Not a Mob: Psycho

"They look like they're having fun..." remarked Ohta, standing with his arms crossed atop a red pylon, observing the battle between Grimmjow and Ichigo from a reasonably safe distance.
"Shouldn't we help him...?" asked Orihime, standing to Ohta's right with Karin, Harribel, and the latter's Fraccion. When Rukia, standing to his left, insisted on watching the battle, Orihime and Karin also asked to observe. Harribel then requested that Sung-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apacci be let out to witness the power of an Espada in Resurrecci&oacute;n, so Ohta let everyone out for some fresh air and a show.
"We musn't," replied Rukia, asserting, "Right now, Ichigo isn't fighting to preserve his life or locate his sister's body. This is a battle to protect his pride. To prove to himself that he has what it takes to overcome a foe he has lost to previously..."
"Ichi-nii has always hated losing..." affirmed Karin, sporting a serious expression that belied her earlier rebelliousness.
"I've yet to meet anyone that sincerely enjoyed it," quipped Ohta, his eyes and senses scanning their surroundings. He could still sense the imprints he left on Chad, Uryu, and Renji moving about, so he knew they were still alive. What confused him was why they were so far away, separated from Ichigo and seemingly moving away from Las Noches...
("Could they have been captured...?") wondered Ohta, briefly considering if he should play dumb and let the trio disappear permanently. Chad was a cool guy, so much so that Ohta was considering hiring him if he formed an organization, but Uryu and Renji were self-important cunts. The latter plainly had feelings for Rukia. That wouldn't have bothered Ohta too much under normal circumstances. What irritated him was that Renji hadn't even spoken to Rukia for over forty years before behaving like an outright villain during her capture. Now, even though he didn't do jack shit to save her, he acted like he was Rukia's best friend and 'entitled' to her attention...
Observing Ohta's actions, Rukia asked, "Are you searching for Uryu, Chad, and Renji...?"
"You're getting too good at reading me," remarked Ohta, looking down at the raven-haired woman to find she had a serious look on her face.
Raising his brows, Ohta asked, "What's with that look? I'm not going to let them die. But, even if they did, they came here of their own accord. They also chose to split up with us and then Ichigo, so I have no duty to ensure their survival..."
Furrowing her brows slightly, Rukia muttered, "Ohta..." in a faint, imploring tone.
Rolling his eyes, Ohta abruptly took a seat and appeared to mediate. His actions garnered the attention of Harribel and her Fraccion, but, despite recovering a surprising amount of her power in a short period, the Rank 3 Espada showed no hostility and shook her head when she saw the glints in her subordinates' eyes. She didn't believe Ohta would ever truly lower his guard around them, and she was right. He had been seeding psychic energy into their bodies for hours, so the moment they turned on him, he would twist their limbs and rip them apart without mercy...
Focusing on the psychic imprint he had left in Chad, Ohta expanded his senses through it to get a feel for their situation. What he discovered was that Chad, Uryu, and Renji were all severely injured. Far more surprisingly, they were being ferried away by what looked like a horde of Arrancar with child-like features, riding atop a giant, worm-like Hollow...
While continuing to gather information with his eyes closed, Ohta asked, "Hey, Number 3. Is there a group of Arrancar in Aizen's army that look like kids...?"
Immediately understanding who Ohta was referring to, Harribel replied, "That's Picaro, the 102nd Arrancar. In the past, they held the position of Secunda Espada, but they split into more than two hundred individuals in furtherance of Lord Aizen's efforts to understand the nature of Menos and naturally occurring Arrancar..."
"Are they dangerous...?" asked Ohta.
Crossing her arms, Harribel considered her words before responding, "Not under normal circumstances, no. They're far from harmless, but they treat everything as a game. Unless their prey seriously attempts to injure or kill them, they regard everyone as playmates, not enemies."
"What happens then...?" asked Ohta.
"They unleash their Ceros en mass or rip their enemies apart using their Resurrecci&oacute;n form, devouring everything like a swarm of locusts..." replied Harribel.
Opening his eyes, Ohta questioned, "Any reason they might take someone prisoner...?"
Raising her brows, Harribel answered, "I'm not sure. They're supposed to be sealed in the play area beneath Las Noches, watched over and tended to by Runuganga."
"Runuganga...that sounds annoyingly familiar..." remarked Ohta, looking to Rukia for confirmation.
Nodding her head, Rukia affirmed, "It's the name of that sand Hollow that kept blocking our path."
"Ah..."
Realizing that Picaro must have escaped after Rukia froze Runuganga, Ohta paused for several seconds before looking up at Harribel, causing her to stare at him in measured befuddlement as he said, "I'm going to direct you to where my 'comrades' are. I want you to retrieve them and then return here."
"You bastard...!" growled Apacci. However, before she could lash out further, Harribel silenced her by raising her right hand and answering, "Very well..." in her characteristically deep, incredibly calm tone. She got the impression Ohta was testing her, and, once again, she was right. He had correlated the lives of Chad, Uryu, and Renji to Sung-Sun, Mila Rose, and Appaci. In other words, if she didn't return them relatively unharmed, she would lose one or all of her subordinates...
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After landing a blow to Ichigo's stomach, his nails piercing the former's abdomen and protruding from his back, Grimmjow asserted, "It's over..." before retracting his hand and allowing the orange-haired Shinigami to crumple forward.
Though he managed to catch himself with his sword, Ichigo regretted it as his intestines nearly spilled out from his core muscles tensing. He was able to get his hand over the wound, but the fetid aroma of his blood and insides caused him to become vertiginous, his vision spinning as he threw up more blood than stomach acid.
Staring down at Ichigo's sorry state, Grimmjow flicked the former's blood from his hand, his smile nowhere to be seen as he said, "It's a shame you weren't at your best before this. If you survive and aren't eliminated when that monster becomes a God, get stronger and come at me again."
Kicking some sand into Ichigo's face, Grimmjow turned around, intending to leave. As much as he 'hated' both Ichigo and Ohta, he would never be satisfied with killing them unless they were both at full power before the fight began. Only then could he 'prove' he was more powerful than them...
"Hmmm...?"
Sensing a shiver run up his spine, Grimmjow raised his right hand, using the blades along the back of his forearm to intercept a massive, ax-like weapon that resembled two crescents fused at their backs, attached to a long handle. The blow forced him back several meters and caused the bones of his forearm to creak, but he was ultimately injured.
Recognizing the unique weapon, Grimmjow deflected it into the air as he roared, "As if your cowardly tricks would work on me, Nnoitra...!"
Pulling his weapon toward himself with a large looped chain, Nnoitra, an inordinately tall and slender man with long, sleek black hair, an eyepatch over his left eye, and teeth resembling piano keys, contended, "What are you talking about? It was just a simple greeting. If you couldn't thwart an attack like that in your Resurrecci&oacute;n form, you wouldn't deserve to be the Espada ranked 'beneath' me in terms of-"
"Hi there."
Before Nnoitra could finish his sentence or turn more than ten degrees, the back of a fist impacted the right side of his neck, causing his head to conform around it disgustingly before he abruptly 'vanished,' sent flying at tremendous speeds through multiple dunes.
While Grimmjow stared at him with eyes nearly as round as saucers, Ohta looked at his left hand curiously. He was currently in his jackal form, so his striking power was borderline nuclear. His lifting strength alone was at a level where he felt little strain raising a 150,000-ton freighter halfway out of the water. Despite this, his hand hurt a bit after 'greeting' Nnoitra with a backhand.
Coming to his senses, Grimmjow lowered his body into an attacking pose, his cat-like tail flicking behind him and nails extended as he growled, "It's you. Yamada Ohta..." with teeth bared.
Raising his brows, Ohta gave Grimmjow an 'are you serious' look as he said, "Calm down, Pussycat. Thanks to the Chocolate Espada, your life has been spared. If you want to fight me, run off somewhere to lick your wounds first. I'll be ready when you are."
Though he clicked his tongue, Grimmjow didn't hesitate to tuck in his tail and run. He knew he would need to be in peak condition to have any hope of defeating Ohta. His battle with Ichigo had drained him much more than anticipated, so he would need at least a week to expel the foreign energy in his wounds and another few days to recover. If he fought Ohta now, he would be lucky if he weren't played to death...
"Smart cat..." mused Ohta. Then, turning his attention to Ichigo, he added, "I would say you owe me two favors after this, but since I destroyed your sister's body, we'll call it even."
Before Ichigo could summon the strength to retort, Ohta extended his left hand, releasing Rukia, Karin, and Orihime from the cloak, the latter seeing his condition and exclaiming, "Kurosaki-kun...!" before rushing over to heal him.
Plopping his hands down atop Rukia's and Karin's heads, Ohta directed his gaze to the latter, saying, "Watch over your brother and Orihime for me. And be sure to pay close attention to your surroundings."
Though she was momentarily taken aback, Karin recovered quickly and responded with an enthusiastic, "Right! Just leave it to me...!"
Nodding in affirmation, Ohta retracted his hands from both girls' heads, waiting for Karin to scamper over to Ichigo and Orihime before meeting Rukia's gaze and asking, "Feel like killing an Espada...?"
Blinking in surprise, Rukia asked, "You want me to fight?" before adopting a half-lidded expression and remarking, "I thought it was 'too dangerous' for us to face the Espada..."
"It would be if you were alone," affirmed Ohta, adopting a teasing smile as he added, "Lucky for you, you have a Yamada-class Anti-Espada Defense System to safeguard your perky little ass..."
Punctuating his words, Ohta gave Rukia a firm smack on her ass, causing her to leap forward nearly a full meter as he added, "Go. I already infused mental energy into your body and can amplify it if needed..."
Rubbing her ass, Rukia sported furrowed brows as she flatly remarked, "I appreciate the opportunity, but you're being weirdly insistent..."
Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta elucidated, "After hearing Chocolate Tits' complaints about him, I get the feeling this guy 'deserves' to be killed by a woman. He might actually enjoy fighting me. If it's you, I imagine he'll look like he's main-lining shit the entire battle."
"Ah..."
Understanding that Ohta wanted her to make Nnoitra 'suffer,' Rukia didn't immediately activate her Bankai. She could feel his power flowing through her, so if she wielded it properly, she could do much more than destroy a poor, innocent tree...
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"Damn that sneaky bastard...!" hissed Nnoitra, concealing himself in the ruins of a destroyed building as he attempted to force his head back into an upright position. It was currently stuck at a forty-degree angle due to the indent Ohta had left in his neck, but he was quickly recovering thanks to the high-speed regeneration granted to him by his Resurrecci&oacute;n. It also gave him asymmetrical crescent horns, four additional arms, and six large scythes, so he was looking forward to cutting Ohta to pieces once he got his head on straight.
"Tsugi-no-mai, Hakuren...!"
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(A/N: I had a bad headache the past two days, likely due to too much caffeine. I'll try to release 3-4 chapters in the next couple of days to bring the total up to 100 before or shortly after the month changes. Also, no more reminders that this isn't a harem novel. You either believe it, or you don't at this point xD...)

Entering the frozen chamber where Nnoitra had been recovering, Rukia wore an expression as cold as her surroundings as she observed the tall and lanky Arrancar encased in a thick block of ice.
*crack*
Following the initial crack, an explosion of vaporized ice spread through the area as Nnoitra broke free, shouting, "You think you can defeat me so easily, you Shinigami wench...!?" with a fierce expression on his face.
Branding his six giant scythes from every direction, Nnoitra cut off any chance Rukia had to escape, his expression and tone hardening into a ruthless glower as he said, "Die..." like an Executioner passing sentence on someone.
Showing no fear or hesitation, Rukia stood her ground, sweeping her pure white Zanpakuto in a swift yet graceful figure-eight pattern as she said, "Yon-no-Mai, Kazahana(Fourth Dance, Snow Flurry)...!"
As his scythes crashed into the invisible barrier surrounding Rukia's body, Nnoitra felt a powerful repulsive force through each handle. At the same time, frigid wind erupted from Rukia's body, chilling his body and pushing him backward as a blizzard-like tempest filled the chamber.
Losing his smile, Nnoitra used his scythes to prevent himself from being pushed back as he growled, "I knew it...there's no way such a small and insignificant woman could possess such power. You're borrowing power from that man, Yamada Ohta..."
Sweeping her sword in a casual arc, Rukia generated several blades of ice that impacted Nnoitra's incredibly durable body, her expression revealing a hint of amusement as she remarked, "You're hopeless. You condemn me for borrowing power, but everything you have was given to you by Aizen or acquired using unscrupulous means."
"Shut your mouth...!" screamed Nnoitra, extending his pointed tongue to reveal the number five had been tattooed on its surface. Golden energy began to gather at its tip, forming a Cero, but before he could unleash it, the ice and snow beneath him started to glow, the air around him freezing before a column of ice formed from the floor to the ceiling.
Slicing her sword in a zig-zag pattern, Rukia caused the pillar of ice to split and slide in different directions in an attempt to tear Nnoitra apart with the pressure and torque produced by the uniquely dense, incredibly durable ice. Her efforts were unsuccessful, but she managed to trap Nnoitra for a short while, the tall and lanky Espada glaring at her with a look he likely wished she could kill.
As Rukia considered how she could torment Nnoitra further, a slim male Arrancar with short, dirty blonde hair and an eyepatch over his right eye appeared behind her. His sword resembled a falchion with a distinctive loop near the base of the blade and a chakra functioning as a hilt guard, but it didn't really matter as Rukia's figure flicked, disappearing before the sneak attack could impact the barrier surrounding her body. At the same time, another icy white circle manifested beneath her would-be assassin, trapping him within an ice column.
Breaking free from his icy prison, Nnoitra screamed, "You damned idiot, Tesra! This is why I told you to stop following me around...!"
Throwing one of his scythes, Nnoitra attempted to free his one and only Fraccion by cutting and incinerating the column just above his head. He might have succeeded, too, if Rukia hadn't reappeared in his blind spot, her hair gaining a frosty hue as she swung her sword, seemingly in slow motion, at his waist, saying, "Go-no-mai, Shirotatsu(Fifth Dance, White Divide)...!"
Though it was only for a moment, Rukia's Sode-no-Shirayuki reached a temperature infinitesimally close to Absolute Zero, -273.15&deg;C. As a result, her sword passed through Nnoitra's incredibly durable body as if it were an illusion, the Reishi comprising it freezing and simultaneously breaking down instantly, allowing her to slice through him with ease.
"Wha-"
As the upper half of his body separated from his lower half, carried by the momentum of his lunge, Nnoitra stared back at Rukia in disbelief.
Meeting the man's gaze, Rukia coldly affirmed, "That was 'my' power. Got anything else to say before you die...?"
Catching Rukia a little off guard, Nnoita caught and supported himself with four of his six scythes, glaring back at her as just an upper body as he growled, "You sneaky little bitch...attacking from my blind spot while I was distracted? Pathetic..."
Raising her brows, Rukia stared at Nnoitra in utter disbelief as she asked, "You are genuinely oblivious to the dichotomies between your words and actions, aren't you? When you resort to underhanded tactics, it's justified, but when the tables are turned, it's somehow dishonest. Is your Aspect of Death Obliviousness? Or perhaps Narcissism...?"
"It's Despair, you bitch...!" screamed Nnoitra, scurrying toward Rukia like a feral cockroach or a mantis that had been bifurcated at its metathorax. He was much slower than usual due to Rukia's frigid Reiatsu coursing through his body, but he forced himself forward with his pointed tongue extended, gathering all the energy he could muster for a final kamikaze blow.
To Nnoita's glee, Rukia didn't move to evade his attack. He suspected this was due to her faith in Ohta's psychic barrier, but he discovered the truth when his scythes tore through her body, breaking it apart like a snowman. Unfortunately, as his Reiryoku had already reached a critical degree of instability, he didn't even have time to curse before his body exploded like a golden sun more than three kilometers in diameter...
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While Orihime, Karin, and Ichigo were awed by the devastation wrought by Nnoitra's kamikaze, Ohta had a bored look on his face as he muttered, "Quinto Espada used Self-Destruct...it wasn't very effective..."
Hearing Ohta's utterance, Karin blinked in surprise, asking, "Was that a Pokomon reference...?"
Raising his brows, Ohta looked down at the petite Arrancar and asked, "So what if it was...?"
Shaking her head, Karin waved her hands and said, "No, it's nothing. It's just...I didn't think you paid attention to things like that."
As Rukia appeared right next to him, Ohta surprised her by plopping his hand atop her head, saying, "My fiancee likes cute things."
Escaping from Ohta's hand, Rukia stared at him with pretend annoyance as she asked, "What are you going on about now?"
Before Ohta could respond, Ichigo intruded upon their conversation from beneath the canopy of Orihime's healing barrier, his expression exhibiting disbelief as he asked, "Rukia...did you really just defeat an Espada on your own...?"
Furrowing his brows, Ohta remarked, "You say that as if you're the only one capable of battling powerful foes. She might be small, but I'll have you know Rukia could put both of our asses on ice if she managed to get close enough to trigger her Bankai on top of us."
Elbowing Ohta in his side, causing her entire forearm to go numb while he stood unaffected, Rukia groaned, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't need you speaking for me..."
Shrugging his shoulders and spreading his hands helplessly, Ohta replied, "Whatever you say, monkey-bun..." before looking to Ichigo and Orihime, focusing on the latter as he asked, "How much longer is it going to take to heal this asshat...?"
"I'm not entirely sure..." replied Orihime, adopting an apologetic smile as she explained, "Kurosaki-kun has a tremendous amount of Reiryoku, and it flows...differently from a normal person's. His physical injuries aren't too much of an issue, but I'm having trouble repairing the damage around his Hakusui(Soul Sleep)..."
"Then just patch him up enough that he can stand," said Ohta. "You can focus on healing him further once we relocate. Loitering in the middle of a battlefield after a fight is just asking to be ambushed."
Though he wouldn't mind if 'all' the remaining Espada showed up, Ohta knew it was probably best if they conserved and stockpiled their energy in preparation for the fight against Aizen. Thus, once Ichigo was healed enough to stand, he placed everyone else inside the cloak before telling the orange-haired hero complex to follow him...
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Waiting until they reached the interior of an 'abandoned' building, Ichigo questioned, "Where did the others go? I'm assuming it has something to do with that strange cloak..."
Exhaling a light chuckle, Ohta casually revealed, "This cloak belonged to the former God-King of Hueco Mundo, Barragan. And yes, the others are inside."
Punctuating his statement, Ohta released Rukia, Orihime, and Karin from his left sleeve before extending his right to produce Sung-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apacci. Ichigo was visibly relieved by the former, but confusion and a fair amount of condemnation marred his expression when he saw the trio of Arrancar, compelling him to groan, "Seriously, man? You already have Rukia, Orihime, and Rangiku..."
"Don't make assumptions," retorted Ohta, his expression morphing into a deadpan as he gestured to the standoffish trio and revealed, "These three are insurance to ensure Chad, Uryu, and Renji aren't 'disappeared' by their Mistress, the Tres Espada. Speaking of which...how did the four of you get separated?"
"Ugh..." groaned Ichigo. However, instead of keeping mum, he explained, "We tried sticking together, but we came across a room with multiple corridors. Every time we took one as a group, we always returned to the same place. Going back the way we came had the same result, so we split up to see if we could break out of the loop we were caught in..."
"Why not just tunnel through one of the walls?" questioned Ohta. "That's how we got into Las Noches in the first place."
"That's what I said," grumbled Ichigo. "but Uryu was against it, saying it would leave us open to being attacked from behind or having the ceiling collapsed on top of us."
"Mmm...he has a point..." admitted Ohta. After all, not everyone could raise a building the size of multiple stadiums by simply willing it. Chad was barely at the level where he could level buildings with his punches, and Uryu was mainly oriented around speed, not power. They would be lucky to survive the initial collapse if hundreds of thousands of tons of rubble fell atop them.
"Let's forget about that," said Ichigo, furrowing his brows as he added, "What I want to know is what happened to Karin's body?"
Shaking his head, Ohta parroted, "Just forget about it. Besides, even if we had recovered her body, she wouldn't have been able to return to it in her current state. We most likely need Urahara's assistance or the Hogyoku in Aizen's possession to revert her to her original state."
Furrowing her brows, Karin huffed, "I'm not reverting to my human form if it means I'll have to give up my power."
Before Ichigo could raise his voice, Karin stared him down, stating, "If you want others to live an ordinary life, lead by example. If you weren't such a busybody and kept your nose out of things-"
Chopping the top of Karin's head, Ohta said, "Cut it out. Even now, your brother barely understands what's going on. If you want to point fingers at someone, start with your father, Urahara Kisuke, Aizen, and the other ancient bastards pulling the strings."
Shifting his gaze to Ichigo, Ohta added, "But she's not entirely wrong, you know? You can't blame Karin for wanting to become stronger or relying on the powers of a Hollow when you walked the very same path. If you really want to protect her, you need to talk, train together, and prevent her from making the same mistakes you did. If not, she'll have no choice but to rely on herself and others to guide her..."
"Like you...?" asked Ichigo, brows furrowed to their limits.
Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta contended, "Better me than Urahara Kisuke and those ancient Vizards that gave you the runaround. At least I advised her to wait until she reached High School before training seriously. It was your 250-year-old dad that pissed on my good intentions."
Though Ichigo and Karin had been made aware that their dad was once a Captain-Level Shinigami, the two siblings looked at Ohta as if he had said something strange, the former questioning, "What are you talking about? Dad is only in his forties..."
Reaching up to massage his forehead, Ohta muttered, "This daft mother..." before shaking his head, lowering his hand, and saying, "Sit down and pay attention. I'm only going to go over this shit one final time. After that, it's an issue you'll need to work out as a family. I have more important things to deal with than mediating your family's affairs..."
With the Kurosaki siblings eventually complying with his instructions, Ohta recounted everything he knew about their family and situation for Ichigo's benefit. The latter wasn't at his level, but if they both survived the encounter against Aizen, Ohta could see the orange-haired teen being a powerful ally in the future. Thus, even though he didn't mesh well with Ichigo's naivete, he didn't mind training with him in the future if it meant having additional assurance against Yhwach and the potential betrayal of Soul Society...
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(A/N: Nnoitra just learned what it's like to chew 5 Gum...)

After reaching what he presumed to be his destination, a structure more closely resembling a coliseum than a palace, Ohta brought out Harribel, startling her a bit as she had been mid-conversation.
"Is this the place...?" asked Ohta.
Nodding in affirmation, Harribel answered, "Indeed. Nnoitra is a savage who revels in conflict and believes that battle is the only thing that gives life meaning."
"Sounds like he's the Kenpachi among the Espada..." noted Ohta, briefly considering leaving the man for Zaraki to deal with. The latter should be arriving as a part of the Attack Squad, so it was certainly an option.
"Does he have any Fraccion...?" asked Ohta, prompting Harribel to nod and explain, "Yes, a man called Tesra Lindocruz. No one knows why, but Nnoitra allows him to tag along and serve him despite his belief the weak should perish to the strong..."
Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta remarked, "I'm sure there's a reason, but it doesn't really matter. I was only asking because I wanted to give the girls a chance to fight."
"We appreciate the consideration, but, as you stated previously, this isn't the time to be playing around," responded the voice of Rukia. "Once this is over, we'll have plenty of time and opportunities to grow stronger."
Though she couldn't see him, Ohta nodded in approval before descending toward the coliseum, leaving Harribel to decide whether she would wait or follow after him. She was the best candidate to rule Hueco Mundo in his stead, so it was important for her to witness him brutalizing those she had marked for death. That way, while she might never truly respect him, she would 'thoroughly' understand the futility of betraying him...
Matching Ohta's expectations, Harribel briefly hesitated before following after him in silence. When they reached the center of the arena, however, nothing happened.
After spreading his senses through the area, Ohta raised his brows and mused, "Looks like no one's home."
"That would appear to be the case..." replied Harribel, using the Arrancar's version of spiritual sense, Pesquisa, to confirm that the coliseum was truly empty. There were presences deep underground, but that was most likely Nnoitra's food supply.
"Hmmmm..."
After a moment of deliberation, Ohta surprised Karin by ejecting her from the cloak's interior, causing her to exclaim, "Whoa! Warn me before you do something like that...!"
Ignoring Karin's remark, Ohta asked, "See this place...?" while gesturing to their surroundings.
"Yeah? What about it...?" asked Karin, crossing her arms and staring at Ohta with slightly furrowed brows. She was the one that had permitted him to do so, but she was still a little miffed that he had obliterated her original body, seemingly without hesitation.
"I want you to destroy it," revealed Ohta. "Go wild, and let me see what you're capable of."
Adopting an almost too-excited smile, Karin exclaimed, "Can I!? You're not just pulling my leg, right!?"
Nodding his head, Ohta explained, "While it's important you learn how to control your power, it's far more vital to know what you're capable of and how to grow further. That goes doubly for me. If I'm going to teach you, I need to know what you can do."
Forgetting her mild frustration, Karin shouted, "Then you better keep your eyes peeled...!" before leaping toward the empty, ruined viewing stands. Most of her movements and attacks were based on instinct, so she didn't know how to fly or form footholds yet. As a result, she just leaped around like a human-sized flea, tearing apart the coliseum and unleashing energy attacks with reckless abandon, laughing all the while...
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Once Karin had thoroughly tuckered herself out, Ohta entrusted her to Orihime before perching himself atop a slanted red pylon more than 1.2km in height.
"What exactly are these things?" asked Ohta, his question directed at the increasingly gold-haired woman observing and following him since he let her out of the cloak's interior.
"They were intended to be the residences of lower-ranking Arrancar and promising Hollows that were not part of an Espada's Fraccion," replied Harribel. "However, due to fools like Nnoitra and Grimmjow, our numbers have increased much slower than they could have..."
"Lucky us," mused Ohta, gesturing for Harribel to sit on the same ledge as him before asking, "So, is that what you'll do once you become the ruler of Hueco Mundo? Gather Hollows with intelligence to form a society? The Soul Society might not be too happy about that."
Catching Ohta a little off guard, Harribel replied, "Then we'll work with the Soul Society to regulate the flow of Hollows into the human world..."
Raising his brows, Ohta questioned, "You'll hunt your kind at the behest of those who have hunted you for eons...?"
Closing her eyes, Harribel replied, "Most Hollows are mindless beasts who only know how to consume and obey their instincts. As we transition from Gillian to Adjuchas and finally Vasto Lorde, we gradually regain our reason and intellect, increasingly resembling the humans we once were..."
Opening her eyes and turning to meet Ohta's gaze, Harribel added, "The nature of Hueco Mundo might never change, but it does not need to be a place devoid of thought, emotion, and reason. All Hollows, regardless of their stage of evolution, ultimately pursue the same thing. We wish to fill the void created when we lost or discarded our humanity..."
Though she likely didn't intend for it to be sensual, Harribel's narrow-eyed gaze and the placement of her Hollow hole, located over her womb, made it seem like she was attempting to entice Ohta as she placed the very tips of her fingers inside of it. Her voluptuous body, dark skin, and increasingly golden hair certainly reinforced the notion...
Tearing his gaze from Harribel's lower abdomen, Ohta asked, "And then what? Say you turn Las Noches into a sanctuary filled to the brim with Hollows seeking to regain their humanity. The simplest way to achieve that is to kill themselves and return to the cycle of reincarnation. What meaning is there in clinging to such a 'hollow' existence if they can never fill the void within?"
"I imagine it's the same reason Souls within the Rukongai persist for hundreds of years after their deaths," replied Harribel. "It's instinct and familiarity, the desire to become 'more' and the fear of parting with the memories and experiences that define each of us..."
Raising her gaze skyward, Harribel added, "Besides...you do not know for certain that it's impossible to fill the void within a Hollow. There must be a reason we become more humanoid as we evolve. At the very least, I've chosen to believe that there is a greater 'purpose' behind the existence of Hollows. We can't exist solely to destroy and consume...not when we have the capacity for so much more..."
*karow* *fwoom* *vwrrrrrrrrrrrr*
As if to spite Harribel's words, an electric-blue light tore through the sky on the far side of Las Noches, followed by a large explosion. The sound hit them about a minute later, so Ohta approximated it to be 90km away.
Before Ohta could ask, Harribel furrowed her brows into an almost pouty expression and groaned, "Grimmjow..." accusingly.
"Isn't that the guy I sent flying a few weeks ago...?" asked Ohta, recalling Grimmjow's pained expression of disbelief as he shattered the man's arm and broke most of the ribs on the left side of his body.
Recalling the incident Ohta was referring to, Harribel responded, "Indeed. And that attack he just used is called a Gran Ray Cero. Lord Aizen strictly prohibited its use within the canopy of Las Noches..."
Getting straight to the point, Ohta asked, "Is he someone that needs to die? It seems he has an issue respecting authority..."
Surprising Ohta, at least a little, Harribel replied, "No. While Grimmjow is similar to Nnoitra in temperament, his pride makes him honorable, and he can also be reasoned with. Nnoitra is the type to resort to underhanded means to get what he desires. Grimmjow won't go out of his way to attack those weaker than him and prefers to fight those he has acknowledged at full strength..."
"Hmmm..."
Alighting from the ledge and floating in the air, Ohta preempted Harribel's question by stating, "If that's the case, I think I know where we can find our missing Espada."
Blinking in realization, Harribel asked, "You think Nnoitra is waiting for an opportunity to ambush your friends...?"
"Didn't you say he attacked the previous Tres Espada...?" asked Ohta. "If he isn't hunting Strawberry's party, he could be seeking to eliminate other Espada to improve or secure his standing. Those who will do anything to stand at the top tend to have a penchant for suppressing those 'beneath' them."
"That certainly sounds like Nnoitra..." admitted Harribel, descending from the ledge to stand beside Ohta with crossed arms. Then, without further discussion, both vanished in the blink of an eye, one with a sharp 'fwish' and the other with a booming 'fwoom.'
...
..
.
Though he managed to get the upper hand after donning his Hollow mask, Ichigo found himself on the backfoot after Grimmjow released his Resurreccion state, giving him a feline, distinctly predatory appearance. His teeth had become sharp and jagged, his hands and feet had become black-clawed paws, and a slender, whip-like tail protruded from the sleek, bone-white plating covering his body. His pale blue hair had also become much longer, flowing to the backs of his knees and prevented from falling over his face with a forehead protector. More notably, he had blades on the backs of his forearms, and the green markings under his blue eyes had elongated, curving around the sides of his face and flowing into his distinctly cat-like ears.
"What's the matter...!?" screamed Grimmjow, grinning from ear to ear as he bellowed, "I've been waiting for this day ever since you gave me this scar on my chest! At least put up a fight...!"
Punctuating his words, Grimmjow launched himself with tremendous momentum, kicking up a large plume of sand as he did so. Ichigo was able to get his guard up, but the force of Grimmjow's kick sent him crashing through one of the massive red pylons littering Las Noches. In the very next moment, Grimmjow was behind him again, foot raised high in preparation for a powerful heel drop.
"Dammit...!" exclaimed Ichigo, his voice echoing with a ghastly resonance due to his Hollow mask. Unfortunately, while he managed to react quickly, intercepting Grimmjow's heel with the ebony black blade of his Bankai, it barely created sparks as he was sent crashing to the ground, producing a large column of sand and a sizeable crater.
Grinning to the extent it looked like the muscles in his face might tear, Grimmjow exclaimed, "You're so we-" before evading to the side with Sonido as a beam of black, red-hue energy tore through the area he had been standing.
Emerging from the sand column with enough speed to cause the entire thing to disperse, Ichigo's arm and sword appeared to bend and elongate, the energy within causing the surrounding space to distort as he shouted, "Getsuga Tensho...!"
Trusting his instincts, Grimmjow didn't try to block Ichigo's attack as he had done his other blows. Instead, he spammed Sonido, creating a fair distance between himself and the attack as all natural light faded from the world, overtaken by the eerie 'radiance' of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho seemingly encompassing the sky.
Suppressing the fear that momentarily consumed him, Grimmjow regained his vicious grin and shouted, "Now that's more like it, Shinigami...!" before charging at the visibly exhausted Ichigo with a relentless momentum. The latter's Hollow mask had started to crack, but instead of letting it disperse as it normally would, he quickly swept his hand across his face, forcing it to regain its structure before shouting, "Grimmjowwwww....!" with his eerie intonation...
...
..
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(A/N: Harribel's sentiments are as deep as an ocean...also, daily reminder that Not a Mob: Psycho is not a Harem novel.)

Chapter 87: Favor