POV change.
As the scene shifted, we now saw the man himself.
The perfect being standing at the top of everything, the man who was above all, the perfect individual.
A law-abiding citizen, really a model that anyone should want to be like, the greatest to ever do it, with hair so smoo— {Zip up his pants when you're done.}
Aizen stood at the top of his throne room, his gaze piercing through Las Noches like an omnipresent god.
A small, knowing smile curved his lips.
"Oh... welcome."
Tōsen turned toward him, frowning. "Aizen-sama, we briefly lost access to our surveillance cameras. They flickered off for a second, but they are back now."
Aizen didn't even look at the monitors.
"Do not trust them."
"Why do you believe so?" Tōsen wondered. The cameras were clearly showcasing that everything was going fine.
Aizen's smirk deepened. "Because... that is what I would do."
Tōsen was confused. Why was Aizen speaking about himself? What, was there a mini Aizen running around Las Noches right now?
Deciding to investigate himself, Tōsen left to inspect the issue.
As he reached one of the security cameras, his fingers grazed the lens—
A thin, transparent film peeled off.
His eyes narrowed. "...A lens."
The report reached Aizen shortly after, and as expected, his reaction was calm amusement.
It seemed like Sora was playing his own game now.
Aizen's gaze fell upon the chessboard before him. His fingers hovered over the opposing king piece—the one representing Sora.
His smile widened.
With a single, deliberate motion, he moved a pawn forward.
"Now... what will you do?"
This was probably the most fun he had in a while. He did not care much about the Espada; they had run their course. He alone could wipe the Gotei 13. Yamamoto was no longer a threat, as Aizen had ascended into godhood.
He just needed to fight Sora for a bit—to evolve even further, to become strong enough to go there without an Ōken.
Actually, thinking about it, since It seemed to treasure Sora so much, a piece of Sora's DNA could help Aizen reach that place. The Soul King would naturally allow {redacted} to come and visit him.
Though Sora wasn't a Soul King candidate, at best, he only had the DNA of two out of the five races needed to be a proper candidate.
It seemed like It was making sure to spare Sora from that fate.
How considerate. It seemed like It still had some feelings.
Aizen had deduced it by now. His old Hōgyoku had fused with Sora during the boy's mother pregnancy. While the boy was suspended between life and death for nearly two years, during that whole time, he was the closest to It.
The boy had been in the same state as It, and for just a moment, {Redacted}{Redacted}.{#### you}
Hm, to put it simply, the Soul King was {redacted}.
POV change.
A random Arrancar appeared in front of the group.
Ichigo, ever the impulsive dumbass, immediately swung his sword.
"Getsuga Tensh—"
BOOM.
A wave of black energy shredded through the alley, obliterating the Arrancar before it even realized it had entered its villain introduction monologue.
"That's not how it's said."
For some odd reason, Sora was the one to say this, while looking at Ichigo.
Hm. Something fishy was going on.
"Shut up, Sora." Ichigo snorted. He wasn't happy about this.
"I mean, I wasn't gonna say anything, but it sounded wrong." Ichigo looked at Sora.
"Oh yeah? And how am I supposed to use your Quincy abilities?" Sora asked... wait, why was Sora talking like this?
"You'll manage. You faked being a gangster for like four years. Just fake it." Ichigo had a goofy smile on his face.
Sora's eye twitched.
"...I hate you so much."
Ichigo grinned.
For those confused right now, Ichigo and Sora had switched. That was all.
Sora had adapted to Ichigo's power—except Hollowfication. Yeah, he couldn't do that shit even if he had a blicky pointed at his face.
That was Hollow power. He was a Quincy. It was like telling a racist person to stop being racist—they just couldn't, for some odd reason. It seemed to run in their veins. It wasn't something they could just stop. {They can, they just don't wanna.}
All of this to say: Hollow and Quincy Reiatsu mixed about as well as a Christian and a conservative Christian.
Hm... okay, maybe that was too advanced. Like oil and water.
No matter what you tried, you weren't making it look prettier. Uglier, maybe. But not prettier. You would not succeed in that goal of yours.
Sora was strong. He would be fine, even if currently Sora was Ichigo. It wasn't like Sora had beaten a strong Arrancar that might have a grudge and jump Ichigo.
...Right?
A certain nihilistic Espada could be seen leaving his chamber, gripping his Zanpakutō.
In his gut, he felt it.
That man was here.
Sora (Ichigo) felt a chill go down his back.
Why did it feel like he was about to be sacrificed to some OP Hollow?
A/N.