"That's great!" Orihime Inoue happily threw her arms around Rukia Kuchiki. "Muten was worried there'd be too much work in Seireitei and you wouldn't be able to stay for long."
The slender Rukia Kuchiki was knocked flat onto the bed by Orihime Inoue's enthusiastic embrace.
That familiar sense of closeness...
"I thought so too at first, but something came up." Rukia Kuchiki opened her mouth, wondering whether she should tell Orihime Inoue about the complicated situation in Seireitei.
"Do you mean what Muten is investigating?"
"Hm?" Rukia Kuchiki was slightly surprised. "He told you?"
"Yeah. At first, he didn't want me to worry and planned to handle everything himself, but he eventually told me."
Rukia Kuchiki remembered the time when Muten Natsu had kept things from her and investigated the truth alone. "How... did you manage that?"
"I didn't really do anything..." Orihime Inoue thought for a moment, then blushed. "I just acted the same as usual."
Kissing, touching, hugging, things like that.
But Muten Natsu opening up to her didn't really have much to do with those everyday interactions.
He must have encountered something while he was out that made him decide to come back and tell her the truth.
"You probably changed him little by little without even realizing it." A trace of wistfulness appeared in Rukia Kuchiki's eyes. "He used to handle everything by himself."
Orihime Inoue thought about it. "Even if that's true, it's because you changed me first, Rukia. That's why I was able to change Muten."
"I don't think I did..." Rukia Kuchiki assumed Orihime Inoue was simply trying to comfort her.
"It's true," Orihime Inoue insisted earnestly. "Before, I would never object to anything he did. I didn't want there to be any conflict between us..."
Orihime Inoue had always been afraid that Muten Natsu might suddenly suffer the same kind of tragedy as her brother.
She feared that even the smallest argument might end up becoming their final goodbye.
Although the two of them had been inseparable for the past three years, their relationship had only begun to grow truly closer after Rukia Kuchiki appeared.
It was because of Rukia Kuchiki's arrival that Orihime Inoue learned more of Muten Natsu's secrets.
And after watching the countless little interactions between Rukia Kuchiki and Muten Natsu, Orihime Inoue gradually began voicing her own suggestions to Muten Natsu, sharing her thoughts with him, and bravely pointing things out whenever she felt he was doing something wrong.
"People often say that I changed Muten." Orihime Inoue held Rukia Kuchiki's hand. "But really, it was only after you changed me that I gained the ability and courage to change him."
Feeling the warmth of Orihime Inoue's palm and seeing the ring on her finger, Rukia Kuchiki gave a relaxed smile. "Then I'll leave Muten to you from now on. Make sure you fix all those awkward habits of his."
"I can't do it by myself. We have to work together." Orihime Inoue puffed out her rosy cheeks slightly. "Didn't we already agree on that back then?"
"Back then?"
Rukia Kuchiki remembered the picnic they had once held beneath a tree at school.
["If Rukia likes Muten too, then it'll be two against one. We'll have the advantage."]
Surely Orihime Inoue wasn't talking about that time.
"If Unohana-san could join us too," Orihime Inoue murmured, "it would probably be much easier..."
Rukia Kuchiki: "..."
She definitely wasn't talking about that time.
Probably.
When it was time to sleep, the bedroom lights went out.
Lying together in the darkness, both girls instinctively bent their knees and raised their legs.
The instant their knees touched, they both realized something.
It wasn't only that they had changed Muten Natsu.
Muten Natsu had changed them too.
At least when it came to their sleeping habits.
Wait!
If this was a habit they had developed because of Muten Natsu, then Retsu Unohana, who was currently sleeping beside him...
In the silent darkness of Muten Natsu's bedroom, Retsu Unohana's voice suddenly sounded.
"Muten, what are you doing?"
Muten Natsu, who had been fast asleep, woke and blinked in confusion. "...Me? I'm not doing any..."
Wait.
Muten Natsu suddenly realized that because he had been sleeping with Orihime Inoue lately, he had unconsciously developed the habit of helping support her weight even while asleep.
But the person he was holding right now was Retsu Unohana.
The moment Muten Natsu tried to move his hand, Retsu Unohana pressed it firmly in place.
"Like this... and you still want to deny it?"
He had been caught red-handed.
Muten Natsu no longer dared to move. "Well... I didn't do it on purpose..."
"So it's become a habit?" Retsu Unohana kept his hand pinned down as her smiling face moved closer. "When did you develop a habit like this? I don't remember teaching you anything of the sort. Do you usually do this to Orihime? When did it start? How long has it been going on?"
"I..." Muten Natsu was completely overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. "Well..."
"I believe I told you that I would teach you other methods. So why did you act on your own?" Retsu Unohana's eyes curved pleasantly, and her smile was as gentle as ever, yet the pressure radiating from her was terrifying. "They've all responded to you, haven't they? You don't want to give up any of them. You want to remain close to all of them. You think you can handle it yourself now, so you no longer need me to teach you?"
"No... It's just that these past few days..."
"These past few days, you recklessly tried something I never taught you, even though you had no idea what consequences it might bring." Retsu Unohana's nose brushed against Muten Natsu's cheek. Her warm breath washed over his face with every word, yet somehow sent a chill through him. "Why did you do it? Because you wanted to. So you found all sorts of reasons to justify it to yourself, and now you're trying to use those same reasons to brush me off?"
Muten Natsu wanted to argue, but before the words could leave his mouth, he realized just how weak his defense would sound.
Orihime Inoue might not understand, but how could he not?
Retsu Unohana was right.
He had done it because he wanted to.
Everything else was merely an excuse.
Pointless and unconvincing.
"It seems you've finally recognized what you really want..." Seeing that Muten Natsu had stopped trying to argue, Retsu Unohana leaned closer and kissed him.
Muten Natsu instinctively responded, only to suddenly hiss in pain.
"Ah..."
"That's the price of indulging yourself." Retsu Unohana lightly brushed a finger across her lips. A trace of crimson blood stained her smiling mouth. "All right. Open your mouth, and I'll treat you."
Muten Natsu obediently opened his mouth, only for Retsu Unohana to kiss him again.
The soft intrusion made the sting of the wound even sharper. His hazy mind cleared under the pain, only to sink back into that intoxicating sensation moments later.
"This is also the price of indulgence..." In the darkness, a faint crimson light seemed to gleam in Retsu Unohana's eyes. "Come. Let me treat you."
Muten Natsu hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth again.
A gentle glow appeared at Retsu Unohana's fingertips, quickly healing the small wound.
"You just... hesitated, didn't you?"
Muten Natsu honestly nodded.
"It's all right to hesitate with me. I'll still treat you... and I'll still reward you." Retsu Unohana lightly kissed his lips. "But when it comes to them, even the slightest hesitation can hurt them. Do you understand?"
Muten Natsu knew Retsu Unohana wasn't exaggerating.
Something like that really could happen.
Retsu Unohana lifted Muten Natsu's chin.
"Kiss me."
Without the slightest hesitation, Muten Natsu kissed her, as though the pain from moments before had never happened.
"That's right." Retsu Unohana stroked Muten Natsu's head. "Very good. The next time something similar happens, do you know what you should do?"
Muten Natsu tightened his arms around Retsu Unohana and kissed her again.
But Retsu Unohana placed her slender fingers against his lips.
"You learn quickly, but that isn't right either."
Muten Natsu blinked. "Huh?"
"Hesitating is wrong, but being reckless is wrong too." Retsu Unohana narrowed her eyes slightly. "See? You still have so, so much left to learn..."
Muten Natsu stared at her blankly. "Then... what am I supposed to do?"
"This is fine." Retsu Unohana pulled Muten Natsu's head against her chest and gently stroked his soft hair. "It takes a great deal of courage to admit that you don't know what to do. You've already done very well."
"Really...?" Muten Natsu still wasn't entirely convinced.
"Of course." The corners of Retsu Unohana's lips rose. "There's still time, so I'll help you. You like them and want to stay with them forever, don't you?"
"...Yeah."
"It's all right. There's nothing wrong with that. They're wonderful girls, and they've always treated you well. They're important companions who have gone through life-and-death situations with you. It's perfectly natural for you to develop these feelings." Retsu Unohana's gentle voice sounded beside Muten Natsu's ear, accompanied by her warm breath. "Running away from those feelings doesn't make you noble, and admitting them doesn't make you despicable."
Muten Natsu held Retsu Unohana a little tighter.
"If all you wanted was to be intimate with them for a while, you could simply follow your impulses." Retsu Unohana paused. "But if you really did that, I would be angry."
"I won't!" Muten Natsu raised his face. "I want to stay with them forever..."
"Then you'll have to work even harder." Retsu Unohana smiled, the crimson tint on her lips giving that smile an almost bewitching quality. "If you want these relationships to last, you have to respond equally. If you receive one person's affection, you need to return one person's affection. If you receive two, then you need to return two."
"But..."
"But it's difficult for one person to properly give two people the same amount of affection, isn't it?"
Muten Natsu gave a timid nod. "Yeah."
"That's why you need their help."
"Their help?"
"That's right. If their friendship with each other can continue as well, then things become different." Retsu Unohana patiently guided him. "Wherever you fall short, they can help make up for it."
"That can actually work?"
"If you want it to work, do you know what matters most?"
Muten Natsu thought for a moment. "Fairness?"
"Exactly. Only fairness can preserve their friendship, and only fairness can preserve your relationships with them." Retsu Unohana lowered her head. "So tell me. You did this with Orihime. Have you done the same with Rukia?"
Muten Natsu's hand twitched, though Retsu Unohana still had it firmly pinned in place.
"No..."
"This is exactly what happens when you act on your own without telling me." Retsu Unohana's voice became slightly sterner. "If you had gone even further with Orihime, how would you have faced Rukia afterward?"
Muten Natsu had thought the matter was already over.
Apparently, that had been wishful thinking.
Retsu Unohana was clearly still angry.
"I wasn't planning to..."
"Not planning to do something doesn't mean you won't act on impulse." Retsu Unohana's fingers tightened around Muten Natsu's hand. "When you did this with Orihime, had you planned it all out beforehand?"
"...No."
"Don't be nervous. I understand. You're at that age now, so having impulses like this is perfectly normal." Retsu Unohana loosened her grip slightly. "But we still need to find a way to deal with them."
"...Deal with them?"
"If this continues, it could have quite an effect on your body." Retsu Unohana narrowed her eyes slightly. "Don't move."
Muten Natsu's breath abruptly caught.
"Captain Unohana..."
"Shh." Retsu Unohana pressed a finger to her lips. "Don't wake them."
"But..."
"I said," Retsu Unohana replied with a gentle smile, "don't move."
Muten Natsu's entire body stiffened, and he no longer dared to make the slightest movement.
"Good boy." Retsu Unohana leaned close to Muten Natsu's ear. "It'll be over soon..."
Her gentle breath brushed against his ear, leaving Muten Natsu's thoughts so tangled that he could no longer form a coherent idea.
What... exactly was happening right now...?
What was going on?
How had things ended up like this...?
What was he supposed to do?
"Don't think too much. This is simply a way of solving the problem," Retsu Unohana whispered. "It's all right. Just leave everything to me..."
Muten Natsu's body tensed so tightly that, for a moment, he even forgot to breathe.
"Let yourself relax into it. Trust me..." Retsu Unohana gently guided him. "Don't be nervous. Breathe slowly... out... in... Take your time..."
His thoughts seemed to fade away completely.
Muten Natsu dazedly followed Retsu Unohana's instructions and adjusted his breathing. Little by little, his tense body relaxed.
"That's it..." Retsu Unohana gently kissed Muten Natsu's earlobe. "Don't worry. I'm here. You can rely on me a little more..."
Muten Natsu tightened his arms around the soft warmth of Retsu Unohana, holding her close as he breathed in her scent.
"There, there..." Retsu Unohana's eyes curved happily. "Good boy~"