"Captain Aizen," Gin Ichimaru said, "sorry, but she's an old friend of mine. I'm going to... take her aside for a moment."
"That's fine. We have plenty of time." Sōsuke Aizen smiled, just as he had in the past when he brought Momo Hinamori to meet Tōshirō Hitsugaya. "You two should have a proper talk."
Gin Ichimaru's lips curved upward. "Wouldn't that disturb you?"
Sōsuke Aizen's gaze shifted slightly, as if he truly were a Captain considerate of his subordinates. "How could it?"
Gin Ichimaru's figure flickered, and in an instant, he carried Rangiku Matsumoto far away.
"Honestly..." Sōsuke Aizen watched Gin Ichimaru's back. "Just like always. Still so interesting..."
Everything on either side rushed backward. Rangiku Matsumoto reached out to push against Gin Ichimaru's chest. "Let go of me..."
Before her palm could touch him, Gin Ichimaru had already released her.
Rangiku Matsumoto landed on a rooftop, staggering before she found her balance. Her unhealed wounds throbbed dully, leaving her breathing hard.
"You look like you can barely stand..." Gin Ichimaru landed after her, the smile on his face the same as ever. "Why did you come?"
"When I sensed your Reiatsu disappear, I came here first through the Senkaimon." Rangiku Matsumoto forced herself to endure the pain, her brow tightly furrowed. "I knew where Karakura Town had been moved, so I came here ahead of the others and sensed your Reiatsu..."
"...I wasn't asking how you got here." Gin Ichimaru's eyes narrowed as usual. "I meant, you can barely stand, so why did you come?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Cold sweat slid down Rangiku Matsumoto's forehead from the pain. "Because you're here."
At some point, the upturned corners of Gin Ichimaru's mouth had fallen.
"I can finally... ask you directly." Rangiku Matsumoto bit her lower lip. "Why exactly... did you follow Aizen?" She paused, then added, "Why... did you betray Kira, who trusted you so much...?"
"Are you seriously... asking me that right now?" Gin Ichimaru's thin lips parted, as if the next thing to slip out might be a snake's tongue. "When you say betraying someone who trusted me... are you really talking about Kira?"
Rangiku Matsumoto's breath caught.
"Ahh... honestly, why did you have to come here..." Gin Ichimaru had moved close without her realizing it. His fingertip touched the necklace at Rangiku Matsumoto's throat, and his voice rang beside her ear. "Say it..."
Rangiku Matsumoto struggled to open her mouth. At this point, what was there left for her to avoid?
That question had been buried inside her for so many years. If she did not say it now, then what was the point of keeping it locked away in her heart?
But just as Rangiku Matsumoto's trembling lips parted, the short blade in Gin Ichimaru's hand was already pointed at her face.
"Rangiku... you're in the way."
A white light swallowed everything in Rangiku Matsumoto's widened eyes.
...
Clang!
The blades crossed. Retsu Unohana's Zanpakutō traced a smooth arc as it swept the strike aside, and in the next instant, her follow-up was already prepared.
Meanwhile, the veins bulged along Muten Natsu's blade arm. He gathered strength as their blades met, then released it the moment they separated. With a shrill screech, his blade cut across Retsu Unohana's waist and abdomen.
Warm blood splashed onto his face, and Muten Natsu's movement faltered.
Pshk! Pshk! Pshk!
Several short blades pierced Muten Natsu's body, limiting the movement of his limbs.
"What's wrong? You seemed... distracted for an instant." Retsu Unohana swept her arm, and the short blades spinning at her fingertips shot through the air, piercing Muten Natsu's throat. "This is precious battle time. You should lose yourself in it properly."
Regrowing flesh pushed the short blades out of his body. Draped in a blood-red cloak, Muten Natsu moved like a ghost. He stepped through the blood, crossed the hazy blood mist, and closed in at high speed with Myōki raised.
Retsu Unohana sidestepped with ease, pressed her hand against the back of Myōki's blade, and used the force of Muten Natsu drawing it back to leap into the air. Her swinging arm carried her body into a spin, and she slashed at Muten Natsu's back.
Muten Natsu raised Myōki behind him to block. The moment the blades collided, viscous Spirit Ink surged out, twining toward Retsu Unohana's slender body.
But viscous blood spilled from Minazuki as well, forcibly scattering the Spirit Ink.
Retsu Unohana's blade came down, cleaving only crimson blood mixed with pitch-black Spirit Ink.
Muten Natsu appeared amid the scattering Spirit Ink, turning into a blurred ghostly shadow that burst with a sharp, cold gleam.
Retsu Unohana swung Minazuki. Blood separated from the blade, forming a blood blade that passed through the afterimage left by the ghostly shadow.
Muten Natsu reappeared in the viscous liquid that was impossible to distinguish as Spirit Ink or blood, only to find a crimson blood blade rushing toward his face.
Retsu Unohana had predicted the direction of his attack and released the blood blade in advance.
But...
In the next instant, Muten Natsu activated Shadow Stealth and appeared somewhere else, breaking through the blood mist to attack.
Retsu Unohana shifted her steps, making the blood beneath her ripple. Her robes fluttered, her long hair streamed, and her movements were elegant, almost like dancing.
Yet what bloomed from that dance was a terrifying attack.
Countless blood blades crisscrossed the air, spreading outward with Retsu Unohana's body at the center.
They looked chaotic, but every blade had anticipated Muten Natsu's position ahead of time. No matter where he moved, at least two blood blades would strike him.
Then... he would not dodge.
Muten Natsu accelerated sharply. Gripping Myōki tight, he forced his way through the frightening net of blood blades, letting them flay flesh from his body as he cut into Retsu Unohana's shoulder.
Warm blood flowed down Myōki's guardless blade and onto Muten Natsu's gripping hand.
They were so close that Muten Natsu could see the scar at the center of Retsu Unohana's collarbone growing even more vivid. He could feel her rapid breathing and the warmth of her palm...
Retsu Unohana reached out and took the hand Muten Natsu used to hold his blade.
She tightened her grip.
Pshk!
"Still not enough." The curved Minazuki pierced Muten Natsu's throat. Retsu Unohana held his hand and lifted Myōki, exposing her healing body. "You have to use more force. You have to cut deeper."
"Hh..." Muten Natsu made a muffled sound. The blade withdrew from his throat, and as the wound healed, a slit opened on his vein-bulging forehead. The crimson Eye of Hell turned, locking onto Retsu Unohana's figure. "Bankai. Rin'en Bokukō!"
Pitch-black Spirit Ink intertwined with crimson blood. A ferocious monster appeared in the pool of blood, ignited into roaring Hell Flames, and transformed into a black dragon that slammed into Muten Natsu's body.
Retsu Unohana's vision blurred. The next instant, a hand seized her shoulder and forced her down into the pool of blood.
Muten Natsu held Myōki in a reverse grip and stabbed down.
Retsu Unohana tilted her head to dodge, then kicked Muten Natsu in the chest, sending him flying.
She pressed a hand to the ground and rose. But just as she lifted Minazuki, a slash struck her from behind.
Muten Natsu, who had just been kicked into the air, had activated Shadow Stealth and moved behind Retsu Unohana, attacking the moment she stood.
Retsu Unohana staggered slightly, then swung her blade toward her side.
Sure enough, Muten Natsu appeared there. He raised Myōki to block Retsu Unohana's Minazuki, and beneath his mask, his mouth opened in a savage roar. "Bankai. Rin'en Bokukō!"
A snarling, ferocious monster burst out of the blood and ink, ignited into a black dragon, and crashed into Muten Natsu's body. It then tore through him, forming a strange mist woven from black and red.
With Minazuki healing him, Muten Natsu completely abandoned all limits on his power, recklessly driving the uncontrollable force within him as he attacked.
Finally...
Their blades collided. Both of them exerted force at the same time, and the distance between them closed.
Reflected in Retsu Unohana's eyes were Muten Natsu's bloodlit, ferocious eyes. She could feel the tremendous power stored in his vein-bulging arms.
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
Blood surged. Spirit Ink flew.
The blade that pierced flesh was no longer cold. Soaked in blood, it had turned warm, and with each collision, it grew hotter still, carrying an almost scorching heat.
When had it begun?
Probably from the first time she saw Muten Natsu use that power. That was when Retsu Unohana began looking forward to this moment.
He had been so weak, yet he could unleash such tremendous power.
Then if he became stronger, what kind of power would he unleash?
The moment the Hell Flames burned her body, along with that clear pain, Retsu Unohana's anticipation had burned intensely.
If it was Muten Natsu, he would surely bring her a battle that was fierce and satisfying.
Just like this!
Blades tore through flesh as the two figures intertwined.
Wounds healed and opened, opened and healed. Blood and Spirit Ink mingled, cut apart by cold gleams alongside their rapid breaths.
The techniques Muten Natsu had learned from Retsu Unohana now showed a completely different brutality in his hands, fierce and resolute.
But Retsu Unohana's Zanjutsu far surpassed Muten Natsu's. She used the same techniques with effortless ease, linking them together as smoothly as flowing water. They were clearly techniques meant to kill, yet in her hands they carried an ultimate gentleness, cleverly dissolving Muten Natsu's ferocious attacks.
At first, Retsu Unohana had overwhelmed him with strength and speed, while Muten Natsu had struggled to respond with every technique he could muster.
But with each activation of Bankai, Muten Natsu's strength and speed rose faster and faster. Uncontrollable power surged through his body, leaving him unable to spare attention for technique, so he crushed Retsu Unohana's skill with pure force.
At that point, Retsu Unohana began to use technique again and once more gained the upper hand.
Through one death after another, Muten Natsu rapidly adapted to his increased speed and strength, merging them into the techniques he had learned from the Primordial Form. And in the process of fighting Retsu Unohana to the death, he honed techniques better suited to himself.
Yes, that was it... that feeling of growth.
As the blades, heated further through each collision, cut across her body, Retsu Unohana felt pleasure unlike anything she had ever known.
The thought that the powerful force now wounding her was something she had nurtured with her own hands made even her soul tremble.
It was an experience a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times more joyful than tasting a dish she had cooked herself, admiring a painting she had drawn herself, or listening to music she had played herself.
"Bankai. Rin'en Bokukō!"
Another burning fire dragon crashed into his body, and Muten Natsu's form turned transparent for an instant.
Without Minazuki's healing, his body might already have completely collapsed under the impact of that uncontrollable power.
He had lost count of how many times he had used Bankai, but one thing was certain. His strength and speed had already surpassed Retsu Unohana's, and the gap in technique was disappearing.
At the same time that Minazuki cut through Muten Natsu's throat, Myōki also opened Retsu Unohana's snow-white nape.
When Minazuki pierced Muten Natsu's heart, Myōki also stabbed into Retsu Unohana's chest.
A little faster...
Their blurred figures crossed, then collided again the very next moment, sending blood and Spirit Ink scattering.
A little stronger...
Sparks burst from the clashing blades, and the point where they met glowed a hot crimson.
A little deeper...
The scorching blade touched flesh, then cut farther, striking white bone.
Whether Hueco Mundo or reality, whether Hell or Soul Society, whether Arrancar or Shinigami, all of it was cast to the back of their minds in the intensity of their battle.
Thinking about any of it would not help the fight before them, so there was no need to think. All they had to do was lose themselves in the battle at hand.
In that ever-changing fight, amid repeated mortal wounds and deaths, everything else became irrelevant.
Battle was everything.
Retsu Unohana loved battle.
But she was too strong, and it was difficult for her to experience a fight exhilarating enough to satisfy her.
Muten Natsu had answered her expectations. Under her guidance, he had brought her the ultimate, exhilarating battle.
Could there be anything happier than that?
Yes.
Myōki cut open Retsu Unohana's chest, while the Minazuki Retsu Unohana swung shattered the mask on Muten Natsu's face.
Muten Natsu's face came into view, woven with sorrow and madness. Retsu Unohana lowered her eyes, her long lashes trembling, blurring the figure of Muten Natsu before her until it overlapped with the young Muten Natsu she had once held in her arms.
What was happier than fighting to her heart's content against a powerful opponent she had nurtured herself...
Was the process of nurturing him itself.
Making the weak him strong. Making the lost him resolute.
Helping him grow, and witnessing him grow.
Over those countless days and nights they had spent together, her anticipation for battle had unknowingly become anticipation for him.
Anticipation for everything about him.
Except... this battle.
Because this was the final growth she could give him.
From now on, he would have to walk the rest of the path alone.
The blade tip pierced her skin, and Minazuki slipped from Retsu Unohana's hand.
What she could do now was only the one thing she should not do.
Looking at Muten Natsu's face, Retsu Unohana opened her arms.
In battle... how could one embrace the enemy?
Before Minazuki could hit the ground, it shattered and turned into crimson blood.
The dense blood energy rolled and surged upward. As Retsu Unohana closed her arms, it sank completely into Muten Natsu, who was held in her embrace, stabilizing his body on the verge of collapse.