After closing his eyes for a bit, Sora spread his senses far and wide, as far as one could possibly extend them.
Eventually, he felt Las Noches. In his mind, he began to fill in the space, making sure to properly sense the Reishi embedded within everything. Every last drop was memorized by the man.
After memorizing it, he began to make a Reishi construct.
Within seconds, a perfect replica of the fortress formed in front of him, its massive white towers and endless hallways etched with absolute precision.
"Damn... this looks way better than Rukia's doodle," Ichigo muttered, staring at the 3D scale of Las Noches. It even showed where all the Espada were—and where someone labeled "IT" was.
That was not Uryu. Uryu was white. Ichigo got orange. Rukia also got a shade of white... Orihime was like pink.
Chad was red because his red shirt was his most prominent feature... anyone who said otherwise was wrong.
SMACK.
"OW! What the hell, Rukia?!" Ichigo's cheek was red. The smack Rukia had given him was so hard that even Sora flinched a bit.
Wait... that wasn't him flinching.
He saw some blood dripping from his lips... Was her earlier slap that hard? His Blut defense shouldn't be that weak.
Guess if he ever turned evil, she could probably kill him since his Blut didn't seem to view her as a threat.
Rukia crossed her arms, offended. "Deserved."
Sora snorted. "Anyway..." He gestured at the replica's throne room. "That's where It is."
"Why do you call Aizen It?" Ichigo suddenly asked, still holding onto his sore cheek.
"Oh, It had a name? I didn't know." Sora acted as if this was the first time he'd heard that.
Ichigo's eye twitched. "...That place looks like a goddamn labyrinth." Yeah, he was not going to argue with Sora.
Sora nodded. "Oh, it is. Have fun with that."
Ichigo groaned.
"Now," Sora continued, "I can sense ten powerful Hollow presences. None of them are an issue for me."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Of course." Sora was OP, like busted level OP, and Ichigo had only recently learned that most of the time when he fought Sora... 80% of his Reishi control was restricted, and he never went all out.
Ichigo was no bum. He beat Espada Number 6. Granted, when he went for the kill, a black man came in and beat his ass, but that was because he was drained after having White take over for... important reasons.
Before leaving for this mission, Ichigo had made sure to get rid of all lotion in his room and to cut off his own internet. There was no way Kon could pull some slick shit again.
"Four of them might be a problem for you," Sora added.
Ichigo scoffed. "Four? That's nothing."
"Six are a problem for Rukia."
Rukia frowned.
"Seven would be an issue for Chad."
Chad remained stoic.
"...And everything here is gonna be absolute hell for Orihime."
Orihime blinked. "Oh."
"Hey, don't be sad. You're the healer. Our job is to make sure you're safe while you provide heals. You're no burden, okay? And if anyone tries to tell you that you are, I will smack the shit out of them... and Ichigo."
"The hell would you smack me for?!" Ichigo shouted.
"For not doing your job as her boyfriend. Like, come on, man, helping her with self-doubt is basic boyfriend 101."
Orihime blushed furiously while Ichigo tried to defend himself.
"Didn't you stay over at her house last week?" Sora asked.
"Hm... It was only as a friend, do not overthink it," Ichigo muttered.
"A girl and a guy alone at her house with no parents around... and a condom... Hm, yes, as friends, alright," Sora deadpanned.
After having his fun messing with Ichigo, he went back to the serious stuff.
Sora clapped his hands. "Okay! Time for team assignments."
Orihime went with Ichigo (she's the healer, she needs protection). Rukia paired up with Chad (power + tactics). Sora went alone.
Ichigo frowned. "Wait, what if they send their strongest to attack our weakest group?"
Sora smirked.
Seelenbild: Schattenform.
In an instant, two identical clones of Sora materialized, their forms shifting slightly as if made of shadows.
Ichigo's brain short-circuited. "...Wait, what."
"These clones are way easier to make in Hueco Mundo. Reishi is everywhere, you know?" Sora said with a smile.
Ichigo stared at the two extra Soras.
Two more Soras... For once, Ichigo and Uryu could agree on one thing... one Sora was enough.
"Yeah, I hate this."
Sora ignored him. "With a clone for each of you, I can teleport to any of you at any time."
Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "...Okay, that's actually kinda cool."
Sora's smile widened.
"Wait... did you just admit that was cool?" Sora had a grin on his face.
"Did I? I don't remember uttering such foolish words." Since when did Ichigo become so good at lying?
Hm, sad.
He activated Maskenwand.
"Sora-kun... when did you make such an advance clone technique?" Orihime asked curiously.
"...My sweet Orihime, some questions are better left unanswered," Sora said with a smile on his face.
He would never reveal that decision, especially to Orihime. Next thing he knew, Byakuya might ask her, and while Sora was sleeping, he'd wake up to a goddamn sis-con standing over his bed with his sword out, ready to tear him a new asshole.