Accessorizing

"That was easier than expected..." remarked Ohta, drawing Barragan's ax, pendant, and crown toward him to get a closer look. He had used up most of the mental and spiritual energy he had been stockpiling since his arrival in Hueco Mundo, but he expected a being that had survived for more than a million years to have more trump cards...

"Hmmmm..."

Sensing traces of mental energy within the as and crown, Ohta wisely decided against trying them on. Zanpakuto and spiritual items such as Orihime's flowery hairpins could house the consciousness of Spirits, so Barragan's 'will' could live on within the two objects. Phenomena such as possession and curses were a thing, so Ohta created a barrier around the two objects before inspecting the eye-shaped pendant.

"What the hell is this thing...?" muttered Ohta, curiously inspecting the pendant from every angle. It resembled gold at a glance, but rather than a physical object, it was like a mass of Reiryoku. The 'ruby' representing the iris and pupil of the pendant was even more curious. It seemed to be 'exuding' Reiryoku, almost like a radioactive material producing energy as it decayed...

Since he didn't sense any traces of mental energy within the pendant, Ohta only hesitated briefly before trying it on. It was much heavier than normal gold, but he had no trouble enduring its weight as a cloak similar to the one worn by Barragan formed around him, replacing his billowing black hoodie with a two-layered robe of black and purple.

Though he felt a strong pressure enveloping his body, similar to being submerged deep within a pool of frigid water, Ohta's brows perked up as he felt Reishi from his surroundings flow into it, condensing into a thick veil of Reiryoku that both protected his body and allowed him to replenish his reserves by absorbing it into his body...

"Damn, with gear like this, it's no wonder he was able to rule over Hueco Mundo for so long..." remarked Ohta, a toothy grin developing across his face. He had been a fairly avid gamer before being drafted, so he equated the pendant and cloak to acquiring a Legendary or Unique-grade item in a dungeon crawler. If he could purge the remnant mental energy within the ax and crown, it could even become a set...

Turning his attention to said artifacts, particularly the ax, Ohta pondered for a moment before shaking his head and flying in the direction of Rukia, Orihime, and Karin. Having to carry the two objects around in a psychic barrier was annoying, but discarding them seemed like a waste. He also figured they might scare the piss out of any other Espada who saw them. If nothing else, they should at least get a rise out of Starrk...

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Seeing Ohta return with what they assumed were his war trophies, Rukia, Orihime, and Karin each exhaled sighs of relief. His newly acquired cloak made him look fairly terrifying, especially with the crimson glow from his eyes, but the pointed, somewhat fluffy ears protruding from his head did a lot to offset his intimidation factor.

Though she intended to be the first to greet Ohta after he touched down, Rukia lost the opportunity when Karin, aquamarine eyes glistening, rushed toward him and exclaimed, "Holy crap, Ohta! I knew you were strong, but that was on another level! And that cloak! So freakin' cool...!"

Exhaling a soft chuckle, Ohta extended his hand to ruffle Karin's hair, but something unexpected occurred. The moment his hand touched her head, she abruptly vanished, a faint warmth appearing within his cloak.

"What the heck!? Who turned out the lights!? And what's with this massive flame...!?" exclaimed Karin, her voice echoing with a ghostly reverberation from within the shadowy mass of Ohta's cloak. From her perspective, she was standing atop what looked like a black body of water, surrounded by darkness except for a colossal, tri-colored bonfire that cast a shimmering reflection on the lake's surface with its pink, blue, and purple light.

Before Karin could consider moving closer to the strangely alluring flame, she found herself standing in front of Ohta again, the latter staring at his outstretched hand with considerable intrigue. Then, before she could say anything, she was back inside the strange space, followed by a surprised Orihime and then Rukia.

"Can you guys hear me...?" asked Ohta, his voice reverberating from every direction but emanating from the tri-colored flame.

"We can hear you," answered Rukia, forcing herself to remain calm despite wanting to shout.

"What..what is this place...?" asked Orihime, briefly looking around before focusing on the tri-colored flame as Ohta replied, "It seems like this cloak can store people and objects inside of it. Brace yourselves."

Before the trio could respond, Ohta abruptly accelerated to his maximum speed, impacting the interior wall of Las Noches with meteoric force. The impact caused a powerful reverberation through his body, but all the girls experienced was the bonfire representing his intermixing mental, spiritual, and physical energies flickering with increased intensity before stabilizing.

"How was it? Are you okay...?" asked Ohta, preempting the trio's response by ejecting them outside, confirming they were okay directly.

Seeing the rubble that encircled them, realization donned upon Rukia's face as she questioned, "You did this while we were inside that strange space?"

Nodding his head, Ohta replied, "Yeah. I wanted to see if you would feel anything, so I rammed into the wall with full force. It seems like this cloak is even more useful than I thought."

Inserting herself into the exchange, Karin, sporting a wide-eyed, visibly excited look, asked, "So that place was inside your cloak? Or does it work as a portal that allows us to enter your body...?"

Chopping the top of Karin's head, Ohta said, "Don't make things weird..." in a flat tone. However, as he was also interested in learning the answer, he removed the pendant, the shadowy cloak disappearing from his body, leaving him with his bare-chested hoodie look. All three girl's eyes were immediately drawn to his abs, but at least Rukia raised her gaze when he held out the pendant and said, "Try this on."

"Uh...okay-!?" replied Rukia, accepting the pendant but nearly dropping it due to how heavy it was. Fortunately, while she didn't do much to improve her physique, she was still a burgeoning, Captain-level Shinigami. So long as she focused her Reiryoku, she could strengthen her body without limit, going from barely being able to 60kg to several hundred easily.

Donning the inordinately heavy pendant, Rukia felt its weight disappear, replaced by the same pressure Ohta experienced. However, instead of a black and purple cloak like Ohta's, hers was predominately bone white with a black interior. Over that, she also had a black mantle that framed her head and shoulders and split six ways, forming shadowy wings that gave her the appearance of an Angel of Death.

Clapping her hands together, Orihime sincerely chimed, "Oh, wow! You look amazing, Rukia~!"

Staring down at her ensemble, focusing on the pendant that had resized itself to suit her, Rukia remarked, "This is incredible...it feels like I'm in my Bankai form even though I've yet to release my Shikai..."

Interrupting Rukia's reverent observation, Ohta said, "See if you can store me within it. Then I'm going to see if I can break out."

Regaining her senses, Rukia replied with a perplexed, "Oh, sure..." before extending her hand and imagining Ohta being stored within the cloak. His body abruptly disappeared, but as it did, she crumpled to her knees, eyes wide and body shaking as if she were being crushed beneath a powerful Reiatsu. Fortunately, the sensation didn't last long as Ohta erupted from her back, tearing her wings and leaving a sizeable hole in the fabric that quickly patched itself.

Seeing his diminutive lover on the ground, Ohta promptly bent down to cradle her, asking, "Are you okay...?" with furrowed brows.

"I'm fine," assured Rukia, forcing a smile and patting Ohta's hand as she said, "But I think your Reiryoku density might be too great. The moment you disappeared, it felt like a mountain had fallen on me..."

"Yeah...I realized something was wrong the moment I was drawn inside. There was a tiny, bluish-white flame nearby, and when I tried to approach it, it began to flicker..." explained Ohta, adopting an apologetic smile as he whispered, "Sorry if I hurt you..."

Shaking her head, Rukia repeated, "I'm fine. In fact, thanks to this cloak, I feel better than ever."

Rising to a seated position, Rukia bounced to her feet with the intention of demonstrating she was okay. However, due to the flight capabilities of the cloak, she ended up floundering like a cat in zero gravity. She managed to right herself quickly, but the damage had been done. Ohta had an amused smile as he extended his hand to help her down while Karin outright burst out laughing...

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After a bit of experimentation, Ohta was able to ascertain that the cloak could store just about anything comprised of Reishi, but the wearer would feel an equivalent amount of pressure on their body. When his energy was being balanced by his jackal transformation, he had absolutely no trouble storing Rukia, Orihime, and Karin within the created space. Without it, he could still store Orihime, but because Rukia and Karin had much greater Reiryoku density than him, moving around felt like wading through a pool of mercury.

Curiously, while Ohta's cloak was similar to Barragan's, barring a lack of black flames, the pendant manifested unique outfits for Rukia, Orihime, and Karin. When worn by Orihime, it formed into a white gown with black trim that vaguely resembled the attire of a Priestess. For Karin, it was a white, double-breasted vest that looked like it had been modified into a swimsuit top, form-fitting white shorts, bicep-length gloves, and thigh-high boots, each with soot-black trim. Fortunately, it also provided her with a mantle, bone-white on the outside and soot-black on the inside, so it was at least better than her default Arrancar attire...

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Around the time Ohta had defeated Barragan, Starrk, lying atop a pile of pillows with a petite, pale-haired girl sleeping atop him, opened his eyes and frowned. He and Barragan didn't get along well, mostly because the ancient Arrancar hated him for being ranked first among the Espada, but Starrk lamented his death for two reasons. Firstly, Barragan was powerful enough to endure his Reiatsu, meaning he wouldn't just keel over one day by being around him. Secondly, because of his pride as the former King of Hueco Mundo, the ancient Arrancar took on most administrative roles and responsibilities as a matter of course. Without him to lead and keep the other Espada in check, Starrk would have to do it himself...

"What a pain..." groaned the messy-haired Arrancar, prompting the young-looking girl sleeping atop him to stir. Her slender frame was garbed in the same outfit as Karin, but instead of a Hollow mask resembling a forehead protector, she had on a thick helmet that also covered her left eye, bull-like horns protruding from its sides but with the left broken near its base.

Before Starrk could tell the youthful-looking Arrancar good morning, the petite girl abruptly grabbed his collar, headbutting him in the face with the crown of her helmet as she shouted, "Stupid, Starrk! Why the hell are you making so much noise!? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep here...!?"

Maintaining a serious expression despite blood leaking from his nose, Starrk replied, "Barragan's dead..." in a neutral tone. When he did, the anger faded from the pale-haired girl's face, replaced by a glimmer of melancholy in her distinctive pink eyes. She was created when Starrk's tremendous Reiryoku split into two, so they endured the same loneliness. Thus, while she often rambled on about how much she hated Barragan, referring to him as a stinky old fart who should hurry up and die, she was saddened to learn he had passed. Even more so since his death indicated that many more of their colleagues would soon perish...

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(A/N: I need a cloak like that (O o O)...also, daily reminder that Not a Mob: Psycho is NOT a harem novel.)