Muten Natsu plainly explained the results of the Myōki analysis. "That's basically the situation."
"So you were confident you could deal with it, but ended up getting hurt this badly because of something you didn't expect?" Orihime Inoue blinked her big eyes. "So what you told Rukia earlier wasn't a lie. You genuinely believed you could survive, didn't you?"
Muten Natsu nodded. "That's right."
"Rukia~" Orihime Inoue gently poked Rukia Kuchiki, who had her back turned toward Muten Natsu. "Muten wasn't lying."
Rukia Kuchiki twisted irritably. "Like I care!"
Orihime Inoue looked over at Muten Natsu.
Muten Natsu simply spread his hands.
Somehow, this whole scene felt strangely familiar.
Orihime Inoue turned to Ririn with a look that silently begged for help.
"Well, it's only because Rukia has such a good temper," Ririn snorted. "If it were me, I'd have beaten you up at least once to vent. Besides, Orihime already healed your injuries."
Rukia Kuchiki's ears twitched. Slowly, she turned her head and fixed Muten Natsu with a dangerous stare.
"You really don't know how to take care of yourself," Ririn continued, fanning the flames. "If someone else hurts you, I'll just get angry. So it's better if I hurt you instead and let myself blow off some steam."
Rukia Kuchiki puffed her cheeks slightly, clenched her small fist, and thumped it against Muten Natsu's chest.
Muten Natsu looked down at her. "Mm… you didn't eat, did you?"
Rukia Kuchiki's glare instantly sharpened, and she launched into a flurry of rapid punches like a sudden storm.
"Wait—" Muten Natsu caught her slender wrist. "That's not what I meant. I meant… isn't it almost dinner time? Aren't you hungry? Maybe we should pause and eat first."
"None of your business!" Rukia Kuchiki struggled, but when she couldn't break free, she simply lifted her leg and kicked him.
The soft little foot wrapped in black knee-high stockings planted firmly against Muten Natsu's chest, warmth seeping through the thin fabric along with an unmistakably soft touch.
Muten Natsu closed his eyes and gave up resisting. "Fine. If you want to keep going, then go ahead."
Rukia Kuchiki curled her toes. "You really are a pervert!"
Muten Natsu looked utterly wronged. "If I tell you to stop and you won't stop, and then I tell you to continue and suddenly I'm a pervert… what do you even want from me?"
"I…" Rukia Kuchiki pressed her lips together. "I'm leaving."
Muten Natsu grabbed the small foot that was about to lift away from his chest. "What did you say?"
"I don't want to just stand there watching you get hurt anymore. I don't want to throw a tantrum after you're injured. And I don't want to keep running away…" Rukia Kuchiki took a deep breath. "I'm going back to Soul Society to report and retrieve Sode no Shirayuki. And when I return, I won't just stand by helplessly like I did before."
Muten Natsu stared into her bright purple eyes. "Rukia…"
Their gazes met, and the moment was almost beautifully cinematic.
It would've been even better if Muten Natsu hadn't still been holding onto her foot.
"Stop squeezing!" Rukia Kuchiki yanked her foot free. "You really are a pervert!"
Muten Natsu protested, "It's normal to unconsciously squeeze something when you're thinking!"
Rukia Kuchiki snapped back, "Then who squeezes someone else's foot without thinking?!"
Orihime Inoue tilted her head and added, "I've never even seen anyone squeeze their own, either."
Muten Natsu looked away, rubbing his ear out of habit. "Well… your foot was literally in my hand."
Rukia Kuchiki lunged for his hand. "Don't you dare smell it!"
"Who said I was going to smell it?!"
Watching the two of them bicker and wrestle around, Orihime Inoue smiled brightly.
Ririn let out a sigh.
Seriously… what are you even so happy about?
…
Having made up her mind, Rukia Kuchiki no longer hesitated.
After dinner, with the snacks Orihime Inoue had packed for her in hand, Rukia Kuchiki left Muten Natsu's house and returned to Soul Society.
"Rukia went home?" During lunch, Tatsuki Arisawa froze when she heard the news. "Why at a time like this? Summer break is almost here."
"There was something urgent she needed to deal with, so she had to hurry back," Orihime Inoue explained. "She should be back in two or three days."
"With Kuchiki gone, you must feel so lonely, Orihime~" Chizuru Honshō leaned in. "Why don't I—"
Tatsuki Arisawa smoothly grabbed Chizuru Honshō by the arm. "Can't you behave yourself for once?"
"When the one I love is right next to me, how am I supposed to behave!"
"Wooow~" Mahana Natsui exclaimed. "That's some seriously scary obsession."
Michiru Ogawa edged closer to Ryō Kunieda. "That's… really scary."
"If Kuchiki leaves…" Kunieda lifted her eyes from her book. "Then at home, it'll just be you and Natsu-san, right?"
"Huh?" Orihime Inoue was caught completely off guard. "How did you know…?"
"You didn't even try to hide it," Ryō Kunieda said frankly. "You walk to school together, go home together after class, and…" She pointed at Orihime Inoue's lunch box. "Your lunches are exactly the same."
Combined with Orihime Inoue's very distinctive cooking style, it was impossible not to figure it out.
"Ehehe~" Orihime Inoue rubbed the back of her head. "You're right…"
"By the way," Tatsuki Arisawa glanced aside, "Muten usually eats lunch in the classroom. Why isn't he here today?"
…
"So that's why…" Muten Natsu sat on the rooftop, eating his lunch. "Why did you drag me up here, anyway?"
Uryū Ishida bit into his yakisoba bread. "I was wondering the same thing."
Ichigo Kurosaki replied as if it were obvious. "Lunch tastes better when everyone eats together!"
"I eat lunch to restore energy," Muten Natsu shot him a sideways look. "Instead, I had to burn energy climbing up here, and I'll have to burn more climbing back down afterward."
"That's just your subjective illusion," Uryū Ishida said, pushing up his glasses. "Whether you eat together or alone, the taste of the food doesn't change."
"But eating alone is kind of sad…" Ichigo Kurosaki had noticed the two of them always eating by themselves, looking like they were being quietly ostracized. Afraid they might feel awkward, he'd dragged them along.
Muten Natsu raised his eyes. "I think eating doesn't require company. People who can't eat independently are much sadder."
Uryū Ishida nodded. "I feel the same way."
Ichigo Kurosaki: "...Keigo, tell a joke and lighten the mood."
The conversation was completely dead.
"You're asking the impossible…" Keigo Asano protested. One was the taciturn, gloomy Uryū Ishida, the other was Muten Natsu, a sleeping tiger. The pleasant lunch atmosphere was completely ruined. "Chad, say something!"
"I…" Yasutora Sado paused for a moment. "Mm."
Keigo Asano: "..." What's with that 'task completed' look on your face? Do you think two filler sounds count as a joke?