The next day, Tsuna and the other two arrived once again at Orihime Inoue's house.
"Huh? Arisawa-san, Sawada-san, Kurosaki-san—you came again? Welcome."
Orihime stepped aside to let them in, then asked curiously,
"Didn't we already finish the schoolwork? So this is…?"
Tsuna lifted the bag of fruit in his hand.
"You're living here alone, so it's more convenient for us to gather at your place. Tatsuki, help Inoue-san wash these first."
"This is really too much," Orihime said as she took the bag. Fruit wasn't cheap, and there was quite a lot of it.
"Don't worry about that. Come on, Orihime, take me to the kitchen," Tatsuki said, hooking her arm through Orihime's and leading her away in an intimate, sisterly way.
This had already been discussed beforehand.
Tatsuki would first distract Orihime, while Tsuna and Ichigo would go talk to Sora Inoue.
The two of them walked over to the corner where Sora was crouching.
As expected, he was still sitting there quietly, watching over Orihime's everyday life.
"Can we talk, Inoue-san's brother?" Tsuna asked softly, keeping his voice low so Orihime wouldn't notice.
"You can see me?" Sora asked in surprise. He had long since accepted that he was dead.
"Inoue-san's brother… you still haven't moved on. Is it because you're worried about Orihime?" Ichigo asked before Tsuna could stop him.
"You're her classmates. How could I possibly feel at ease leaving a middle school girl to live all alone?" Sora sighed, his face full of worry.
"But if you don't pass on, once the chain on your chest disappears, you'll turn into a monster. Then the only one in danger will be Inoue-san!" Ichigo said, based on the way he understood things.
"A monster?" At the mention of Orihime's safety, Sora's expression immediately turned anxious. He looked down at the Chain of Fate on his chest. "You mean this?"
"Tsuna… that chain still looks pretty long…" Ichigo said as he looked at the thing hanging over a meter down from Sora's chest. It was obvious it wasn't going to disappear anytime soon.
Tsuna knew that perfectly well.
According to the original story, Sora wasn't supposed to become a Hollow until after Orihime entered high school. In other words, he had maintained this soul state all through her middle school years.
Tsuna's gaze turned thoughtful.
Ordinarily, it should have been impossible for a soul to remain in the World of the Living for so long. Yet Sora had endured, solely through his concern for Orihime—until the day Orihime constantly talking about how wonderful Ichigo was gradually hollowed him out inside, and then he was devoured by a Hollow.
Could there be something different about Sora compared to other souls?
Tsuna discreetly probed him with Reishi.
To his surprise, he found that Sora, even as a spirit, possessed a faint trace of spiritual pressure.
Maybe that was the real reason he had lasted this long.
"Tsuna, how is it?" Ichigo asked.
"Inoue-san's brother has spiritual pressure. That's both good and bad," Tsuna said after a moment. "The good part is that it lets him remain in the World of the Living much longer—maybe one year, maybe two. The bad part is that his spiritual pressure is likely to attract Hollows. And if a Hollow devours him, there's no guarantee it won't set its sights on Inoue-san next."
"Hollows… that's what you mean by monsters?" Sora asked.
"That's right."
"…Then what should I do?" Sora looked troubled. He really was worried about his younger sister, but he certainly didn't want her dying at the hands of some monster.
"Under normal circumstances, once a soul passes on, it goes to a place called Soul Society," Tsuna said. "There, you can live a second life as a soul. And since you already have some spiritual pressure, you could become a Soul Reaper. Then when Orihime dies naturally one day, you'd be able to see her again in Soul Society."
"…Wait until Orihime dies naturally?" Sora's expression dimmed. "But during all that time, I still won't be able to stop worrying about her…"
"Don't worry," Tsuna said, slapping Ichigo on the shoulder. "Ichigo will take good care of Inoue-san."
"Hey, Tsuna, why me?" Ichigo protested in a low voice.
"If it were me taking care of her, Tatsuki would beat me to death," Tsuna replied calmly, stating a fact Ichigo had no way to refute.
"But… but…" Ichigo wracked his brain for a reason, but for him, that was clearly difficult.
"So you're Ichigo?" Sora asked suddenly, sounding a little emotional. "Orihime talks about you every day. So you're the one she meant."
"Inoue-san talks about me?" Ichigo looked baffled. They hadn't even known each other that long, yet she was apparently bringing him up every day.
"That's right," Sora answered seriously. "Orihime says you're like a ray of sunlight piercing into her world. Ever since she met you, she smiles much more."
"Me? Am I really that amazing?" Ichigo didn't know what expression to make.
"You have no idea how attractive simple kindness can be to someone living in darkness," Tsuna said.
"In that case…" Sora said, then suddenly performed a perfect dogeza toward Ichigo. "I know this is terribly rude of me, but could I ask you to take good care of Orihime? I'm sorry—I have nothing I can give you in return. All I can offer is my most sincere gratitude."
"Hey, get up! Even if you didn't say it, I'd still do it!"
Ichigo looked thoroughly flustered. He started fumbling around, and Tsuna quickly grabbed him before he made too much noise.
"So, Inoue-san's brother, you can rest easy now, right?" Tsuna asked.
"There's really no helping it, young man," Sora said with a faint smile. "Even if I refused, you'd find some way to deal with me anyway, wouldn't you?"
"You've got good instincts," Tsuna said.
"When you have to survive in society, you pick up a few basic skills," Sora replied, then turned to Tsuna. "Thank you."
"Alright, Tsuna, let's call Inoue-san over already," Ichigo urged impatiently.
"Let me watch Orihime leave, then? …Well, I suppose that's fine—"
Before Sora could finish, Ichigo cut him off.
"That's not what I meant. We're going to let Inoue-san see you one last time. That should be enough to fulfill her heart's wish, right?"
"See… me?" Sora touched the tears that weren't really there and looked deeply moved. "Orihime really didn't misjudge you, Ichigo-kun. Her future is in your hands."
The way Sora said that made Ichigo panic even more, while Tsuna simply watched with a grin. The look in Sora's eyes was clearly the look of a man examining his future brother-in-law.
At that very moment, Orihime came back out carrying the washed fruit.
"Kurosaki-kun, Sawada-kun, the fruit's ready."
"Orihime, come here—there's a surprise!"
With Orihime crying out in surprise the whole way, Ichigo hurriedly dragged her over in front of Sora's photo.
Just as Orihime was standing there in complete confusion, Ichigo and Tsuna each placed a hand on her shoulder.
Thanks to the practice they'd gone through yesterday, Ichigo could already manipulate his spiritual pressure at a basic level.
Together, he and Tsuna poured spiritual pressure into Orihime's body.
Orihime's vision blurred.
Her pupils trembled.
Tears instantly ran from the corners of her eyes.
"Brother… I missed you so much!" Orihime said, choking up. She lost her grip on the bowl of fruit too, though fortunately Tsuna reacted quickly enough to catch it.
"Orihime… I'm sorry…"
The Inoue siblings cried as they spoke their hearts out to each other.
Both of them understood that this was probably their last meeting, and Tsuna and the other two didn't rush them. They simply waited quietly.
They talked all the way until evening, and at last the meeting began to draw to a close.
By Orihime's side were already two entire bags stuffed with used tissues.
"Let's stop here, Orihime," Sora said softly.
Then he looked at the two boys still lending her spiritual pressure.
"Thank you, you two… and the other classmate as well."
"Thank you so much, Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime said through tears. Being able to see her brother one last time had completely swept away the darkness in her heart.
"At the end… I'm counting on you, Ichigo-kun," Sora said, pointedly directing the words at Ichigo.
Even Orihime, dense as she usually was, realized there was something odd in his tone.
"Brother, what are you saying?!" Orihime's face turned bright red, practically steaming. She flailed her hands wildly in front of her, as though trying to physically block his mouth even though that was impossible.
"You talk every single day about how great Ichigo-kun is," Sora said gently, dropping a truth bomb that dealt critical damage. "Your brother heard every word of it."
Orihime's face was now so red she couldn't say anything at all. At that moment, she was probably sincerely wondering why her awful brother hadn't disappeared yet.
"Don't worry, Inoue-san's brother," Tsuna added at exactly the right time. "We'll make sure to invite Inoue-san over to Ichigo's house a lot. I'm sure Aunt Masaki will be very happy about it."
"Huh? My mom? Why?" Ichigo asked, his usual mix of sharp and hopelessly dense showing itself again.
At the mention of Ichigo's mother, Orihime looked like she was about to faint on the spot. Thankfully, Tatsuki reacted fast enough to catch her.
Seeing her like that, Sora only grew more certain of his own judgment.
With a soft smile, he said, "Then that's enough. Be happy, Orihime."
He floated out the door. After entrusting Ichigo and Tatsuki with taking care of Orihime, Tsuna followed after him.
Sora was waiting outside.
"Can't you just pass on directly?" Tsuna asked.
He had already changed his appearance—wearing a suit, with a black Zanpakutō idly turning in his hand.
This wasn't because Tsuna suddenly felt especially chatty. If it had been any other soul, he would have skipped the conversation entirely and just performed Soul Burial.
"No matter what… thank you," Sora said. "When I was alive, my wish was to watch Orihime grow up. Maybe that's why I haven't been able to pass on."
He looked at the chain on his chest.
Because he was a spirit, he had been able to see Orihime one more time.
But because of that same chain, he now had to leave her.
"Don't worry," Tsuna said. "A hundred years from now, you'll be able to see each other again."
As he spoke, he raised the hilt of his blade and moved it toward Sora's forehead.
But Sora stopped him.
"A hundred years is too long. Tsuna-san—do you know of any way that would let me witness Orihime's growth? Any price is worth paying."
Looking into his eyes, Tsuna understood.
What bound him here was the obsession he'd carried from life itself.
Meeting again after a hundred years could never resolve that.
Tsuna carefully recalled Sora Inoue's few appearances in canon.
Maybe…
there really was a way.
"Even if it means becoming a monster?" Tsuna asked.
"A Hollow?" Sora had already remembered the name for those monsters. "Please, Tsuna-san."
"I understand," Tsuna said at last. "But I'll say this first—I can't guarantee it'll work."
"Well, I'm already dead anyway."
If it failed, he'd simply treat it as if he had died for good.
Looking at the easygoing man in front of him, Tsuna felt—perhaps for the first time, the true power of obsession.
====================
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