Sora could be seen stretching a bit as he stepped out of the Garganta. Starrk was already gone. He sighed a bit—well, at least the man served his purpose before leaving.
Though he had to admit, this place had a shit-ton of Reishi. We talking a buckload of Reishi. More Reishi than Hueco Mundo.
Crazy.
He yawned. This should be free eats.
Activating his Almighty...
...
A serious look appeared on his face. Okay... this wouldn't be as much of a free eat as he thought it would be.
"So, what are the odds Aizen is just sitting on a throne right now, waiting for us, acting all high and mighty?" He changed the subject to forget what he just saw.
Uryu adjusted his glasses. "A hundred percent."
Sora smirked. "Yeah, I'm betting a hundred bucks on it."
Ichigo frowned. "Aren't the Royal Guards like the strongest Soul Society has to offer? There's no way they could lose."
...
...
Six minutes later.
Yup.
All of them were dead.
Slumped. Destroyed. Humiliated.
Ichigo stared at the carnage. "Welp."
Sora sighed, shaking his head. "They had one job..."
Then, he felt it.
A shift in Reishi.
Ichibe was trying something—trying to get Ichigo to say his name.
Sora didn't even blink.
With a casual wave of his hand, he blocked the attempt.
Ichibe didn't realize anything. Ichigo, for a second, did seem to notice his presence... but quickly after, didn't. Hm. Was this boy perhaps... an imperfect Soul King candidate?
Sora smirked, after saving his friend from the fate of being a glorified linchpin.
"Nice try, big guy."
Anyway, they made their way forward. Nothing could stop their momentum now.
All they had to do was defeat Aizen and go back home. Sora hoped he could get some alone time with Rukia once this was over—gaining the trust of all Soul Society sounded hella nice.
Anyway, time to 'accidentally' kill Tokinada while fighting Aizen.
As they entered the room—
There he was.
Aizen.
Sitting on the throne.
Looking down at them.
Ready.
Sora turned to Ichigo, holding out his hand. "Pay up."
Ichigo scowled but fished out the money, slapping it into Sora's palm.
Aizen's voice was silk—smooth and unwavering.
"Your struggle is commendable, but ultimately, it is futile." Sora truly wanted to beat this man. Just something about that "I am better than you" look pissed Sora off like no other.
Plus there was the fact that Aizen quite literally beat his ass.
No talk about that BS.
"No matter how hard you fight, how much you resist, you will always be beneath me.
It is the nature of existence itself—some are meant to rule, and others... are meant to be crushed beneath the weight of inevitability.
You do not stand here as warriors. You stand here as remnants—stragglers clinging to the delusion of hope. But I assure you...
At the end of this battle, when the dust has settled, you will know the truth.
You were never meant to win."
Sora counted the money, stuffing it into his pocket. "Damn. Dramatic much?"
Aizen's eyes slightly narrowed. "Do you expect to win? Given your previous attempt, I find that... unlikely."
Damn. Did he really have to rub salt into the wound? Like, sure, yes, maybe he kind of lost their first fight by technicality... yeah, that's what his pride would allow him to take it as.
Anything else was an insult to his pride.
Sora smirked, placing a hand on his stomach.
"Wow. Should you be given a medal? You beat up your kid. You're a kid-beater. Father of the year right now."
Silence.
Uryu's brow furrowed. "Wait... Aizen's your dad?"
Ichigo, stroking his chin, muttered, "I mean... yeah, I can see it."
Sora blinked. "Excuse me?"
Uryu and Ichigo turned to him, then back to Aizen.
Then back to Sora.
Then back to Aizen.
...The resemblance was there.
Sora threw his hands up. "I do NOT act like that man!"
Ichigo and Uryu looked at each other.
Then back at him.
Deadpan stare.
"...Sure."
Ichigo crossed his arms. "Alright, so what's the plan?"
Sora inhaled deeply.
Then, with the utmost seriousness, he said:
"The power of friendship."
Ichigo's eye twitched. "Sora... you better have a plan or I swear to everything I hold dear, I will choke the life out of you."
Sora raised a hand. "Wait, no, hear me out. Try it. Just once."
Ichigo's face was pure skepticism.
Sora continued, counting on his fingers.
"Listen. We can win. We got: Ichigo, the group project. Uryu, the guy who pulls no bitches. And then there's me—the amazing, fantastic, handsome, rich, best Quincy alive and, most importantly, humble Sora."
Uryu: "...You're anything but humble."
"As if you out of anyone would be humble," was the group project's reply.
"I still have the pictures..."
"Sora, you truly are the most humble of them all. I truly feel blessed to have been blessed with your presence."
Sora didn't like that look in their eyes... as if they were planning his demise. Planning on ways to reveal to Byakuya the truth about his cloning technique.
Hm... if only they knew.
Sora had three pupils in his eyes—could shift to two if he wanted to see the past—but he chose three, so he could see the future and alter it.
He didn't quite have access to the fourth pupil yet, but he was sure after killing Yhwach, he would have it...