An antique sliding door appeared in the air. Muten Natsu looked over warily and saw a familiar figure.
"To think it ended up like this..." Seinosuke Yamada waved a hand in front of his nose. "And you still haven't defeated the enemy."
Muten Natsu hadn't expected him to appear here. "How did you...?"
"Those nobles fear the power of the Gotei 13, but they fear being without that power even more." Seinosuke Yamada clapped his hands. "So once they confirmed Aizen had left the World of the Living, they sent us over. After all, you don't often get the chance to see the Gotei 13 in such a sorry state."
"Captain!"
"We're here!"
More medical personnel stepped out of the Senkaimon. When they saw the devastation around them, shock spread across their faces.
"That should be enough." Retsu Unohana withdrew her hand, and the bandages formed by Raku Zetsu around Muten Natsu's body unraveled. "I'll leave the wounded here to you."
"Yes!" Yasochika Iemura answered. He sensed the conditions around them and began assigning squad members to treatment.
Rukia Kuchiki caught the implication in Retsu Unohana's words. "Captain Unohana, you're not staying here?"
"Even with my power and Orihime's, we can't restore the captains' ability to fight quickly enough." Retsu Unohana gave a slight nod. "Someone has to stop Aizen."
Muten Natsu staggered to his feet. "I'll go too."
Retsu Unohana lowered her eyes slightly. "Are you really going?"
"At least..." Muten Natsu took a step forward. "I can't let you go alone."
Rukia Kuchiki stepped up beside Muten Natsu. "I'm going too!"
"I'm going too!" Orihime Inoue raised her small hand.
While treating Muten Natsu, Orihime Inoue had clearly sensed just how terrible his physical condition was.
If Retsu Unohana hadn't intervened in time, Muten Natsu might already have completely collapsed and vanished.
Fear.
Whether it was Muten Natsu taking on the form of a Hollow like her Nii-san, or the state he was in now, on the verge of collapse and liable to disappear at any moment just like her Nii-san, both made the fear buried deep in Orihime Inoue's heart surge beyond her control.
She didn't want to lose someone important to her again.
Since she couldn't stop Muten Natsu, then at the very least, she could go with him.
She couldn't help him become stronger, but as long as she stayed by his side, she could at least keep him from getting worse.
"Orihime, your body can't pass through the Senkaimon." Retsu Unohana noticed the tears glimmering in Orihime Inoue's eyes. After a brief pause, she added, "Rukia, once the wounded here are all stabilized, take her to the Interdimensional Pillar. There's a Reishi Conversion Device there."
Rukia Kuchiki glanced at Muten Natsu. "All right."
Orihime Inoue hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grabbed Muten Natsu's hand. "Wait!"
Muten Natsu looked at her in confusion.
"When we were in Soul Society... you told me." Orihime Inoue's soft, pale fingers gently hooked around Muten Natsu's pinky. "Since you kissed it, my finger belongs to you now. No matter what happens in the future, you'll come back."
Muten Natsu remembered the promise from back then. He had even linked pinkies with Orihime Inoue and promised to take care of himself.
But things had been so urgent that he had never been able to keep that promise.
Feeling the warmth of Orihime Inoue's hand, Muten Natsu lowered his head. "Orihime, I'm sorry. I..."
His voice stopped abruptly. Orihime Inoue placed a hand on his shoulder, rose onto her tiptoes, and gently kissed him on the cheek.
"Huh?" Rukia Kuchiki stared blankly at the scene. By the time she wanted to stop it, Orihime Inoue had already let go of Muten Natsu's hand.
"Since I kissed you, you're mine now." A blush spread across Orihime Inoue's face, but the slightly swollen rims of her eyes were even redder. Bright tears trembled there, shimmering with light. "So no matter what happens in the future, I'll find you."
The soft sensation still lingered on Muten Natsu's cheek. He opened his mouth, then finally nodded hard. "Mm!"
Rukia Kuchiki pressed her lips together, but something seemed to be lodged in her chest, leaving her unable to make a sound.
Orihime Inoue pushed Rukia Kuchiki into Muten Natsu's arms with both small hands. "Hurry, Rukia. You kiss him too."
Caught off guard, Rukia Kuchiki stumbled into Muten Natsu's embrace. At a loss, she looked up and met his gaze. "Wh-what?"
"He didn't keep the promise he made with me last time." Orihime Inoue puffed out her pink cheeks slightly and waved her little fist, pretending to sound relaxed. "This time, with both of us together, the power will be doubled!"
That's not how doubling works!
Rukia Kuchiki tilted her head up and met Muten Natsu's gaze.
Held in his arms, Rukia Kuchiki felt that familiar heartbeat.
It was a heartbeat she might very well... never feel again.
Muten Natsu noticed the complicated look in Rukia Kuchiki's eyes. "Rukia..."
"Shut up!" Rukia Kuchiki stepped on his foot. "And close your eyes!"
With him looking at her, Rukia Kuchiki couldn't summon the courage at all.
Muten Natsu obediently closed his eyes. Rukia Kuchiki lifted her head... and couldn't reach.
She was a little shorter than Orihime Inoue.
And when Orihime Inoue had kissed him earlier, Muten Natsu had lowered his head.
Rukia Kuchiki reminded him in a small voice, "Lower your head..."
Watching Muten Natsu lower his head, Rukia Kuchiki's lips trembled faintly, and she shyly closed her eyes.
Muten Natsu lowered his head, but it still seemed like the height wasn't quite right, so he bent down with the motion.
A soft sensation fell...
Onto his lips.
Rukia Kuchiki had originally meant to kiss his other cheek, but both of them had their eyes closed, so naturally, she ended up kissing the wrong place.
The sensation, different from what they had expected, made both of them open their eyes at the same time. Just as Muten Natsu was about to pull away and try again, Rukia Kuchiki wrapped her arms around his neck.
Just this once... Rukia Kuchiki stubbornly held the distance between them. Just this once, she would let herself be selfish.
Rukia Kuchiki's kiss was like a crystal-clear snowflake gently landing on his lips beneath warm sunlight. After a brief coolness came a warmth that sank into the heart. Along with Rukia Kuchiki's soft breaths, it seeped into Muten Natsu's body and settled in the most tender part of his heart, sending ripples through it.
Orihime Inoue was right.
Rukia Kuchiki tightened her arms and breathed in Muten Natsu's breath. In that moment, she felt it with painful clarity. Muten Natsu belonged to her.
But not only to her.
There were things he had to do.
Rukia Kuchiki released her arms with difficulty. Her damp eyes fixed on Muten Natsu's face, as if trying to engrave his image into the depths of her heart. "Wait for me."
Not daring to look at Muten Natsu again, Rukia Kuchiki took Orihime Inoue's hand and led her away to treat the wounded.
Retsu Unohana stroked Muten Natsu's head. "Let's go."