Even a home that normally looks neat and tidy can reveal a surprisingly frightening side during a deep cleaning.
Even places that seem perfectly clean can leave alarming marks on a cleaning cloth.
But once the deep cleaning is finished, the completely refreshed home brings a sense of freshness that seems to reach all the way inside.
It feels as though it isn't just the house being cleaned, but also a heart that has accumulated far too many worries.
"This isn't right." Retsu Unohana took the bamboo from him and instructed Muten Natsu, "Bring out some Spirit Ink."
Muten Natsu raised his hand and released a viscous stream of Spirit Ink.
Retsu Unohana lightly tapped a finger. Before the Spirit Ink could fall to the ground, it solidified in midair into the shape of a blade and swept across the bamboo.
With a faint sound, the bamboo split diagonally, leaving behind a smooth cut.
"That's amazing!" Orihime Inoue's eyes widened. "So Unohana-san can control Muten's Spirit Ink?"
Muten Natsu looked equally surprised. "How...?"
"I only discovered it recently myself," Retsu Unohana said with a soft laugh. "It's probably because of what happened before."
What happened during the battle in Karakura Town...? Rukia Kuchiki thought.
"The important part is here." Retsu Unohana pointed to the section exposed by the diagonal cut, the partition between one segment of bamboo and the next. "When you cut it diagonally like this, the opening looks like a smiling mouth. The more you smile, the more naturally good fortune comes your way."
Rukia Kuchiki recalled the decorations the Kuchiki Clan placed outside their entrance during the New Year. "So that's why..."
"A diagonal cut also symbolizes wealth pouring in, so a lot of shops use this style," Retsu Unohana explained as she cut several more pieces. "Places like money lenders, on the other hand, make flat cuts to symbolize wealth staying inside instead of flowing out."
The bamboo was surrounded with pine branches, bound together with several loops of coarse straw rope, then decorated with plum blossom branches. With that, the kadomatsu for welcoming the New Year was complete.
"So this is a kadomatsu..." Orihime Inoue examined it curiously. It was her first time seeing one being made. "It looks like it should really be called kadotake, though."
"In old Japan, people would go out on the first Day of the Rat of the year and pull up young pine trees, believing the custom would bring them long life and good health," Retsu Unohana explained patiently. "That's why the earliest kadomatsu didn't contain bamboo at all—they were made entirely from pine. Bamboo was only added later, since it, too, came to symbolize longevity."
It was said that with a kadomatsu to guide the way, the New Year deity would not get lost and would bring people bountiful harvests and happiness.
Rukia Kuchiki traced a circle in the air. "I remember there's supposed to be something else placed on it too."
"That's the shimenawa. It isn't limited to kadomatsu. It can be hung in other places as well. If the kadomatsu is meant to welcome the deities, then the shimenawa forms a barrier that prevents bad things from entering the home." Retsu Unohana began making one as she spoke. "These leaves, green on the front and white on the back, are called urishiro. They symbolize spending the year with a pure heart free of distracting thoughts. Yuzu leaves express the wish for an unbroken line of descendants, while bitter oranges with their leaves symbolize prosperity from generation to generation. Kelp is used because its name sounds auspicious. Some people also add shrimp-shaped decorations to represent longevity, wishing to live so long that their backs become bent like a shrimp's."
That sounds difficult... Muten Natsu thought of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
He had no idea how long Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had lived, but whenever the old man fought, his back was perfectly straight.
Between the deep cleaning and making all kinds of decorations, they stayed busy until, before they knew it, the final day of the year had arrived.
That evening, they would eat New Year's Eve soba, the soba eaten to welcome the coming year. Its long, slender noodles symbolized health and longevity.
The preparation was simple. First came a soy sauce seasoning made with mirin, coarse sugar, and soy sauce. Then the broth was prepared with kelp and dried bonito. The soba was cooked slightly firm, rinsed in cold water, warmed again in the hot broth, and seasoned with the soy sauce mixture before being topped with shrimp tempura, Chinese cabbage, fish cakes, green onions, and yuzu peel.
That was how it was normally made, at least.
Orihime Inoue had adjusted each bowl according to everyone's tastes, so the five bowls of soba sitting on the kotatsu all had their own distinct character.
Orihime Inoue's bowl was covered with a thick layer of cheese. As steam rose from it, the rich milky aroma filled the air.
Rukia Kuchiki's had shredded cucumber and white rice dumplings. Orihime Inoue had even thoughtfully shaped the dumplings into little rabbits and drawn cute faces on them. At a glance, they looked like tiny bunnies poking their heads out from the grass.
Muten Natsu's soba was topped with vanilla ice cream and even had a crispy waffle cone sticking out of it. The key was to let the ice cream melt naturally. It tasted one way before melting, another when it was half-melted, and completely different once it had melted all the way. Every bite brought something new.
Retsu Unohana's bowl was the most eye-catching of all. It was bright red and gave off a fiercely spicy aroma. At Retsu Unohana's request, Orihime Inoue had added a generous amount of chili peppers.
Ririn stared at the utterly ordinary bowl of soba in front of her. "...Sometimes I feel like I don't fit in with the rest of you because I'm too normal."
The others were one thing, but watching Retsu Unohana calmly eat that blazing-hot bowl of soba genuinely frightened Ririn a little.
Ririn had even been looking forward to seeing Retsu Unohana sweating from the heat. Yet despite how terrifyingly spicy the bowl looked, Retsu Unohana still ate it with perfect elegance.
Anyone who didn't know better might have thought she was eating tomato soup.
Orihime Inoue, as always, was thoroughly enjoying her food. When she lifted a mouthful with her chopsticks, long strands of melted cheese cascaded downward like a waterfall.
Rukia Kuchiki, on the other hand, found herself in a dilemma. She truly loved white rice dumplings, but the little rabbits Orihime Inoue had made were simply too cute. She couldn't bring herself to eat them.
After hesitating for quite a while, she finally closed her eyes and ate one of the little rabbits.
As for Muten Natsu...
Ririn watched with her own eyes as he added marshmallows to his soba. She wanted to stop him, but she couldn't think of any reason she had the right to.
No wonder Muten Natsu could live together with Orihime Inoue. People who shared the same futon really weren't all that different.
After finishing their soba, they gathered around the warm kotatsu, eating tangerines and watching television as a year filled with both busyness and unexpected turns approached its end.
The temple bells began to ring, tolling slowly for an entire hour. There were 108 strikes in total, symbolizing the cleansing of humanity's 108 worldly worries.
Orihime Inoue happily raised her half-eaten tangerine. "Happy New Year~!"
The others exchanged glances, then raised their own tangerines as well.
"Happy New Year!"
The sweet tangerines clinked together. Orihime Inoue hadn't expected everyone to play along so readily. In Muten Natsu's cold eyes, the smiles of everyone around him were reflected.
This custom of clinking tangerines together was probably happening for the very first time.
It had begun with a spur-of-the-moment idea from Orihime Inoue and the cheerful cooperation of everyone else.
Perhaps many customs were born in just this way.
Born from a momentary whim shared by happy people, then carried on through the happiness of those who came after them.
The new year had begun.