52 Building Toward the Climax

Staring down at Byakuya, Ohta's power began to plateau as he remarked, "I'd rather not beat up my future brother-in-law..."

As his power was directly linked to his emotions, Ohta couldn't maintain it without some kind of 'stimulus.' Life and death battles would ordinarily be more than enough to sustain the increase in power, but as he had thus far been able to destroy everything in a single punch, he was starting to lose his motivation...

"As a Captain of the Gotei 13 and the Head of the Kuchiki Clan, I must see this through to the end. It is my duty..." replied Byakuya, his voice as calm as the surface of a reflecting pool as he got into a stance reminiscent of a kendo practitioner.

Exhaling a flame-like plume of energy, Ohta slipped his hands into his pockets, the black aura around his body stirring as he said, "Then, let's see it..." with a toothy grin.

Furrowing his brows, Byakuya abruptly disappeared from his starting position, intending to appear next to Ohta, but the kaleidoscopic swirl of psychic energy around the latter's body prevented him from doing so. He didn't sustain any damage, but trespassing the constantly shifting space was like stepping into a powerful current with contrasting flows. Stranger still, when Byakuya reached the termination point of his Shunpo, he was suddenly upside down...

Undaunted by the disorienting phenomenon, Byakuya sliced through the psychic medium, creating a vacuous blade of spirit energy that actually managed to reach Ohta. However, despite impacting the latter's chest, still charred from his exchange with the Sokyoku, it left no visible marks as Ohta continued to observe him with a smile.

"Looks like your attack lacks the potency of a 'million' Zanpakuto," mused Ohta, referring to the Sokyoku's rumored might. Byakuya might be able to cut him if his sword landed directly, but there was no way he could pierce him from a distance.

"Such arrogance..." muttered Byakuya, his form rapidly disappearing and reappearing at seemingly random locations within Ohta's psychic medium. He was trying to ride the 'currents' to get closer to Ohta's position, but as he moved closer, it became increasingly difficult to move at all.

Interrupting Byakuya's focus, Ohta stated, "Time's up," as he removed his left hand from his pocket. It had taken a while due to Byakuya's Reiryoku density, but he managed to seep a bit of his psychic energy into the man's body and clothes, allowing him to stop the proud Captain in his place.

"Try not to resent me for this," said Ohta, a black vortex appearing in the palm of his hand, forcibly drawing Byakuya's body through the maelstrom of psychic energy. This exposed him to the possibility of a counterattack, but he wasn't too concerned as he could move uninhibited while Byakuya could barely move at all.

Unable to resist Ohta's psychic power, Byakuya found himself statuesque as the former's index finger poked his forehead.

"I'd say this is my victory...would you agree?" asked Ohta, raising his brow in anticipation of Byakuya's response.

Closing his eyes, Byakuya exhaled a faint sigh, remaining silent for several seconds before conceding, "So it would appear..." in his characteristically neutral tone. He felt vexed having lost to a 15-16-year-old human-turned-Ryoka, but he also felt relieved knowing Rukia had found someone strong, willing to risk everything to protect her...

"Then I'm going to trust you not to stab me in the back when I let you go," remarked Ohta, adopting a cheeky smile as he warned, "But if you do, you better make it count..."

Adopting the faintest of smiles, Byakuya replied, "Rest assured. I value my honor over all but three things. I will not strike an opponent who has afforded me clemency..."

Nodding his head, Ohta released his psychic hold on Byakuya's body while allowing his 'psychic domain' to dissipate. He didn't lower his guard, but he 'did' entrust his back to the man, flying over to the very anxious-looking Rukia, having watched the entire encounter while suspended in the air.

"Hey there, spider-bunny..." whispered Ohta, reaching out to caress Rukia's cheek but stopping short since his fingers resembled charcoal. However, Rukia didn't seem to mind, nestling her cheek against his palm as she sobbed, "You hopeless fool...why did you come here?"

"I'll give you plenty of reasons once we're alone together," replied Ohta, adopting a toothy grin as he teased, "I'd feel sorry for your brother if he had to watch us make out."

Though she continued to sob, Rukia couldn't help laughing in response to Ohta's words. She truly wished she could hate him, as it would make what was to come much simpler, but she presently loved him so much that the guilt of 'ruining his life' was nearly impossible for her to bear...

Enveloping Rukia in his arms, Ohta held her as tenderly and lovingly as possible. At the same time, the strange cubes holding her in a crucifixion pose fractured under the strain of his psychic energy, freeing her to cling to him as she sobbed into his chest.

"You're such a crybaby..." muttered Ohta, ignoring the pain in his body as he ran his fingers through Rukia's hair, hoping to ease her anguish even a little.

"Hooooooo...what a heartwarming sight. Perhaps I should have timed my arrival a little later..." remarked a deep voice emanating from a few meters away. When Ohta looked over, he found a brown-haired, Josh Groban-looking motherfucker sitting on the Sokyoku's execution stand, observing him and Rukia with a relaxed smile. Standing behind him was another man with closed eyes, short grey hair, and almost snake-like features, his smile much larger and far creepier than the average person's. Both men had on the tell-tale uniforms of a Captain, complete with Haoris designating them as the Captains of the 3rd and 5th Divisions...

Earning a curious raise of the brows from the brown-haired Captain, Aizen Sosuke, Ohta adopted a smile and retorted, "If anything, you should have arrived sooner. Those who sit in the back and scheme despite possessing tremendous power are the biggest of cunts..."

Exhaling a lighthearted chuckle, Aizen adopted a smile of his own as he mused, "You are a fascinating young man, Yamada Ohta. Join me, and I will allow you to live as you please henceforth."

Eliciting a startled yelp from the very confused Rukia, Ohta gave her ass a light smack and an accompanying squeeze as he replied, "Man, you must really need glasses. If it wasn't transparently clear, I'm already living how I please..."

Before Aizen could contend Ohta's assertion, Byakuya abruptly appeared atop the Sokyoku's stand, a serious look on his face as he asked, "Captain Aizen Sosuke and Captain Ichimaru Gin, where have the two of you been? Why have you only just now revealed yourselves?"

"Ah, Captain Kuchiki, I'm relieved you were not seriously injured in your fight against the Ryoka," replied Aizen. "As for why I'm here..."

Pointing at Rukia, Aizen's smile broadened as he said, "I'm afraid your adoptive sister has something that belongs to me, sealed within the very depths of her soul. I was hoping to secretly reclaim it after her execution, but it seems I must now take matters into my own hands..."

The moment Aizen was finished speaking, Byakuya Shunpo'd forward at blinding speeds, seemingly intending to kill the lackadaisical Captain in a single blow. From Ohta's perspective, however, he stopped just short, the tip of his sword passing within a centimeter of Aizen's nose while the man didn't flinch. At the same time, the snake-like Gin drew his wakizashi-style Zanpakuto, aiming it at Byakuya as he said, "Shoot to kill, Shinso...!"

Seemingly oblivious to Gin's actions, Byakuya didn't even try to dodge as the grey-haired Captain's Zanpakuto pierced his left shoulder, extending nearly a hundred meters before retracting in the blink of an eye.

Opening his eyes slightly wider than usual, Byakuya Shunpo'd away before looking down at the blood stain rapidly spreading through his garments.

"Whoa, what was that~?" mused Gin, directing his close-eyed gaze to Ohta as he appended, "It appears our little friend intends to get in our way."

"That's a shame," remarked Aizen, rising to his feet and taking the time to dust himself as Ohta passed Rukia off to Byakuya, shouting, "Take her and find the other Ryoka. I'll handle this viper bitch and his Josh Groben gimp daddy...!"

Though he didn't appreciate Ohta giving him orders, Byakuya immediately disappeared with Rukia in tow. At the same time, Ohta clapped his hands together, black, purple-hued energy surging from his body as he intended to use Kusho.

Interrupting Ohta's preparations, Aizen casually raised his right hand's index and middle fingers, muttering, "Hado#90, Kurohitsugi..." in a calm, relaxed tone. The moment he was done, purple-black lightning emanated from his fingertips as the outline of a cube instantaneously formed around Ohta.

As a black, coffin-shaped well of immense gravitational pressure formed around him, Ohta's final thought before his world went dark was, ("I am going to kill this bitch...")

Seeing the look on Ohta's face as the 'black coffin' finished materializing, Aizen couldn't help smiling. He had known about Ohta nearly as long as Kisuke, so he looked forward to seeing how much the psychic-turned-Shinigami grew after this encounter, assuming he managed to survive...

Surpassing even Aizen's expectations, the gravitational well of the black coffin briefly intensified. A fully versed version of the spell was supposed to be able to break down even Reiryoku, yet, when the purple-hued coffin of darkness disappeared, Ohta was still intact, bleeding profusely within a sphere of purple-black energy as he said, "You fucked up..." with a toothy grin.

Spreading his palms, Ohta looked like he would release the same beam of black energy he used against Yoruichi, but he didn't stop at just cracking them open. Instead, he visibly struggled to pull them apart, revealing an abyssal-black sphere that grew in size as he did so.

Though the surrounding gravity had been affected the moment Ohta began to condense his psychic energy, the appearance of the abyssal-black sphere caused a powerful gust of wind to draw everything toward it, emulating the all-consuming power of a black hole. As it grew larger, drastically increasing the gravitational pull, Aizen, having evacuated to a safe distance, muttered, "How remarkable..." with a relaxed smile and a curious glimmer in his brown eyes.

Hearing Aizen's utterance, Gin opened his usually closed eyes like slits, revealing piercing blue irises and deep black pupils. Aizen was generally sarcastic when he praised people, but Gin didn't sense the usual humor in the man's tone. He seemed genuinely impressed with Ohta's display, at least enough to forego pursuing Rukia and completing their objective as quickly as possible.

"Captain Aizen..." muttered Gin, breaking the brown-haired schemer from his reverie.

Turning to Gin, Aizen mused, "It truly is a shame. He would have made an excellent replacement for Tosen..."

As Tosen had been cut down during an ill-advised skirmish with Zaraki, Aizen had been sincere when he invited Ohta to join him. Unfortunately, it seemed Urahara had beaten him to the punch this time, drawing the remarkably powerful youth to his side by having him fall for the vessel of the Hogyoku. Now, if Rukia perished while he was extracting it, Aizen had no doubt Ohta would pursue him like a man possessed. Much like he was about to do...

"Let us be on our way," said Aizen. "If Yamamoto Genryusai returns before we complete our objective, things might become troublesome."

Casting one last look at Ohta, Aizen turned away, disappearing alongside Gin nigh-instantaneously. Shortly after that, much of the Sokyoku hill was swallowed up by Ohta's attack, consumed by the black sphere of energy that continued to grow larger as the person controlling it had already lost consciousness. Fortunately, just as it began to separate from Ohta's body, leaking from the negative field he generated to keep it in check, Yoruichi appeared out of thin air, wielding a pure golden shortsword with an ornate hilt. As she stabbed it into the ostensibly all-consuming void enveloping Ohta's body, the entire thing, along with the gravitational sphere he had created, shattered like glass...

"Damnable fool..." muttered Yoruichi, throwing Ohta over her shoulder and retreating, entrusting him to the nearby Soifon before racing off to ensure Rukia wasn't killed...

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(A/N: Josh Groben-lookin' motherfucker...)