"Muten... Muten?"
"Huh?" Hearing the familiar voice, Muten Natsu looked up at his mother in front of him. "What's wrong?"
"Have you decided what to put down for your applications yet?"
"My applications..." Only then did Muten Natsu come back to himself. The results of the college entrance exam were already out, and now he had to fill in his choices and decide which university and major he would spend the next four years in.
Muten Natsu had thought about it for a long time, but at this moment, he did not know how to answer his mother's question.
He wanted to study a major he truly liked, but it was a niche field with very poor job prospects.
Outside the window, traffic flowed past in endless streams. The noise was muffled by the glass, making the conversations of the other diners in the roadside restaurant all the clearer.
Muten Natsu's gaze passed over his mother's shoulder and landed on the two people sitting behind her.
That was another mother and son. The mother was enthusiastically explaining all kinds of popular majors and guiding her son on what he should choose.
The son nodded from time to time, expressionless as he wrote down the names of the majors his mother listed.
"I..." Muten Natsu opened his mouth. "I like... I want to apply for a popular major."
"Hm?" His mother blinked in surprise. "Don't you already have a major you like?"
"Ah... yeah." Muten Natsu lowered his eyes. "But it's hard to make money in that field. I should still choose something with better job prospects. That way, once I graduate, I can start earning money, and things will be a little easier for you too."
"I'm happy you can think that way, but you're wrong." His mother tapped him on the forehead. "Taking care of children is an adult's job. Your job, as a child, is to study hard."
"But I'm already an adult..."
"Even if you're an adult, you're still Mom's child."
Muten Natsu muttered, "Then when do I get to grow up?"
His mother laughed softly. "When you've grown up into an adult who can take care of children, then you can start thinking about taking care of Mom."
"I can already do that now."
"You're just talking tough. You're still as naive as a child." His mother spoke earnestly. "Just choosing a popular major doesn't mean you'll automatically get a job and make money. You still have to work hard yourself. If you pick a popular major you don't even like, then in school and later in society, you'll have to compete against people who genuinely love that field. If you don't even like it, what makes you think you can beat them?"
"But even if I choose the major I like, there's no guarantee I'll make a lot of money after graduation."
His mother smiled. "If you might end up not making money either way, then why not study something you actually like?"
"Don't you want to help me choose my major?"
His mother nodded. "Honestly? I do."
"Then why..."
"No matter what major you choose, you'll regret it in the end." His mother put some food into Muten Natsu's bowl. "Since you're going to regret something either way, I'd rather you regret your own choice than regret mine. So go do what you want to do."
I want to save you.
As long as the match succeeds...
"Muten Natsu-san... right?"
Muten Natsu nodded blankly. "Yes."
The doctor looked down at the report in his hand again. "What is your relationship with your mother?"
"What relationship?" Muten Natsu thought he had misheard, but still answered on instinct. "M-mother and son."
"Oh. Stepmother."
"No... no..."
"...Think again."
Muten Natsu could not make sense of it.
"Your older sister died giving birth to you. Your brother-in-law couldn't bear the blow, so..." On the hospital bed, his mother's voice was weak. "I'm sorry for lying to you for so long."
"Thank you for lying to me for so long." Muten Natsu hugged her. "You'll have to keep lying to me for even longer from now on."
Muten Natsu loosened his arms.
Then he picked up the urn.
It was lighter than he had expected.
Heavier than he had imagined.
He... was no longer a child with someone there to take care of him.
The barrier that had always stood in front of him was completely gone.
For the first time, Muten Natsu faced death head-on.
Why had his father abandoned him and chosen death?
That question lingered in his mind. It had no answer, and yet it gave rise to a new one.
Why... hadn't he chosen to die?
Muten Natsu gave the flowers on the windowsill to a coworker, cleared out all the food in the fridge, and cleaned the room thoroughly.
What a... cool night.
Turn off the water, electricity, and gas.
And make sure the windows are shut too.
Muten Natsu reached out and closed the first window.
"Hachi!"
Blood sprayed from Hachigen Ushōda's shoulder.
The shattered Rin'en Bokukō dissolved into spiritual ink that scattered through the air. Muten Natsu used Shadow Stealth and appeared behind Hachigen Ushōda, then slashed open his shoulder with a single strike.
"Damn it!" Hiyori Sarugaki put on her Hollow mask and swung her blade at the back of Muten Natsu's neck.
The second window...
At the instant Myōki swept across, black ink exploded into a dark flash. The Zanpakutō Hiyori Sarugaki had raised in front of herself was cut cleanly in two, and a wound tore open across her waist and abdomen, flesh splitting apart.
Shinji Hirako grabbed Hiyori Sarugaki and flashed away to the side, while Lisa Yadōmaru drew her Zanpakutō and appeared behind Muten Natsu in the very next moment.
Amid a dense barrage of slicing sounds, Muten Natsu's body seemed to be cut dozens of times over. Pieces of shattered flesh fell away and turned into thick spiritual ink.
The third window...
Lisa Yadōmaru suddenly found empty air under her feet. At some point, the place she had intended to land had already been corroded into a deep pit by the spiritual ink.
She immediately gathered Reishi to form a foothold, but the Reishi she gathered was corroded by the black mist spilling from the spiritual ink.
Her body dropped out of control, and in that very instant, a blade pierced through her body.
"Eat this kick!" Mashiro Kuna's face was covered by a pale white mask as she drove a flying kick straight into Muten Natsu's face, then scooped up Lisa Yadōmaru and rushed off to the side.
Spiritual ink surged, and Muten Natsu appeared in front of her. Spiritual ink floated up from beneath his feet and gathered along Myōki's blade. Slash!
The black spiritual ink separated from the blade and shot through the air with the terrifying force of an iai strike.
Bang!
Kensei Muguruma, the white-haired man in the tank top, stepped in front of Mashiro Kuna and shattered the ink blade with a single punch. Then he drew his Zanpakutō and blocked the descending Myōki. "It's about time you calmed down, brat. Blow it Away. Tachikaze!"
The Zanpakutō suddenly shrank into a short dagger, but the Reiatsu it released became even more violent.
Kensei Muguruma swung his arm, and thread-thin blue blades slashed out in a crossing pattern.
Ink burst open in front of Muten Natsu, blocking the sharp air blades.
But in the very next instant, the ink exploded violently and blasted him away.
The fourth window... still would not close.
Muten Natsu checked it carefully and confirmed that nothing was stuck in it. Then he tightened his grip on the handle, preparing to use more force.
"Muten!" Rukia Kuchiki cried out hoarsely.
Muten Natsu tilted his head slightly. It sounded like he had heard something.
It was... crying.
He leaned out the window and saw a child caught in the security bars.
The best option would of course have been to go upstairs and get someone, but the child's situation was too dangerous. The child could fall at any moment.
There was no time to think. Muten Natsu unlocked the security bars and climbed upward using the drainpipe and the metal grating.
At last, when he got close enough to the child, Muten Natsu grabbed the bars with one hand and carefully supported the child's feet with the other.
He shouted loudly, finally waking the child's parents.
Watching the parents pull the child inside and confirming the child was safe, Muten Natsu let out a breath of relief, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
He was no longer a child who was cared for by others.
It was time to work hard and become an adult who could care for children.
A window that would not close... staying open a little longer was fine too.
He felt the wind brushing against him.
He heard the sharp crack of his neck.
"Bakudō #99. Kin!" Hachigen Ushōda formed hand seals with both hands. Two black bands of cloth fell from the sky, binding Muten Natsu's twisted arms behind his back, and eight wooden stakes followed close behind, pinning the black cloth to his arms.
More black cloth spread across the ground in an X shape, and more wooden stakes drove into it, pinning Muten Natsu firmly to the ground.
"Huff... huff..." Hachigen Ushōda panted heavily. The wound on his shoulder had only barely been stabilized by a barrier. "Be careful... of that ink..."
Kensei Muguruma swung his short blade sharply, blowing away the spiritual ink that had drifted close to Muten Natsu.
Hachigen Ushōda clapped his hands together, then spread them apart. White wooden boards split into several pieces and formed a wall in front of Muten Natsu.
"The military's eight-inch measure, never retreating, blue bolt, white bolt, black bolt, red bolt... all sink together into the sea." Hachigen Ushōda pushed both hands forward. "Ryūbi no Jōmon!"
More white plank-like objects rose upright, piecing themselves together into a huge white gate, and with a sweep of Hachigen Ushōda's large hand, a long crossbar locked into place.
And that was only the beginning.
"Koko no Jōmon!"
A round black iron gate took shape in another direction.
"Kikkō no Jōmon!"
A hexagonal blue light flashed, constructing a brown wall.
"Hōyoku no Jōmon!"
Flames burst forth, stretching out red wooden slats like wings before they folded inward into an umbrella-like form.
"Shijū Saimon!"
The Reiatsu given off by the four gates connected to one another and formed a dark cube, sealing Muten Natsu completely inside.
"I'm sorry..." Orihime Inoue summoned Sōten Kisshun to heal Hiyori Sarugaki and Lisa Yadōmaru. "Muten, he's not normally like this..."
"Shut up... I know better than you what Hollowfication is like." Hiyori Sarugaki felt her wounds gradually recovering and turned to look in Muten Natsu's direction. "Don't make it sound like you're defending an abusive husband."
Seeing Hiyori Sarugaki's injuries healing at a visible rate, Shinji Hirako finally let out a sigh of relief. "So you can speak properly when you want to."
"Do I need you lecturing me?" Hiyori Sarugaki glared at him. "Baldy!"
"Can't you keep that up a little longer?" Shinji Hirako looked toward Muten Natsu. "The situation's changed, and that's not a good sign."
Lisa Yadōmaru, still inside Sōten Kisshun together with Hiyori Sarugaki, frowned slightly. "He seems to have quieted down."
Shinji Hirako walked toward the Shijū Saimon. "No telling how long that quiet will last..."
...
"Practice universal love, and bring mutual benefit." In a crude wooden hut, Muten Natsu sat on a broken plank, explaining to the dirty little children in front of him. "That means we should not only love ourselves, but love others the way we love ourselves. Then the exchanges between people will benefit both sides."
Muten Natsu looked at the filthy children before him.
They were still ignorant now, but one day they too would become fine adults capable of caring for children.
The house would be finished soon. As long as they kept working this hard, life would definitely keep getting better.
One child did not understand. "But everyone here is hurting each other."
After all, this was the Seventy-Eighth South District of Rukongai, Inuzuri. The adults were either bandits or murderers, and the children struggled to survive like stray dogs.
"This place is such a mess because people can't love everyone equally," Rukia said, her deep violet eyes shining brightly. "When people only ever think about themselves, that's what causes conflict."
"Rukia's right." Muten Natsu smiled and added, "Before we met everyone, Rukia and I had a very hard life. After we met all of you, we started looking out for one another and working together, and life gradually became easier. If more people join us, then we'll be able to live even better. And if everyone in Inuzuri joins us, then we'll be able to drink as much water as we want."
The children looked at him full of hope. "Will there be rice balls too?"
Just because their bodies did not need food did not mean their hearts did not want it.
"There will." Muten Natsu's smile turned gentle. "There'll be food and water too."
Muten Natsu looked at them. Takahiro, who had grown chubby despite having only water to drink. Yūma, who ran the fastest but always stayed at the rear. Ryōhei, who cried all the time. Toshiko, whose smile was beautiful. Tomomi, who was good at climbing trees. Kayo, who cared about others. Timid Satomi. Yūki, Haruki, Ryūji, Kanae, Kōichi, Keiko...
In the not-too-distant future, everyone would surely live better lives than they did now.
By then, they would probably look very different.
Takahiro's stomach had been split open. Yūma had lost both legs. Ryōhei's whole face had caved in. Toshiko only had half a head left...
Muten Natsu's pupils suddenly shrank. A hideous lizard Hollow gripped Muten Natsu's head in its claws and lifted him up in front of its face. From behind the bone-white mask came a low voice. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
A nightmare... Muten Natsu looked at the corpses all over the ground.
It wasn't a dream.
Why wasn't it a dream?
"Have you thought about what I told you just now?" The lizard Hollow tapped its mask lightly with the tip of a claw. "There's no need to refuse, is there? Don't you want to live? What is it you really want?"
"I... I want the power to save others..." Muten Natsu opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. "I want to be a child who is cared for... and an adult who can care for children..."
"Hmm..." The lizard Hollow licked its mask with its long tongue. "That doesn't sound very interesting. Anything else? I can listen until you finish before I eat you."
"I want..." Muten Natsu opened his mouth wide, and melting bone-white matter poured out. "To butcher you!"