Favor

"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 Resurrección, 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 Resurrección 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 uninjured.

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 Resurrección 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 Resurrección. 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...)