"Nii-san?" Orihime Inoue stared at the grotesque monster in disbelief. "You really are… Nii-san?"
That face belonged to none other than Sora Inoue, her brother who had died in a car accident three years ago.
"I knew you wouldn't forget me." Sora Inoue's voice softened. "It's been a long time, Orihime."
"Why…" Orihime Inoue couldn't understand. "Why did you become like this?"
"He's become a Hollow!" A faint green glow lit up Rukia Kuchiki's palm as she moved closer to Tatsuki Arisawa's body. This was a Shinigami's healing Hado. "All Hollows were once ordinary human souls. The hole in their chest is proof that they've lost their hearts. To fill that emptiness, Hollows keep devouring other souls."
"I thought you'd gone to Soul Society…" Muten Natsu tightened his grip on his katana. "I never imagined you'd end up as a Hollow."
"Ah… ah…" Sora Inoue's head, half-covered by a mask, swayed slowly. "I did go to another world. In that terrifying place, I survived only because of Orihime's prayers. I could hear them, you know. Even across worlds, I could hear Orihime praying for me. It brought me so much comfort. Even though I died, her prayers made me feel like I was saved."
"Until the two of you showed up!" Sora Inoue's voice suddenly turned feral as his claws lashed out at Muten Natsu. "It's all because of you! She stopped praying for me!"
Muten Natsu raised his katana to block the strike, a sharp whistling tearing through the air.
Sora Inoue's long serpent tail snapped forward, shattering the air as it shot straight for Muten Natsu's head.
Muten Natsu shifted his footing and twisted his body. The blade slid past Sora Inoue's claws and slashed toward the serpent tail, while his left hand yanked the scabbard from his waist and braced it against the incoming talons.
Blade and tail collided, bursting into a spray of bright sparks.
The serpent tail was covered in dense, fine scales, hard as steel. As it ground against the katana, it let out a shrill, bone-chilling screech.
Sora Inoue roared, his claws swinging in a frenzied storm of attacks. "Tatsuki-chan taught me an amazing move today! Muten slept in again today! Tatsuki-chan got first place in her match today! Muten ate all the cake I made today! Tatsuki-chan… Muten… Muten… Tatsuki-chan… What about me? What about me?! Am I supposed to disappear from your life and vanish from your memories too, Orihime?!"
Muten Natsu struggled to hold his ground. Cracks spread across the scabbard under the relentless blows, and under a final lash of the serpent tail, it shattered completely.
The tail didn't lose any of its momentum. It slammed into Muten Natsu's shoulder, the raised scales tearing away a layer of flesh.
"Muten!" Tatsuki Arisawa's treatment was at a critical point, leaving Rukia Kuchiki no choice but to watch as Muten Natsu was sent crashing to the ground. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm so lonely… so miserable…" Sora Inoue slammed Muten Natsu into the grass with a single claw, his eyes surging with a blood-red glow. "Orihime, come with me. Let's go back to how it was before… just the two of us…"
"If that's what you want, Nii-san, I can die." Orihime Inoue lifted her head, tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes. "But my brother… my Nii-san would never hurt Muten and Tatsuki-chan like this. Give me back my Nii-san!"
"Orihime…" Sora Inoue froze, memories flashing through his mind.
When Orihime Inoue was born, Sora Inoue was already fifteen.
Though she was called his sister, she was more like his daughter.
Their parents were both scum, beating her relentlessly whenever she cried.
With parents like that, Sora Inoue could only take care of her in secret, always on edge.
Finally, when he turned eighteen, Sora Inoue ran away from home with his three-year-old sister.
The two depended on each other alone, and life slowly began to get better.
Then the car accident happened.
Sora Inoue still remembered how Orihime Inoue cried beside his body back then, just like she was crying now.
But this time, those tears were for someone else.
"You think I ended up like this because of who?!" Sora Inoue roared, his claws stretching forward. "I'll kill you… I'll kill you! You were mine before, and you should still be mine now! If you won't live for me, then at least die for me!"
"You've gone too far…" Muten Natsu gripped his katana tightly. "Enough!"
Exploding arcs of lightning surged out, paralyzing Sora Inoue's body. Wrapped in crackling currents, the razor-sharp blade came down in a single flash, severing both his serpent tail and one arm.
"Muten Natsu… that's right, and you too!" Sora Inoue's eyes looked as if they were about to bleed. "You're the one who stole her away! While I was gone, you took her from me!"
"What are you even saying…" Muten Natsu staggered upright, his shoulder mangled and drenched in blood. "Weren't you the one who asked me to take care of her in the first place?!"
["Helping others doesn't require a reason. If you really want one… my sister is about your age. I just hope that if she ever faces trouble in the future, someone will help her the way I helped you."]
"That's what you said back then. Have you already forgotten?" Muten Natsu shifted slightly, letting Sora Inoue see Orihime Inoue behind him. "If you're so obsessed with the past, then you should take a good look at who she is now. Look—"
The instant Muten Natsu turned, the jagged teeth on Sora Inoue's mask split open without warning. A stream of sticky fluid sprayed from the crack, splashing all over Muten Natsu.
A harsh sizzling sound followed. His skin corroded and melted on contact, foul blue smoke rising into the air.
Sora Inoue swung his claws down at him. "I don't need you lecturing me!"
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Orihime Inoue shoved Muten Natsu aside, throwing herself into the path of the attack.
The sharp claws tore a horrifying gash across her back. Blood burst out, splattering across the pale mask on Sora Inoue's face.
The moment he saw Orihime Inoue collapse in front of him, Sora Inoue's massive body went rigid. His bloodstained claws trembled.
"Orihime…"
"Get out of the way!" Rukia Kuchiki had finally finished treating Tatsuki Arisawa. She caught Orihime Inoue and immediately checked her wounds. "I need to heal her. Don't get in the way!"
Rukia Kuchiki circulated her Reiatsu, carefully adjusting it as she brought the soft green glow in her hand close to Orihime Inoue's injuries.
"Nii-san… this is all my fault…" Orihime Inoue endured the pain, her voice barely above a whisper. "At first, I prayed every single day. But then I realized I couldn't keep doing that. I didn't want you to keep watching me feel sad and miserable. You're not by my side anymore, so you can't comfort me like before. If I stayed unhappy, it would only make you suffer more…"
"So I wanted to tell you about the happy things at school, the fun things that happened to me…" Tears clung to her lashes as her eyes reflected Sora Inoue's terrifying form. "I wanted you to know that I'm doing well, that you don't need to worry about me."