The nightgown Orihime Inoue had lent to Rukia Kuchiki sagged awkwardly at the chest, the fabric there looking strangely adrift.
"Maybe the color doesn't really suit you…" Orihime Inoue picked up another nightgown. "Try this one."
Rukia Kuchiki changed into it.
…and immediately ran into the same problem as before.
"This one doesn't look right either." Orihime Inoue pulled out yet another. "This should work. It's from when I was in elementary school… I mean, it's an old one…"
This time, it finally fit.
Rukia Kuchiki smoothed the fabric with her hand. "Thank you, Inoue."
"Just call me Orihime~"
"Then you have to call me Rukia," Rukia Kuchiki said. "Like you said, we're bound together by life and death."
"Rukia!"
"Mm!" Rukia Kuchiki smiled back. "Orihime."
Orihime Inoue hugged the teddy bear to her chest and introduced it. "This is Enraku!"
Rukia Kuchiki stared at the bear in her hands, silent for a long while.
"Rukia?" Orihime Inoue called, confused.
"It's… it's so cute!" A blush crept across Rukia Kuchiki's face, her eyes sparkling.
"You think so too?"
"Of course!" Rukia Kuchiki leaned forward. "C-can I hold it?"
"Of course~"
Looks like they were getting along just fine.
Ignoring the faint sounds drifting out of the bedroom, Muten Natsu sat on the living room sofa and tapped a hand to his chest. His Soul slipped free from his Gigai.
A Shinigami's defining traits were, broadly speaking, two things.
First, the black outfit they wore, known as a Shihakushō.
Second, the blade they carried, called a Zanpakutō.
A Zanpakutō was the primary weapon for most Shinigami in battle. A Shinigami had to live alongside it day in and day out, honing it through constant accumulation and tempering, imprinting the essence of their Soul into the blade until it became a Zanpakutō that belonged to them alone.
That was why a Zanpakutō was a weapon, yet also far more than a weapon.
Muten Natsu sat upright, legs folded beneath him, and laid his Zanpakutō across his knees. He closed his eyes and let his mind sink into it.
Through a method called [Jinzen], a Shinigami could enter their inner world and communicate with their Zanpakutō more directly.
And within that mental realm, the Zanpakutō would take on a different form.
The darkness before Muten Natsu gradually faded.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a pure white space.
A translucent light screen floated in front of him, black text appearing across it:
[Welcome back]
[Muten Natsu]
[We are pleased to see your power has recovered far beyond expectations]
After transmigrating into an unfamiliar world, Muten Natsu had wanted to understand this place better, and to understand his own condition.
Answering that desire, his Zanpakutō had manifested in a form resembling an artificial intelligence, helping him grasp everything that had once been unfamiliar.
"What's my current condition?"
[Miss Rukia's Shinigami power has been of great help to you]
One light screen after another appeared, text and charts together presenting his current state:
[Reishi absorption capacity increased by 832%]
[Reiryoku recovery speed increased by 648%]
[Soul repair speed increased by 279%]
[Hollowfication reduction speed increased by 253%]
[Zanpakutō passive soul-stealing has taken effect]
[Reishi absorption control function restored]
[Soul memory reading function restored]
[Zanjutsu extraction and storage function restored]
[Soul Essence Extraction] was the foundational ability of Muten Natsu's Zanpakutō. The first time he'd been thrown into prison, it was because this ability had been exposed.
A Soul—also called a soul body—was divided into Soul and Soul Essence.
Soul was thought.
Soul Essence was power.
Soul Essence Extraction, as the name suggested, meant obtaining Soul Essence.
And there were two specific ways to do it.
First was voluntary donation. As long as the soul consented, Muten Natsu could obtain Soul Essence.
That was how Muten Natsu had acquired Rukia Kuchiki's Shinigami power.
The second method was forced seizure, obtaining Soul Essence by erasing the soul itself.
Earlier, when he sheathed his Katana, the Hollow's corpse shattered into dust and was drawn into the scabbard. That was the process of Soul Essence extraction.
Different methods led to different outcomes.
Soul Essences offered willingly were purer, allowing Muten Natsu to use them freely.
Soul Essence taken by force was far more complex and had to be purified before it could be used.
"Enough."
Muten Natsu waved his hand, pushing the light screen aside. He turned slightly and gripped the hilt of the Katana at his waist.
"Activate Soul Essence memory retrieval."
[Soul Essence Fragment Memory Unit completed]
The Hollow previously slain by Muten Natsu appeared within the pure white space and lunged straight at him.
A flash of blade light passed. The Hollow scattered into ash.
New light screens appeared one after another.
[Soul Essence memory slaying completed]
[Soul Essence purification successful]
[Acquired skill: Water Flow Flash]
[Soul Essence slash technique stored]
[Remaining uses: 1]
[Acquired skill: Lightning Flash]
[Soul Essence slash technique stored]
[Remaining uses: 1]
[Readable residual memories detected]
Muten Natsu returned his Katana to its sheath.
"Read."
Soul Essences seized by force often carried fragments of the original soul's memories. By cutting away those remnants through execution, the purified Soul Essence could form slashing techniques, while the stripped fragments could be used to reconstruct particularly intense memories.
[Simulated memory generation complete]
All light screens vanished at once.
The pure white space rippled, images flashing into view.
Disordered cables. Complex instruments. Strange incubation chambers.
Muten Natsu's vision went dark. He felt restraints bind his body, and a blurred voice reached his ears.
"The choice is yours. Go. Kill… Rukia Kuchiki."
The light screens reappeared.
[Simulated memory playback complete]
As expected…
Staring at the calm, pure white space once more, Muten Natsu let out a quiet sigh.
He had never hesitated to assume the worst intentions from Soul Society.
Just as he had suspected, this had never been a simple encounter.
It was a premeditated attack.
[The voice in the memory contains subjective distortion]
[It differs from the actual sound heard]
[Unable to confirm the identity of the speaker]
[Based on past experience]
[Highly likely connected to Soul Society]
Muten Natsu clicked his tongue.
"Damn it. I didn't kill enough."
[Judging from your physical condition at the time]
[Before resolving the issue through killing]
[You would have been destroyed by your own power]
"I know…"
Muten Natsu scratched his hair irritably.
"This is seriously annoying."
[I was forged from the essence of your soul]
[You may consider me a mirror of your soul]
[The manifestation of your subconscious rationality]
[Finding me annoying means you are annoyed with yourself]
[Based on psychological knowledge from your previous life]
[Your depression level is 43%]
[Within the normal range]
[Your current mental state is relatively stable]
[However, the severity of depressive personality traits reaches 71%]
[Recommendation: take your condition seriously]
[Recognize the impact and harm caused by depressive tendencies]
[Actively engage with other people and the surrounding world]
[Make an effort to cultivate personal interests and hobbies]