30 Escalating Tensions

Unamused by Uryu's relaxed response, Ohta replied, "Then you should be expecting this," before disappearing in a flash. Uryu's eyes widened as he attempted to take evasive actions, but an invisible force restrained him like being trapped in a vacuum bag, preventing his escape as Ohta landed a devastating blow to his left cheek, sending him flying.

"Whatever you did, undo it right this instant," said Ohta, making his way toward the downed Uryu while rolling his right shoulder and preparing to give the Quincy's white, priest-like attire a paint job.

"I can't...!" barked Uryu, holding his rapidly swelling cheek and glaring at Ohta as he explained, "The bait has already dispersed to the wind! At this point, all we can do is eliminate the Hollows as they appear!"

Adopting a vicious smile, Ohta asked, "So, you lured hundreds of Hollows to a town filled with innocent people? Give me one reason why I shouldn't skewer your ass on a telephone pole."

Opening his mouth, Uryu tried to make his case but was precluded by Ohta's fist smashing into his face a second time, sending him reeling as the incensed Shinigami stated, "And you should probably make it quick. I'm not very patient when it comes to dealing with villains."

Holding his broken nose, Uryu was slightly teary-eyed as he shouted, "It's you, Shinigami, who are the villains! You hunt-"

Interrupting Uryu's senseless diatribe, Ohta tried to punch him a third time, but the former managed to dodge, vanishing in a manner similar to Shunpo.

Following Uryu with his spiritual sense, Ohta plainly stated, "I don't give a fuck what your beef is with Shinigami. I was in your class until just a few months ago. What does your vendetta have to do with me or anyone else in this town?"

Gritting his bloodied teeth, Uryu asserted, "No innocent lives would be in danger if you didn't interrupt me!"

"Are you seriously this fucking daft?" asked Ohta, a genuinely incredulous look appearing on his face. "I just had to rescue Ichigo's little sister from being shishkebabbed by one of the Hollows 'you' summoned. Do you not consider an eleven-year-old girl that has never done jack shit to you as an 'innocent' bystander?"

Unable to contend Ohta's words, Uryu exclaimed, "We don't have time for this! More and more Hollows are appearing as you stand here distracting me...!"

"Wrong response," replied Ohta, moving much faster than the last few times he had attacked. By the time Uryu actually heard his words, Ohta had the raven-haired youth's face in his hand, slamming him to the ground with enough force to produce a sizeable crater. The whites of Uryu's eyes showed, but thanks to some hidden force protecting him, he managed to survive having his head smashed into concrete.

"Fucking cockroach..." muttered Ohta, raising his foot to finish what he had started when a sensation similar to vertigo overtook him, his vision spinning for a moment before the image of Uryu decorating the pavement was replaced by a grass field.

"It's good to have conviction, but you shouldn't get carried away..." said Yoruichi, having thwarted Ohta's attempt to terminate Uryu by 'tackling' him with a variant of Shunpo.

Furrowing his brows, Ohta asserted, "He deserves to die. What he's done is no different from a terrorist holding thousands of people hostage with a bomb."

"Let's not get into this right now," said Yoruichi. "As we speak, hundreds of Hollow are emerging throughout Karakura Town. Leave the Quincy brat to me and focus on saving lives, not taking them."

"Whatever..." huffed Ohta, taking to the sky to continue hunting Hollow. He still believed Uryu deserved to die, but Yoruichi's intervention made it clear the raven-haired shitstain was part of their 'plans,' presumably one to deal with Yhwach. The latter was a much greater threat than a fifteen-year-old with a vendetta, so Ohta was willing to forestall Uryu's execution, at least for the time being...

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After scurrying around desperately in search of his sister, Ichigo finally tracked down Karin in the same lot Ohta had left her, the latter currently in the process of moving her schoolmates to safety.

"Karin...!" shouted Ichigo, racing over to his little sister after seeing the bloodstain covering her right side.

Before Ichigo could grab her, Karin caught him off guard with a shoot kick to the groin, surprising even herself. She was used to kicking their dad when he acted like a fool, so her muscle memory kicked in, quite literally, when Ichigo came charging at her.

Though he didn't fall, Ichigo's body shook as he struggled to stay upright, forcing a smile as he asked, "Why did you kick me...?"

"Force of habit..." replied Karin, adopting her characteristic scowl as she asked, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be hunting those freaks with masks...?"

"I was worried about you, obviously," replied Ichigo, forcing himself to stand straighter as he asked, "Tell me what happened to your side. Are you injured...?"

"No," replied Karin, telling the truth but neglecting to mention she was on the verge of death just a few minutes prior.

"Then what's with all the blood?" asked Ichigo, staring at his sister as if she had lost her mind.

"That's not important right now," asserted Karin. "What I want to know is what's going on with you and those monsters. Why are you a spirit, and what's the deal with that oversized sword and strange outfit?"

Furrowing his brows, Ichigo hesitated before asserting, "I can't explain things right now. We need to get you home and make sure Yuzu is safe."

"Wouldn't we be safer if you killed all those monsters?" asked Karin. "Just leave Yuzu to me and go take care of them."

"I can't just leave you...!" exclaimed Ichigo. Before he could say anything else, however, Karin sent him sliding backward with a superhuman kick to his guard, shouting, "Just go already!"

Staring at his sister in stupefaction, Ichigo muttered, "Karin...when did you get this strong...?"

Aware that Ohta didn't have the best relationship with her brother, Karin threw Ichigo's words back at him, flatly retorting, "I can't explain things right now. I need to get home and make sure Yuzu's safe."

"..."

Though he had numerous questions, Ichigo paused for a moment before nodding his head, his expression and tone serious as he said, "Fine...just be careful..."

"Worry about yourself..." muttered Karin, crossing her arms and looking away in a pouty huff. At least when Ohta saw her off, he wished her luck. Instead, he vested her with a strange power and trusted that she could take care of herself and her friends...

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo wanted to say more, but he had never been good at dealing with Karin's rebelliousness. She was just as cute and affectionate as Yuzu when she was younger, but after the death of their mother, she became standoffish and often got into fights...

Shaking his head, Ichigo muttered, "Whatever...just get home..." before taking off to continue killing Hollow. Unlike Ohta, however, he had to run around like a jackass, making his exit significantly more awkward...

Seeing her brother run off, Karin exhaled a tired sigh and muttered, "Be safe..." with a conflicted, clearly worried look. She didn't know what her brother had gotten involved in, but it was clearly something dangerous. They weren't as close as they used to be, but she cared about him more than she was willing to admit. She wouldn't have based her personality on him otherwise...

Staring down at her right hand, Karin balled it into a fist, squeezing it as tightly as she could. As she did so, a notable distortion appeared around her fist. She had held back when she kicked Ichigo, so she couldn't help wondering just how strong the power Ohta vested her was...

Turning her gaze to a tree more than ten meters away, Karin got into a sloppy karate pose and shouted, "Ya...!" as she punched forward with all her might. She wasn't sure what she expected, but it definitely wasn't the ground between her and the tree being upheaved, forming a long ditch as the unfortunate tree twisted and splintered into thousands of pieces...

"Holy shit..."

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After eradicating his seventy-third Hollow, Ohta found himself beneath the strange phenomenon in the sky, wondering whether or not he should try and 'attack' it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," remarked a familiar, annoying voice.

"What are you doing here, old man?" asked Ohta, turning to find Kisuke standing on the streets below.

Adopting a smile, Kisuke explained, "That right there is what's known as an unstable Garganta, a crack connecting to the void between worlds. If you attack it carelessly, you could cause a lot of destruction. It's best to wait for whatever's trying to break through and attack once it emerges..."

"That being said..." muttered Kisuke, placing his hand on his hat as he asked, "Any chance I can convince you to sit the rest of this battle out? It's no longer 'private,' if you catch my meaning..."

Understanding that Kisuke was alluding to the fact that Soul Society had sent someone to investigate, likely a member of the Stealth Corps, a deep frown marred Ohta's face. He wasn't the heroic type, but he also wasn't the type to sit around as his hometown was besieged by monsters only he and a few others could see.

"There were some mishaps at the start, but everything's under control now," assured Kisuke. "We moved everyone at risk of being targeted to safety. Without any targets to pursue, the Hollows will begin to converge on this point. Once they do, my pupils and I will take care of the fodder while Kurosaki Ichigo deals with the monster bound to emerge from that Garganta. Sound good?"

Landing next to Kisuke, nearly knocking the man's hat due to the air pressure, Ohta remarked, "Sure, why not? Just know that if shit hits the fan, Aizen and Yhwach will be the least of your concerns..."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Kisuku, his eyes concealed by the shadow of his hat as he kept it in place with his hand, smiling creepily underneath. He knew Ohta's words weren't complete bluster, but he also knew that if shit truly did hit the fan, they would all be dead. Then it wouldn't matter if Ohta wanted to kill him...

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"I'm surprised you pulled out. I honestly didn't think you were capable of it..." mused Yoruichi, appearing next to Ohta as he stood atop the roof of a stumpy, thirteen-floor skyscraper to observe things from afar.

"I can see what you would think that..." replied Ohta, his expression and tone flat despite alluding to the many times he had cum inside Yoruichi. Her body broke down and converted everything to Reishi(spirit particles), so her greedy pussy had never spilled a drop, no matter how many times he painted her insides.

Making her way over to Ohta's side, Yoruichi moved to sit on the parapet in front of him, a position that put her breasts around level with his eyes as she stared down at him and stated, "Everything's going to be okay..." in an uncharacteristically soft tone.

Meeting Yoruichi's gaze, Ohta's eyes exuded a near-crimson glow as he asked, "And if things don't go according to plan...?"

"Well, I can't let you destroy Soul Society..." muttered Yoruichi. "But, once Aizen, Yhwach, and the other major threats have been dealt with, I'll take responsibility however you want me to..."

Narrowing his eyes, Ohta remained silent for several seconds, holding the golden-eyed woman's gaze and noting the 'seriousness' contained within. She had no intention of letting Rukia die, but if the rescue attempt failed, she was willing to accept 'responsibility' to avoid the scenario where Ohta went full-nuclear on the Soul Society. That included relinquishing her life, but if she were being completely honest, she would prefer it if Ohta held her accountable in other ways...

Seeing through Yoruichi's thoughts, Ohta exhaled a scoffing chuckle and said, "Fine. I'll continue playing along. But, if Rukia loses her life, I'll have you become mine...not my woman, but my cat. I will never view you as a replacement..."

Though Ohta's words made her feel a type of frustration she couldn't put into words, Yoruichi didn't attempt to argue with him. Instead, she turned into her cat form, making a cat loaf atop the parapet before narrowing her eyes and responding with a curt, "Fine..."

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(A/N: Ohta to Uryu, "I'm sorry, you seem to have mistaken me for someone who gives a fuck.")