Not a Mob: Psycho

"So, this is Hueco Mundo..." muttered Ohta, his eyes reflecting a vast expanse of white sand sprinkled with dead-looking trees made from a type of white, spiritual quartz that glistened subtly under the light of a perpetual moon. Sparse clouds meandered across the sky, and though there were no stars present, the endless void above had a strange allure that gave the impression it was descending toward you if you stared into it for too long.
"And I'm guessing that's Las Noches..." remarked Ichigo, staring intently at a megalithic structure that defied human comprehension as it towered over the horizon. According to the information Ohta had been provided, it was roughly 28km tall and nearly 140km across. With the entire structure visible, they had to be a substantial distance from its base.
"It's...unbelievable..." muttered Chad, swallowing nervously. He had been feeling strangely 'invigorated' since entering Hueco Mundo, but Ohta's casual displays of power and the sight of Las Naches made him feel small and inconsequential...
"So, what's the plan?" asked Renji. "Most of us can use Shunpo, but I get the feeling that building is a lot further away than it looks. We might want to conserve our strength by running normally..."
"Yeah, but wouldn't that take hours?" asked Ichigo, shifting his attention to Ohta, Rukia, and Orihime. He felt that even if they didn't rush over, they could save time and energy by riding atop the translucent 'beanbag' Ohta had created.
Seeing through Ichigo's thoughts, Ohta shaped the squishy beanbag into a large platform, stable enough to stand on but soft like a futon.
"You're free to hop on but keep in mind that I don't do anything for free. If you want to ride on my constructs, you'll owe me a favor," cautioned Ohta.
"Seriously, man?" asked Ichigo, his expression forming a frown. "We're here to rescue my sister, and you're talking about us owing you favors?"
"That and this are different," contended Ohta. "Your sister is something of an apprentice to me, and I owe you for risking your life to help save Rukia. However, I don't recall you carrying my ass when we were in Soul Society, so don't expect me to bend over backward when I'm holding myself back from just leveling all of Las Noches..."
"..." x4(Ichigo/Renji/Uryu/Chad)
Undercutting Ohta's statement, though he didn't say anything to contend it, Rukia waved her hand dismissively and said, "Don't take Ohta's words too seriously. For you to 'owe' him once all of this is over, Karin needs to be rescued, and Aizen needs to be defeated. Think of it as Ohta putting pressure on himself to ensure everyone makes it through alive."
Hearing Rukia's explanation, everyone but Renji became significantly less tense. Ohta felt the urge to remind Uryu of their first encounter when the bespectacled Quincy pushed up his glasses and chuckled, but he didn't want to sabotage Rukia's efforts to make him look like a good person. He definitely wasn't, but it wasn't like he was evil or overtly malicious toward those not actively attempting to harm or interfere with his life...
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With everyone eventually boarding his psychic construct, Ohta controlled the speed to around five times Chad's running pace, 200km/h. He could go much faster, but the bigger the construct and the more wind he had to block, the greater the energy expenditure. More importantly, he found the 'ambiance' of Hueco Mundo's surprisingly pleasant, almost serene...
Voicing Ohta's thought aloud, Rukia remarked, "It's surprisingly peaceful here..." in a soft tone. "I kind of expected it to be more...chaotic..."
"I don't know..." muttered Orihime, tentatively gazing at the sky before clinging to Ohta more closely as she added, "It feels desolate and lonely. I'm worried about Karin..."
Though he was tempted to remark even desolation had its charms, Ohta held his tongue when Orihime commented on Karin. Not everyone could appreciate the stillness of a land of death, and a part of him didn't want a kind and caring woman like Orihime to get used to the transient calm that often preceded tremendous violence and acts of cruelty...
"We'll definitely rescue her..." assured Ohta, his expression calm and stoic even as a pure white sandstorm built on the horizon, gradually obscuring Las Noches. Ichigo and the others panicked when they saw it, telling him to go around or fly over it, but Ohta flew them directly into it, knowing full well that the fastest way to weather a storm was to push through without fear or hesitation...
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Observing the progress of Ohta's group through a circular monitor, Aizen, looking much less Groban-esque, gently tapped the armrest of his throne with his right index finger. He had 'engineered' the sandstorm to throw the group off course and try to split them up, but Ohta just tackled everything he threw at him as if it weren't a big deal.
"If only you had appeared a hundred years ago..." muttered Aizen. He had encountered people with abilities similar to Ohta's, but none came close to the power displayed by the domineering youth since his transition from a human to a Shinigami. If Aizen had discovered him before implementing his current plan, he might have been able to mold Ohta into a useful pawn or a potential 'successor.'
Ceasing his rhythmic tapping, Aizen's voice resonated through his throne room as he said, "Invite our guest over. I would like to chat with her," in a calm yet penetrating tone. Less than a minute later, Karin was ushered into the throne room, looking nervous in a predominately white outfit with soot-black trim. Had Ichigo been present, he would have blown a gasket as her ensemble consisted of bottoms that covered less than a swimsuit, a zipperless vest she prevented from opening by crossing her arms over her chest, sleeve-like arm warmers, and a pair of thigh-high boots.
"Kurosaki Karin..." muttered Aizen, gesturing toward the terrified girl as he said, "Come closer..."
Though she didn't want to, Karin found herself stepping toward Aizen as if her trembling body were being puppeteered like a marionette. She wasn't cold or anything, despite her state of dress, but the Reiatsu exuding from
Aizen, even when he wasn't actively releasing it, caused her to tremble in the depths of her soul.
Once Karin was in front of him, kneeling with a wide-eyed expression, Aizen pressed a concealed button on his throne, causing a square-shaped pillar to rise from the floor. Once it reached its full height, the top opened to reveal a crystalline container, within which sat a beautifully glowing orb that emitted predominately bluish-white light, tinged with accents of pink and dark purple.
"Do you know what this is?" asked Aizen, unsurprisingly when Karin responded with a faint, quivering, "N-N-No..."
"It's called the Hogyoku. With it, the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollow can be broken down. However, after considerable research, I've discovered it has a far more important function..." revealed Aizen.
Removing the Hogyoku from its crystalline protection, Aizen held it with his index, middle finger, and thumb. As he picked it up, an intense light exuded from the Hogyoku's interior before becoming pitch like the heart of a black hole, actively absorbing light as tiny tendrils of the same black substance entangled his fingers.
"The true power of the Hogyoku is the absorption and actualization of desires..." revealed Aizen. "The greater and more primitive the desire, the more potent its effect. Now, tell me, Kurosaki Karin. What is it you desire the most at this moment...?"
Swallowing hard, Karin meekly replied, "I...I want to go home..."
"Is that truly the case?" asked Aizen, adopting a faint smile as he held the Hogyoku right before her face and asked, "Are you absolutely certain you don't desire the power to escape this situation? The ability to free yourself from the shackles that bind you and live true to your desires...?"
"I...I..."
As the darkness from the Hogyoku seemed to draw her in the longer she stared at it, Karin's voice trailed off, her eyes losing focus. Soon after, her arms slumped to her sides, exposing a length of chain with a lock bearing a skull attached to its end. Her soul had been separated from her body shortly after being brought to Hueco Mundo as she lacked the Reiryoku to endure the aspect of death permeating everything. As such, she was in a state that was neither dead nor alive, making her extremely susceptible to the influence of Reiatsu and other forms of spiritual suppression.
Narrowing his eyes, Aizen observed with fascination as the abyssal black tendrils from the Hogyoku extended to touch Karin's face. As they did so, the light from her eyes completely faded, the sclera of her eyes gradually replaced by inky darkness as her soul began cracking like glass, releasing an intense light from within...
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Feeling a sudden shortness of breath, Ichigo clutched his chest, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
Being the closest to Ichigo, proximity-wise, Chad asked, "You okay...?" in his usual flat tone.
"I'm...fine..." replied Ichigo. "I just...it's difficult to describe, but I have the feeling something terrible just happened..."
Hearing the strawberry-blonde's groaning remark, a frown marred Ohta's face as he asked, "Should we speed things up?" while gradually doing just that.
Shaking his head, Ichigo forced a smile as he replied, "No...to be honest, this kind of thing has become pretty normal for me. Since my inner Hollow awakened, I occasionally experience bouts of dread, and my emotions go haywire. I think the atmosphere of Hueco Mundo is making it stronger..."
"I've also been feeling strange ever since we came here..." revealed Chad, holding his hands palm-sides up before balling them into fists. "It's like an infinite amount of energy is coursing through my body..."
"That makes sense," said Uryu. "From what I've seen, that red and black gauntlet you summon draws in Reishi from your surroundings instead of solely utilizing the Reiryoku in your body. The way we Quincy form our bows and arrows is very similar, so I've also been experiencing a feeling of empowerment."
"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Ichigo, largely due to Uryu having a very serious, almost grim expression.
"Ordinarily, yes," replied Uryu, pushing up his glasses as he added, "This place would make an excellent training ground if we wanted to increase our strength in a short period of time. However, while the abundance of Reishi in the environment makes our attacks more potent, we can expect it to have a similar effect on our enemies. Rather, since they are native to this land and have acclimated to it, they should have a significantly easier time manipulating the Reishi than we do..."
"Oh, well, that's just great...!" exclaimed Ichigo. He could barely hold his own against the Rank 6(Sexta) Espada back in the human world. If it were true that Grimmjow was even stronger in Hueco Mundo, they were in for a tough fight. Well, all of them, except for maybe Ohta...
Interrupting the group's discussion, one of the many dunes separating them from Hueco Mundo rose like a tidal wave before condensing into a vaguely humanoid figure with a large, greyish-white body and massive arms that grew larger as they extended past its hips, culminating in giant fists adorned with white bracelets. Its head resembled a sand castle with a mustachioed Hollow mask, and there was a massive hole in the center of its chest, within which no light could escape.
"Foolish invaders! I am Runuganga, Guardian-"
Before the sand-formed Hollow could finish its introduction, Ohta caused the psychic platform to accelerate like a slug fired from a railgun, piercing through the Hollow's chest and causing its entire body to disperse as the group continued on their way unabated. Ohta was marginally surprised to see it reform in their path, but as it took several seconds to materialize, he rammed through it a second, third, and sixth time before it simply gave up trying to block them directly, instead utilizing sand waves and tornadoes that had little effect on his psychic barrier...
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(A/N: Aizen is over here digging the deepest of graves...)

"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...
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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...
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(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)...)

Upon reaching Urahara's place, Ohta's group found Tessai waiting outside for them, the burly, mustachioed man revealing, "Everyone else is already inside. Please, follow me."
Though they already knew the way, everyone followed behind Tessai as he led them to the underground study chamber. There, they found Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu waiting for them, the former huffing, "It's about time you guys showed up..." with a pouty yet determined look on his face.
"You could have gone alone," retorted Ohta. "So could I. The reason we're going together is to better your sister's chances. Now, let's get this show on the road."
With nearly everyone turning their attention to him, Kisuke rose to his feet with the unnecessary help of his cane, his usual smile nowhere to be seen as he said, "Just like last time, you're only going to have one shot at this. Make it count." before leaping up to one of two wooden posts sticking out of a pair of similarly sized rock formations.
Tapping his cane against the post, Kisuke chanted, "In my right hand, the stone that connects the worlds. In my left hand, the blade that binds all existence. The black-haired shepherd. The chair of the noose. I strike the ibis when the clouds gather...!"
As Kisuke spoke his chant, the space between the two wooden posts began to twist and distort, eventually opening like a mouth or a large eye, accompanied by a powerful reverberation that shook everyone present to their cores.
Almost exclusively for the uninformed Ichigo's sake, Kisuke explained, "This is the Garganta, the 'throat' Arrancar use to trespass other worlds. Unlike the Senkaimon, there is no pathway or solid ground beyond here, only a chaos of temporal distortions and Reishi. You'll each need to create a path using that Reishi if you want to avoid falling for eternity. Now, any last-minute questions before you go? I also have a pen and paper if you want to leave behind a last will and testament."
"Just one thing..." said Ichigo, staring up at the mouth-like gateway as he said, "If we don't make it back, apologize to everyone for me. I know this is incredibly selfish, but..."
Interrupting Ichigo's solemn remark, Ohta slapped the former's shoulder, saying, "You talk too much..." before taking the initiative to leap into the Garganta, giving everyone else present a very limited time to follow. As a result, Ichigo had little choice but to discard his apprehensions, shouting, "Let's go...!" with a resolute expression before leaping into the Garganta alongside everyone else...
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"I swear, everything you do pisses me off..." groaned Ichigo, staring at Ohta as he sat with his legs crossed, Rukia and Orihime seated atop his lap as they floated effortlessly through the void.
Though he didn't say anything, the look on Renji's conveyed he wasn't particularly enthused by the present situation either. Ohta could easily use his psychic power to carry everyone through the Garganta, but he refused since he hadn't 'made' them come and didn't want to waste his energy.
Bringing a smile to Ohta's face, Rukia retorted, "Stop whining and stay focused. If you slip and fall, you're going to feel like an idiot when Ohta has to rescue you."
Though she truthfully felt a little guilty about everyone else being forced to run, Rukia knew they were putting a burden on Ohta just by wanting to come along. She also didn't like when others spoke ill of him 'unprovoked,' so she gave both Ichigo and Renji the stink eye for glaring at Ohta like he was doing something wrong by carrying them.
Clicking their tongues simultaneously, Ichigo and Renji looked like they wanted to retort but promptly decided against it. Instead, they sped up their momentum, barreling toward the darkest point in the void until they burst through an invisible membrane that happened to be a solid wall in the spiritual world of Hueco Mundo.
While everyone got their bearings, Ichigo asked, "This is Hueco Mundo? I kind of expected a wasteland filled with skeletons and stray bones..."
"If we can't find any, there's always the option of making some..." replied Ohta, turning his head toward the sound of something large approaching them from one end of the corridor.
"Me can smell yooooooooooou~" said a creepy, dull-sounding voice as a massive figure with dreadlocks and a bone mask covering the upper half of his face contorted his body to fit through the corridor, crawling through it like a demon in a cheap ghost flick.
"What the hell is that thing!?" screamed Ichigo, prompting Uryu to grab the back of his Shihakusho as he shouted, "Worry about that later, you idiot! We need to run...!"
While Uryu's words prompted Ichigo, Chad, and Renji to begin running, Rukia and Orihime elected to stand their ground next to Ohta after seeing the calm yet intense look on his face. He hadn't come to Hueco Mundo to be chased around by a behemoth whose IQ could probably be counted on his fingers and toes, so he raised his right hand, releasing an invisible force that filled the entire corridor.
As the vaguely humanoid Arrancar crashed into his barrier, Ohta turned to Orihime and said, "Close your eyes or turn away..." in a faint tone. Instead, Orihime forced a resolute expression and replied, "I'm okay...I need to get used to things like this..."
Nodding in approval, Ohta waited for the chickenshit group to turn around and see what was going on before slowly closing his hand, forming it into a fist as the colossal Arrancar was reduced to a mangled spheroid of flesh and white clothing.
"Holy shit..." muttered Renji, having never before seen Ohta's 'patented' method of dealing with fodder. He hadn't thought the colossal Arrancar was a serious threat, but seeing Ohta compress a 15m behemoth into a sphere less than 3m across was jarring...
"Just what is your power...?" asked Ichigo. He had never seen Ohta using his powers for anything other than flying or strengthening his attacks, so he had no idea his former classmate was one of, if not the most powerful psychics in the world.
"Worry about understanding your power before concerning yourself with the powers of others," responded Ohta, flicking his finger to send the ball of flesh rolling in the opposite direction so they wouldn't have to see or smell it once the barrier around its body vanished.
Turning to face the orange-haired youth, Ohta added, "Let's go," before taking the initiative to lead at the front of the group, his movements slow but filled with purpose as he spread his senses through the area, ready to unleash his barely suppressed fury on anything foolish enough to try and bar his passage. Fortunately for Ichigo, Renji, Chad, and Uryu, Rukia soon caught up to him, using his previous comment about conserving energy to persuade him to allow her and the others to deal with the weaker enemies in his stead...
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After several minutes of traveling through what seemed to be a spiraling underground passageway, the group eventually found themselves at the entrance to a circular chamber more than 300m across and approximately 50m from floor to ceiling. A tall staircase could be seen at the other end of the room, causing Uryu to openly speculate, "Those stairs could be our ticket out of here...!" before entering the suspicious-looking room without an ounce of caution.
Turning his attention to Orihime, Ohta said, "Stay close to me..." in a faint but authoritative tone. He had barriers protecting both her and Rukia, but while the latter was nearing Captain levels in terms of strength, Orihime would struggle to become a Seated member in any Division outside the 4th, at least in terms of combat potential. Her healing and support were quickly reaching a league of their own.
Nodding her head, Orihime moved a little too close to Ohta, grabbing his sleeve and unintentionally pressing her right boob against his arm. The air in Hueco Mundo was contaminated with something Yoruichi referred to as the Aspect of Death, so Orihime, possessing an intrinsically pure Reiyroku, was more affected by the tense, pervasive atmosphere than anyone else in the rescue party...
Though he shook his head, Ohta didn't say anything or attempt to pull away from Orihime. Instead, he allowed her to cling to him as he looked to the ceiling just in time to see a gap open up, followed by an emaciated figure with four incredibly thin arms descending into the room to intercept Uryu's path. He had clothing that vaguely resembled the outfit worn by an &nbsp;Arrancar, but the only thing human about him was the left side of his face, revealing a section of pale white skin, a beady yellow eye, and ashen hair that spiked away from his scalp. The rest of his face was covered in what could best be described as a plague doctor's mask, comprised of a large beak with four spikes sticking out of his head and running down his back like spines.
"And just where do you think you're going...?" asked the incredibly weak-looking Arrancar, exuding smugness and arrogance despite the fact even Orihime should have no trouble killing him.
Sticking out his left hand as if he were blocking off the rest of the group, Uryu shouted, "Leave this one to me! You guys stand back...!"
Resisting the urge to rub his forehead and massage his temples, Ohta muttered, "Whatever..." before taking a seat atop a squishy membrane of psychic energy, surprising Orihime quite a bit as he pulled her to sit in his lap. His actions drew the attention of everyone but Uryu, but only Rukia dared to ask, "What's this...?" while poking the barely perceptible blob of psychic energy.
"It's a beanbag," replied Ohta, waving his hand to draw the diminutive Shinigami to join Orihime atop his left, sitting comfortably with his hands on the two girls' waists while Ichigo, Renji, and even Chad goggled at him with mouths slightly agape.
"What?" asked Ohta. "If it were up to me, I'd blast through the ceiling and make a beeline for Las Noches. Since that apparently isn't an option, don't blame me for taking a more leisurely approach to things."
After blinking in surprise, Ichigo abruptly asked, "Wait, you can do that? If so, we shouldn't be wasting time with these clowns...!"
"Calm down, Ichigo," said Rukia, feeling slightly embarrassed as a result of Ohta's actions but maintaining a calm and serious look as she said, "If we were going to leave everything to Ohta, there wouldn't be any reason for us to be here. Focus on conserving your strength and doing things at the group's pace. Ohta's actions might seem a bit...standoffish, but this is his way of showing that he trusts everyone to carry their weight..."
"Looks to me like he's carrying the two of you..." muttered Renji, earning a warning look from Rukia. She had initially refused to let him come with them, but as he and Ichigo had formed a kind of 'brotherly' bond after trying to kill each other, she permitted him to assist in Karin's rescue on the condition he didn't go out of his way to antagonize or butt heads with Ohta.
Clicking his tongue, Renji promptly decided to intrude upon Uryu's game of cat, mouse, and projectile spam against the bird-beaked Arrancar. The raven-haired Quincy wasn't particularly happy about the intrusion, but as they hadn't come there to take turns showing off to one another, he didn't say anything as Renji's actions allowed them to take out the decently fast Arrancar in a much shorter period. Doing so caused the chamber to start shaking, seemingly on the verge of collapse, but the group had no trouble fleeing to the surface as Ohta held the dilapidating structure in place until they were well out of harm's way...
...
..
.
(A/N: Ohta flexing on people by relaxing...)

Chapter 77: Entering the Abyss