Then, when you didn't, it made me feel self-conscious, even though I knew you weren't that type of guy..."
Before Ohta could respond to the Karin lookalike's words, Ichigo rushed over, screaming, "Karin! Is that you!? What...what happened to you...!?" in a frenzied panic.
Furrowing her brows into a pout, the Karin lookalike muttered, "Ichi-nii..." before kicking the super dense sphere of Reiyroku into the air, bouncing it off of her knee before leaping up, abruptly twisting her body with extreme speed and flexibility as she shouted, "Can't you see I was talking to Ohta-kun...!?"
Kicking the Reiryoku sphere like a soccer ball, Karin caused the pupils of Ichigo's eyes to shrink as it barreled toward his chest with meteoric force. He managed to pull his cleaver-like Zanpakuto from his back, blocking the projectile with the flat of his blade, but he couldn't arrest its momentum. Instead, like a superhero trying to stop a train, he was forced backward at nearly the same speed as the projectile, obliterating several dunes before deflecting the superdense energy sphere skyward.
Using the time she had bought for herself, the Karin lookalike regained her smile as she scampered over to Ohta, exclaiming, "Did you see that, Ohta-kun!? With this kind of power, I don't need protection, and I never have to feel afraid anymore! I might not be as strong as you are right now, but I'm sure I can catch up if you keep training me...!"
Recovering from a momentary stupor, Ohta extended his hand to caress the Karin lookalike's head. There was a good chance she was a fake sent to distract them, but if she were the real deal, it indicated Aizen had done something to fuck with her common sense. He didn't want her going full postal by lashing out or chastizing her, so he forced a smile and said, "You certainly got stronger...now, mind explaining to me what happened? Also, stop bullying your brother. He did come all this way to try and rescue you, after all..."
"Eeeeeh..."
Looking past Ohta to where Ichigo was staring at her with equal parts shock and concern, the Karin lookalike exhaled an exasperated sigh and replied, "Fine, but only because you asked me to. If Ichi-nii and Tou-san had told me the truth from the start, I might not have been kidnapped so easily. At the very least, I could have become much stronger than I was. Not that I have anything to complain about now. Here, check this out..."
Extending her left hand to the side, Karin materialized a bow, seemingly formed from the same white bone as a hollow mask. There was no string, but as she grabbed at the location where one would have been, Reiryoku condensed around her hand and fingertips in a manner nearly identical to Uryu. As she pulled back and prepared to fire, however, what condensed at the front of her bow was more like a Cero, a spiraling mass of dark blue energy that caused the surrounding space to warp slightly.
As she loosed the Cero-like arrow into the distance, a look of expectation formed on Karin's face as she noticed Ohta's 'awe.' She had no idea how powerful she was at the present moment, but as long as it was enough to impress Ohta, she didn't care about the specifics.
Causing her to care at least a little, Karin's unique Cero impacted a sand dune several kilometers away, subsequently detonating like a small-yield nuclear warhead. A blinding light forced everyone witnessing the scene to shield their eyes, but when they regained the ability to see, they couldn't quite believe what they saw as a dark blue mushroom cloud had formed on the horizon. A few seconds later, a wall of sand, driven by a powerful shockwave, impacted them, nearly burying several of them before Ohta took action to pull them to safety, holding the broadly smiling Karin under his arm as she stared at the destruction she had wrought with glistening aquamarine eyes...
...
..
.
(A/N: Sorry about the limited chapters yesterday. No one was leaving any comments, so I took a long nap. I'll try to publish a fourth one today, but positive feedback and power stones go a long way toward ensuring I'm sufficiently motivated (O 3 O)...)

Chapter 79: Branching Paths