Just like back then in the Dangai.
Only if Retsu Unohana died could Muten Natsu complete his growth.
But at that time, Muten Natsu hadn't killed her. At the very last moment, he had taken Myōki back into his body.
He would rather give up on completing his growth than lose the chance to throw himself into Retsu Unohana's arms.
And now, Muten Natsu had made the same choice again.
If growing up meant having to leave you...
Then... I don't want to grow up.
I don't want to leave you, and I don't want you to leave me.
Let me depend on you a little more... just like before.
Muten Natsu stood up. He had long since grown taller than Retsu Unohana, and with the slightest pull, he drew her into his arms.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do... You've always been the one teaching me, so I came to ask you."
"You want to..." Retsu Unohana tilted her head up. "Ask me what?"
"What do I have to do to make someone who doesn't want to leave me, but insists on leaving anyway, honestly face what she really wants?" Muten Natsu whispered. "Tell me. What should I do?"
"You just need to..." Retsu Unohana wrapped her arms around Muten Natsu and buried her face against his chest. "Stay like this."
"Is this enough?"
"Enough... no, it's not." Retsu Unohana loosened her embrace. "There are still so many things you need to learn."
Her pale arms slipped around Muten Natsu's neck, and Retsu Unohana rose onto her toes.
"Let's start with something simple~"
In the quiet night, a long kiss soothed the unease brought by their brief separation.
Life was a long journey.
There was never truly an end to growing up.
...
"Oh, right!" Orihime Inoue suddenly remembered something. "There's also Unohana-san."
Rukia Kuchiki: "...Hmm?"
"His health," Orihime Inoue added. "If doing that kind of thing ever affects Muten's health, Unohana-san would definitely help him too."
"That's true..." Rukia Kuchiki's gaze shifted slightly. "Orihime."
"What is it?" Orihime Inoue looked curiously at the hesitant expression on Rukia Kuchiki's face. "There shouldn't be anything else between us that we can't talk about, right?"
"You're right." Rukia Kuchiki pursed her lips. "I wanted to talk about Captain Unohana."
"Huh?"
"You can figure it out if you think about it. Muten is never well-behaved when he sleeps with us." Rukia Kuchiki sighed. "After sleeping with the Captain for so long, how could he possibly have behaved himself with her?"
"Huh?" Orihime Inoue knew that Retsu Unohana and Muten Natsu had entered a relationship, but she had never really thought about that side of it. "You mean Muten and Unohana-san..."
"The Captain couldn't possibly be unaware of what Muten was doing, yet she still kept sleeping with him, so..." Rukia Kuchiki carefully watched Orihime Inoue's expression. "They've been together for a long time already. Everything you and Muten have done, they've done too. They've probably even done some things you haven't done yet, many times over."
"This..." Orihime Inoue bit her lower lip lightly. "That won't do..."
So she really couldn't accept it...
Rukia Kuchiki wasn't surprised.
No matter how kind Orihime Inoue was, asking her to accept that her lover had two other lovers was still asking a lot.
But Retsu Unohana really was a wonderful person. Rukia Kuchiki, who had been brought to Seireitei by Retsu Unohana and raised under her care, knew that better than anyone.
When Rukia Kuchiki realized Retsu Unohana might be together with Muten Natsu, she hadn't been particularly surprised.
That guy Muten Natsu...
She knew him far too well.
Anyone who knew Muten Natsu knew how deeply attached he was to Retsu Unohana.
That was also one of the reasons Rukia Kuchiki had been able to accept Orihime Inoue.
Long before Orihime Inoue came along, Rukia Kuchiki had already accepted the idea of sharing Muten Natsu with Retsu Unohana.
But getting Orihime Inoue to accept it too...
That probably wouldn't be easy.
After all, Orihime Inoue hadn't been raised by Retsu Unohana.
"This really won't do..." Orihime Inoue muttered, looking somewhat worried.
Just as she thought...
Rukia Kuchiki considered it quietly. Orihime Inoue might usually be a little airheaded, but when it came to matters of the heart, even someone as easygoing as her couldn't simply accept something like this without hesitation.
"Unohana-san..." Orihime Inoue frowned. "She doesn't like sweet things."
"I understand how you... Huh?"
Rukia Kuchiki froze.
She did not understand at all.
"Did you forget?" Orihime Inoue reminded her. "Unohana-san doesn't like lightly flavored food. Even the meals she usually eats tend to have stronger flavors."
"That is true... but that's not what I'm talking about!"
Rukia Kuchiki nearly let Orihime Inoue drag her thoughts completely off course. A disturbingly vivid image even formed in her mind.
The compassionate, pure, gentle, and composed Captain Unohana, her moist eyes turning upward as she looked at Muten Natsu with a mixture of reproach and indulgence, gently and thoughtfully doing her best until... despite disliking the taste, she endured the discomfort under Muten Natsu's expectant gaze...
No, no, no!
That was way too...
No, no, no.
This was not the time to be thinking about that!
"What I mean is..." Rukia Kuchiki gathered her thoughts and desperately tried to shut out the overly vivid images in her head. "Can you accept it? Not just me, but Captain Unohana too."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Orihime Inoue asked. "Rukia, don't you want that?"
Rukia Kuchiki remembered how Muten Natsu had suffered through sleepless nights because of Myōki, and how relieved he had been after he began sleeping beside Retsu Unohana.
"If I objected, I would've protested decades ago."
Besides, it was thanks to Retsu Unohana's help that she had finally found the courage to confess her feelings to Muten Natsu.
"So now there are four of us together..." Orihime Inoue counted on her fingers, then her eyes lit up. "Then let's go over there right now!"
Rukia Kuchiki looked confused. "Go where?"
"To sleep, of course~" Orihime Inoue started to get up. "All four of us together! It'll definitely be so much fun~"
"This isn't about whether it'll be fun!" Rukia Kuchiki pushed Orihime Inoue back down. "This is about Muten!"
"Hm?"
Rukia Kuchiki put on a stern expression. "He's supposed to be the one working hard to get us to accept this. But he hasn't even done anything yet, and we've already accepted it. Do you know what that means?"
"Hmm..." Orihime Inoue thought for a moment. "It means Muten doesn't have to work for it anymore?"
"It means Muten is getting something for nothing," Rukia Kuchiki corrected her. "Getting something for nothing is wrong!"
***
..
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***