Muten Natsu lowered his head and blinked. "What if I say no?"
Rukia Kuchiki looked up and rolled her eyes at him. "Then you really don't know what's good for you."
"I'll help you." Muten Natsu kissed her gently on the forehead. "When it comes to controlling dangerous powers, I have plenty of confidence."
"I asked you to have more confidence in me." Rukia Kuchiki gave him a light pinch. "How did you end up putting that confidence in yourself?"
Muten Natsu looked completely innocent. "Isn't having confidence in me the same as having confidence in you?"
"...I suppose it is." Rukia Kuchiki rubbed the spot she had just pinched. "Then I'll take the time you asked for and use it for myself, too."
"What do you need so much time for?"
Rukia Kuchiki caught Muten Natsu's wandering hand. "Whatever it is, it won't be for doing this."
"Ah..." Muten Natsu wiggled his fingers. "Force of habit."
"You've got some nerve saying that about something like this... Hmm?" Rukia Kuchiki's gaze sharpened. "How did it become a habit? Do you usually do this sort of thing? You... Orihime?!"
Her beautiful eyes narrowed, and her gaze gradually turned dangerous. "You've done the same thing to Orihime? So often that it became a habit?"
Muten Natsu's expression stiffened. Then he obediently nodded.
"She's still so young!" Rukia Kuchiki immediately grew tense. "You didn't force her, did you...?"
"Do I seem like the kind of person who would do that?"
Rukia Kuchiki shot back, "Have you already forgotten what you just did?"
Muten Natsu argued in his defense, "That was because you forced me too."
Rukia Kuchiki stared seriously into his eyes. "You really didn't force her?"
Muten Natsu answered with certainty, "Of course not."
"Good." Rukia Kuchiki nodded. "Because if I ever find out you've been taking advantage of her, you're dead."
"Hmm..." Her reaction was nothing like Muten Natsu had expected. "Hmm?"
"What are you so confused about? Orihime is my good friend. What's wrong with standing up for my friend?"
"...Nothing." Muten Natsu still felt that something was off, but he could not put his finger on what.
Rukia Kuchiki's reaction was completely different from what he had anticipated.
"Muten..." Rukia Kuchiki shifted the hand beneath the covers.
"Hmm?"
"Let go."
"I'm not... Hiss!" Muten Natsu's voice suddenly jumped in pitch. "Aren't you the one who should let go?"
Rukia Kuchiki kept her eyes closed. "You let go first."
"I wasn't even... Oh."
Muten Natsu finally caught on and reached out.
"And you said you weren't..." Rukia Kuchiki lowered her voice and tilted her head back slightly.
Muten Natsu lowered his head in response and kissed her in the soft darkness of the night.
...
"Thank you for your hard work, Seventh Seat Yamada." After finishing another patient's treatment, Isane Kotetsu thanked Hanatarō Yamada beside her. "I'm glad you were here to help."
"Huh? Ah... I'm sorry." Hanatarō Yamada apologized almost on reflex. When he noticed Isane Kotetsu's puzzled look, he hurriedly explained, "I wasn't much help... I'm truly sorry."
"You just performed an excellent treatment. There's no need to apologize."
"I-Is that so? I... I'm sorry."
Hanatarō Yamada had started apologizing for apologizing when he should not have apologized.
Isane Kotetsu fell silent.
Hanatarō Yamada's timid demeanor often made people assume he was still a newcomer.
In truth, he was one of the finest healers in the entire 4th Division.
His Zanpakutō, Hisagomaru, could absorb injuries, convert them into power, and release that power, making it exceptionally useful for treating all kinds of wounds.
Unfortunately, it was clearly useless when it came to psychological problems.
Then again, perhaps it was precisely because of his personality that Hanatarō Yamada was so popular among the female members of the Division. He was second only to...
The cheerful, handsome man of the 4th Division, Eighth Seat Harunobu Ogidō, appeared. "If you keep apologizing like that, you'll only make things awkward for the Lieutenant."
"I'm terribly sorry... Ah! I did it again... I'm really, truly sor... Ah!"
Hanatarō Yamada looked ready to cry.
"Don't worry about it." Isane Kotetsu changed the subject. "Eighth Seat Ogidō, did you need something?"
"Yes. Third Seat Yamada has a visitor who has been waiting in the guest room for over seven minutes," Ogidō replied. "You were in the middle of treating someone, so I didn't want to interrupt."
"Huh?!" Hanatarō Yamada grew even more flustered. "Um... I... that's..."
"Go on," Isane Kotetsu told him.
"Right!"
Hanatarō hurried into the barracks.
Although the 4th Division barracks prioritized practical facilities for medical treatment, there was one relatively lavish area. The guest room used to receive the Captain-Commander and members of the nobility.
After tripping over the threshold and falling flat, Hanatarō Yamada simply turned his fall into a bow. "Wah... I'm terribly sorry for keeping you waiting!"
A voice rang out, making no attempt to conceal its sharpness. "You're the same as ever. A lifeless voice coming from a lifeless posture. Did your own heart become infected while you were busy trying to understand your patients' feelings?"
That tone...
Hanatarō's eyes widened as he looked up. "Huh... S-Seinosuke-nii-san?!"
"Oh my. Even your face has grown more lifeless."
Seinosuke Yamada, the former Lieutenant of the 4th Division, current chief representative of the Shin'ō Medicine Institute in the Noble District, and Hanatarō Yamada's older brother, chuckled softly.
"I truly worry about the mental state of your patients. Even someone with a minor injury would feel beyond saving the moment they saw your face."
Expertly ignoring his brother's words, Hanatarō tilted his head. "What brings you here, Nii-san...? Are you off duty today?"
"What's this? Do you dislike seeing your own brother that much?"
"N-No, of course not!" Hanatarō Yamada hurriedly protested. "It's t-true that Nii-san enjoys making things difficult for people and has a terrible personality, but if you look hard enough, you do have some good qualities... probably? I mean... I was only surprised. You came to see the Captain, didn't you?"
That was the only reason he could think of.
"The Captain is still in the World of the Living. It doesn't seem like she'll be coming back anytime soon."
"The World of the Living..." Seinosuke Yamada raised an eyebrow. "I'm not here to see the Captain. I'm on leave, and since I had some business in the area, I decided to stop by and give Hanatarō a warning."
"A warning?"
Seinosuke Yamada narrowed his eyes, and the smile vanished from his face. "Hanatarō, have you considered taking a temporary leave from the 4th Division?"