"That's amazing!" After her bath, Isane Kotetsu dried her hair with the hair dryer, then held her palm up to the vent to feel the warm air. "There really are so many amazing things in the World of the Living."
It really was amazing.
Rukia Kuchiki looked at Isane Kotetsu, then lowered her head to look at herself.
Isane Kotetsu was tall, and since she usually wore a Shihakushō, she had always kept a low profile.
But now, in a fitted nightgown...
Mountains gathered, waves surged.
Was the difference between people really this big?
Her height was one thing, but how could...
"The Shin'ō Academy's World of the Living curriculum really should be updated. There are many things you can only understand by experiencing them firsthand in the World of the Living." Retsu Unohana understood Isane Kotetsu's amazement, though she did not show it as plainly. "By the way, Isane, tonight..."
Rukia Kuchiki had already thought of that. "Isane-san can sleep in my room. I already cleaned it up."
Orihime Inoue raised her small hand. "Captain can sleep in my room."
Isane Kotetsu looked a little embarrassed. "Then what about you two?"
Rukia Kuchiki was just about to answer when her expression stiffened.
Orihime Inoue pointed at Muten Natsu. "We'll sleep with Muten."
Ririn silently found a spot with a good view and sat down.
She had been waiting far too long for this scene.
Isane Kotetsu looked stunned. "Huh?"
"You..." Retsu Unohana's gaze swept over Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue before landing on Muten Natsu. "All?"
Her gentle eyes narrowed slightly, and they instantly gained a sharper edge. The corners of Retsu Unohana's mouth lifted. "Muten, have you been bullying them?"
Whoa... Isane Kotetsu immediately shrank her shoulders.
Captain was angry.
And not just a little angry.
"No, no!" Orihime Inoue hurriedly waved her hands. "We've been very happy sleeping together."
"Very happy?" Retsu Unohana's eyes opened slightly, and an invisible pressure made the air in the room grow heavy. "So you really have been bullying them?"
Orihime Inoue: "Eh?"
Rukia Kuchiki tugged at Orihime Inoue's sleeve. If Orihime said it that way, of course Captain Unohana would misunderstand.
So Rukia Kuchiki quickly corrected her. "Don't listen to Orihime's nonsense. We weren't happy at all."
"So you really did bully them." Retsu Unohana's eyes closed slightly, and when she opened them again, the smile had vanished from her face. "Muten Natsu, I don't remember teaching you to do that."
It's over, it's over, it's over... Isane Kotetsu wanted to find a crack in the floor and hide inside.
Captain had actually repeated it a third time.
"Actually..." Muten Natsu grabbed Ririn and held her in front of himself. "Ririn knows the whole story."
"Huh?" Ririn's doll face was full of confusion. She had been happily watching the show, so how had the fire suddenly spread to her? "What are you doing?"
"My credibility points have already been used up," Muten Natsu whispered. "Your reputation is higher. You explain."
Ririn glanced at the expressionless Retsu Unohana and felt as if her Gikon Pill was trembling. "Here's what happened..."
To keep the fire from spreading any further, Ririn immediately summarized the whole situation as simply as possible.
"You get stronger by sleeping?" Retsu Unohana blinked. "That's the first I've heard of it."
Rukia Kuchiki calmed her restless heart. "Captain didn't know?"
"Mm. I never noticed it before."
Captain Unohana... actually didn't know?
After discovering that sleeping with Muten Natsu made her stronger, Rukia Kuchiki had remembered how Retsu Unohana and Muten Natsu often slept together in the past. She had guessed that maybe Retsu Unohana had been the first to notice it, which was why she had indulged Muten Natsu so much.
Because she wanted to grow stronger, she slept with Muten Natsu.
But Retsu Unohana had not noticed at all.
If it had not been to grow stronger, then Retsu Unohana sleeping with Muten Natsu was purely... indulgence.
"It's too late now," Retsu Unohana said, stroking Muten Natsu's head. "When this is over, remember to come back to the 4th Division. I'll examine your body."
Muten Natsu nodded.
"All right." Retsu Unohana smiled and waved. "Good night."
Good night... There was no way to settle down now!
Lying beside Muten Natsu, Orihime Inoue's face burned.
She had clearly been sleeping like this for days and should have been used to it by now, but tonight suddenly felt different.
Bullying...
What should she do if Muten Natsu bullied her?
She had never even considered that before.
That made sense... Muten Natsu had never bullied her.
But bullying and "bullying" were different things.
If it was that kind of bullying... it seemed like it had never happened.
In the darkness, Orihime Inoue's big eyes blinked.
That was right. She herself had once thought about bullying Muten Natsu.
But Muten Natsu had never shown any sign of thinking that way.
Mm... actually, maybe he had.
Orihime Inoue curled her toes, and her small feet rubbed together beneath the blanket.
There had been some... but he had only looked a few more times. Two... three, four, five, six times.
But as for using his hands, it seemed he had only ever done that to Rukia Kuchiki.
Wait...
Orihime Inoue suddenly remembered the first time she had slept with Muten Natsu.
When she woke up, her socks had been wrinkled.
Could it be that that night, Muten Natsu had secretly...
So she had to wear socks?
Orihime Inoue covered her face, feeling like her head was about to break.
She could not keep thinking about this!
Her mind was getting strange.
Now was not the time to think about these things.
Orihime Inoue worked hard to steady her breathing and closed her eyes.
Rukia Kuchiki opened her eyes and looked at Muten Natsu's sleeping profile.
This guy's sleep quality was much better than it had been back at Shin'ō Academy.
Her eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness, so Rukia Kuchiki could faintly see Orihime Inoue's soft, beautiful long hair on the other side.
Sure enough... this was still a little strange.
No matter what, she should have felt strange about it.
Why... was she able to accept it so naturally?
Just as she had so easily accepted that bizarre world where a blazing clear sky and freezing snow coexisted.
[How much farther will you walk?]
Sode no Shirayuki's voice came from within the wind and snow.
[I am here...]
"No, that's not right. It shouldn't be me." Rukia Kuchiki stared at the blurred figure in the snowstorm. "Last time, you appeared beside me. You can approach me on your own!"
[No...]
An icy breath brushed past her ear, bringing Sode no Shirayuki's distant voice.
[It can only be you.]
[Whether you come closer...]
[Or move away.]