Volume One: Living World Arc
Chapter 1: Great Treason
"Ahh—woo~"
Inside the vast octagonal chamber, at its lowest point, Muten Natsu tilted his head back and let out an exaggerated yawn. Soft black hair fell over his eyes, veiling his gaze.
"So sleepy..."
Layers of black cloth restraints wound tightly around his body, binding him to a pitch-black chair. In the surrounding darkness, only the space beneath his feet emitted a cold, pallid white glow.
"What kind of attitude is that!"
The furious rebuke fell from above, heavy with authority that allowed no dissent.
Muten Natsu lazily lifted his eyes toward the source of the voice.
Along the walls were alcove-like structures, each hidden behind a screen marked with [32]. The shout had come from behind one of them.
There were forty-six such alcoves in total, arranged in upper and lower tiers around the octagonal chamber. Behind screens labeled with different numbers, figures looked down from on high at Muten Natsu below. Their voices overlapped one after another, rotten and hollow, like whispers seeping out of a grave.
"Slaughtering comrades! Escaping prison! Violent resistance to arrest! Colluding with Menos! Researching forbidden arts!"
"An unforgivable criminal!"
"Making the same mistakes again and again, without a shred of remorse!"
"It seems Retsu Unohana's education of you was an utter failure!"
"Extend his sentence!"
"What exactly is going through that head of yours?!"
"I was thinking~~~" Muten Natsu drawled lazily. "You people really don't know me at all."
He chuckled softly and tilted his head back. A pale substance seeped from his seven orifices, gradually solidifying into a ghastly skull mask that covered his face.
Black, inky stains twisted and split across the mask, constantly morphing into chaotic, distorted shapes.
Amid the surrounding cries of alarm, the eerie ink peeled away from the mask and wrapped around Muten Natsu's head like drifting smoke.
With a faint click as the skull mask's teeth snapped shut, the hazy black smoke ignited in an instant, erupting into surging black flames!
More black fire poured out with his long exhale, roaring from within his body and devouring every restraint that bound him.
Freed at last, Muten Natsu shot upward, smashing through a screen and clamping his hand around the throat of the old man behind it.
Leaning close to the face turning purple with suffocation, his original voice overlapped with a brutal, feral growl beneath the skull mask.
"Who did you just say failed at teaching?"
The old man could only choke out helpless wheezes. His pale beard trembled, and in his terror-filled eyes was reflected Muten Natsu's horrifying form.
Sinister black flames danced across the bone-white skull mask, crawling into the eye sockets and devouring the whites of his eyes. An ominous crimson bloomed from the pupils, spreading outward as blood-red haze leaked into the air.
Pitch-black flames.
A bone-white mask.
Blood-red eyes.
The languid youth from moments ago had transformed in the blink of an eye into a grotesque demon.
"Still got some backbone," Muten Natsu murmured softly as black flames coiled along his arm and wrapped around the old man's body. "Let's see just how hard those bones really are."
Aged flesh shriveled and dried within the black fire, curling and twisting as every bone in the body contorted, reshaping itself into the form of a long blade.
Muten Natsu spun his body and cleaved an old man who failed to dodge in time cleanly in two.
Black flames surged upward, warping the mangled remains into a spear-like shape, which Muten Natsu kicked toward the two figures fleeing in panic.
"When you threatened me..."
Muten Natsu ripped off a man's arm, refined it into a blade with black fire, and drove it straight into his chest.
"I never thought this day would come."
"When you framed me..."
Muten Natsu flashed behind another man. The blade rose and fell.
"I never thought this day would come."
"When you executed me..."
He caught the still-falling head, scorched it with black flames until it shrank to the size of a palm, then flung it backhanded. From it burst a mass of black fire shaped like a human head, howling as it swallowed several people whole.
"I never thought this day would come."
Muten Natsu swept through the flames, refining several mangled corpses into weapons and hurling them in all directions. Blood sprayed, then instantly evaporated in the black fire.
His crimson eyes fixed on the remaining survivors. His cold voice overlapped with a savage, feral roar.
"That's why today has come!!!"
Today, Muten Natsu was going to—
"You're going to be late~"
The girl's voice was like bright morning sunlight, instantly dispersing the chaotic nightmare.
Muten Natsu opened his eyes, and the adorable smiling face of the speaker came into view.
"Orihime..."
He rubbed his eyes, his voice still groggy.
"Why are you here?"
"I saw your curtains were still closed and guessed you were sleeping in, so I came to wake you up~"
The girl shook the keys in her hand.
"Regretting giving me the spare key now?"
Muten Natsu propped himself up.
"If I didn't leave it with you, I wouldn't have anywhere else to put it."
After coming to this unfamiliar world, aside from Orihime Inoue, he really didn't have anyone else he could trust to keep his spare key.
Orihime Inoue smoothly pulled open the curtains. The light-blue flower-shaped hairpin by her ear shimmered softly.
"Today's the first day of school, you know. From today on, we're high school students."
The college entrance exams are still... Muten Natsu shook his head and stopped himself from thinking any further.
Bathed in the morning sunlight, Orihime Inoue's long orange hair looked like a glowing sunrise. As she turned, strands of it lifted and scattered through the air.
The red bow at her collar bounced cheerfully. The gray school blazer showed impressive stretch and support at the chest, while faithfully contouring her waist.
Orihime Inoue sat down beside Muten Natsu's bed. Her pleated skirt, the same color as the uniform, pressed into a soft, rounded curve on the mattress. The warm, jade-like absolute territory was dazzling.
"You were dreaming again?"
Muten Natsu avoided her gaze, rubbing his earlobe as his eyes drifted to Orihime Inoue's calves. Wrapped in white knee-high socks, the subtle sheen of her skin showed faintly through, making him think of rich vanilla ice cream.
"Nice socks."
"Alright~"
Orihime Inoue leaned forward slightly.
"If you keep using socks to change the subject, I'll make you go to school wearing only socks."
Imagining that scene, Orihime Inoue burst out laughing.
"I'd get arrested before I even reached the school gates."
Muten Natsu swung his legs off the bed.
"Did you eat breakfast?"
"I did!"
Orihime Inoue answered happily.
"I even brought one for you!"
Muten Natsu's expression stiffened.
Orihime Inoue's greatest strength in cooking was her boldness.
She dared to think, and she dared to act.
But Muten Natsu genuinely didn't dare to eat it.
On the way to school, he had been staring at the preserved egg cheese cake in his hand for quite a while now.
They were almost there, yet he still couldn't bring himself to take a bite.
To be fair, it really did look good.
The outer layer of cheese was lightly browned, the inside glossy and tempting, releasing a rich aroma. Nestled within, half a preserved egg looked like an innocent, wide-open eye, silently staring back at him.
He glanced at Orihime Inoue beside him, her face full of anticipation, then looked back down at the cake. Muten Natsu took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
"Hey!"
Several figures stepped out and blocked their path.
"What kind of attitude is that?"