15 Scheme over scheme under scheme

I watched the Four pretty girls leave, the sight of their figures healing my body and mind from fatigue.

Suddenly, my vision flickered, and the world around me changed. The familiar gray-white walls and sandy floor of Hueco Mundo were gone, replaced by a stone floor beneath my feet and above my head, the artificial sky had changed to a fluctuating violet and blue sky.

"Now, we can speak more calmly without little snakes spying on us," Aizen said with an air of superiority.

I couldn't help widening my eyes. I didn't know how he did it, but Aizen had managed to deceive everyone and make them believe that he had left with Ulquiorra. Even the stoic Espada probably hadn't realized it.

"What… Aizen." I was so surprised that I forgot to use honorifics. However, before I could correct myself, his next action made that useless.

Aizen raised his hand and brought forth his sword, Kyoka Suigetsu. The blade glinted in the light, and the air around us seemed to ripple with power.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu," Aizen whispered, and the world around them twisted and distorted. The blue and violet sky seemed to bend and warp, turning into a sickly shade of green.

Despite the chaos around us, I couldn't help but feel relieved that Sora had managed to keep a piece of his soul separated from my own. It was that remaining piece of him that had taken the brunt of Kyoka Suigetsu's power, shielding me from his influence.

Even then, I felt my mind spin as I tried to focus on the reality around him. Aizen's shikai was unlike anything I had ever experienced, and my connection to Sora made it difficult to maintain a grip on reality.

"Are you impressed, Sora Inoue?" Aizen's voice was smooth and controlled as he raised his sword. "Kyoka Suigetsu has the power to manipulate the body of my enemies. You can't hurt me as long as you have been affected by it once."

I gritted his teeth and tried to steady myself. He was obviously lying, I knew that his shikai granted him the ability to manipulate the senses of anyone who has ever seen him activate his shikai.But I kept that secret to myself. The more hidden cards I had, the more opportunities I had to defeat him.

"I was not expecting you to be so untrusting." I said, clenching my fist. "And what is this place?It makes my head spin."

His smile widened. "This is just insurance," he said. "As for this place, it is a safe house. We can't be talking about the Quincies in public after all."

"You could have warned me. I almost had a heart attack." I said, struggling to control my anger. It was hard not to shoot a Cero at his smug face, but I knew it would be futile. He had me.

"I could have, but where's the fun in that?" Aizen's smile never left his face. "Now, what kind of information do you have about the Quincies? I'm deeply interested."

"I have information about their king's return. They will be making their move soon." I tried to spread out my arms to emphasize it, but my shoulders were awkwardly stiff.

He put his finger under his chin. "I had suspected something similar after a certain event. But where did you get that information?"

That certain incident was obviously the death of Ichigo's mother as it signified the awakening of Yhwach.

"I heard it directly from a Quincy. He was too busy declaring the prophecy about their king's return to himself to care for a random soul." Of course, I hadn't heard this in this life, but I wasn't lying, I had read about it in the manga.

"Oh, please do refresh my memory about this prophecy." Aizen was obviously interested, likely he wanted to confirm his theories.

"According to the prophecy, the Sealed King would regain his heart after 900 years, his intellect after 90 years, his full power after 9 years, and the world after 9 days." I explained with a serious and constrained face.

"And that time is almost upon us while the soul society is weaker than ever." Aizen seemed distracted, likely thinking about how to adjust his plans to take into account the Quincy intervention. However, it was still surprising when he turned to me and said: "Leave. I have work to do."

"Hey" I opened my mouth to protest, but Aizen disappeared in a blinding flash of light, leaving me alone while my surroundings took their former look. The prick was obviously spamming his power everywhere to remain hidden and I was too lazy to point him out.

With a heavy sigh, I realized that the energy I had just recovered was gone. Being an Arrancar was proving to be more stressful than I imagined.

I hoped to avoid any more trouble, but as I stepped out into the long hallway, my wishful thinking was shattered. There, I spotted a certain silver-haired man looking at me with a mocking grin.

"Well, well, well. Look who's here," he said, his voice dripping with amusement. "You're useless now. He caught you in his little game."

I didn't reply, not feeling the will to correct him.

However, I couldn't help but smirk as he turned and disappeared from my sight. Both of them thought they had me under their thumb, without knowing that the winner of today's game had been me.

Omake: Hunting day (1)

Acidwire stood dumbfounded in front of a monstrous Hollow with hundreds of slimy tentacles. The ground shook with each thud of its massive limbs as it reached out to ensnare its prey.

Pesche and Dondochakka were each trapped under a tentacle, struggling to break free. "This is not how I imagined my day going," Pesche grumbled.

Dondochakka, always the optimist, tried to see the silver lining. "At least we're not being attacked by Bawabawa again," he said with a chuckle.

Just then, a small child Nel slammed into Acidwire. "Save my friends, por favor!" she pleaded.

"Fuck." Acidwire cursed under his breath, realizing he was in way over his head.