"It couldn't be that bad..." Muten Natsu paused. "Besides, we've always lived like this."
"And has it gotten better?"
Muten Natsu: "..."
"It's time to change that!" Orihime Inoue pumped her little fist like she was cheering him on.
"Remember what that old man said? Don't keep everything bottled up. You have to say it out loud."
"Even if you say that..."
Orihime Inoue leaned in, serious as can be, and repeated, "You have to say it out loud!"
"I..." Muten Natsu opened his mouth. "I can't put it into words."
"Then just tell me whatever you can. I'll help." Orihime Inoue patted her chest. "It's big-sister heart-to-heart time. Don't let how I look fool you, okay? I learned a ton of 'talking it out' techniques from Laugh Point."
"Isn't Laugh Point a comedy variety show?"
"And isn't talking things out just getting someone to smile from the heart?"
"Fair enough." Muten Natsu hesitated, then drew his Zanpakutō. "Let's start with my Zanpakutō."
"Mm-hm."
"Did you notice it's different from before?"
"The shape changed. And you didn't pull it from a sheath, you pulled it from your hand."
"This is Shikai, the first stage of a Zanpakutō's release. After Shikai, not only does the Zanpakutō's form change, it also gains its own unique ability." Muten Natsu put the Zanpakutō away. "On top of that, there's a second stage of release: Bankai. That's the Zanpakutō's final form, and it lets you unleash and use its power far more completely."
"So cool~" Orihime Inoue poked curiously at the center of Muten Natsu's palm. "Doesn't that hurt?"
"This blade was made from my own arm in the first place. Now it's just returning to my body." Muten Natsu flexed his left hand. His arm and wrist moved as freely as ever. "If I had to describe it... it feels like I'm whole again."
"That's amazing..." Orihime Inoue pressed on. "But what does that have to do with what you wanted to tell me?"
"I used my Bankai to deceive Rukia," Muten Natsu said, his eyes shifting slightly. "I made her arrest me."
...
After Muten Natsu broke out of prison and rescued Rukia Kuchiki, the pursuers arrived right behind them.
The Executive Militia, the First Division of the Onmitsukidō, was an enforcement unit that specialized in executions and assassinations.
They had come under orders to apprehend Muten Natsu.
If he resisted, they were to kill him on the spot.
Muten Natsu hadn't planned on resisting. Rukia Kuchiki was safe now, and going back to prison didn't matter to him.
But at that moment, another group appeared and slaughtered every last member of the Executive Militia.
Hearing that, Orihime Inoue asked, curious. "Were they there to help you? Who were they?"
"Help me? No." Muten Natsu frowned slightly, then corrected himself. "They were there to kill me. Or rather... to pretend to kill us."
"Pretend?"
"That group was the Noble Guard. They serve the ancient noble families of Soul Society. Even in Seireitei, very few people even know they exist." A cold glint flashed in Muten Natsu's eyes. "Their mission was to capture Rukia and me, then stage the scene to look like we worked together to slaughter the Executive Militia."
If they'd succeeded, the report would probably have read:
Convict Muten Natsu escaped from prison and colluded with convict Rukia Kuchiki. They violently resisted arrest and slaughtered twenty-three members of the Executive Militia. The Fourth Squadron of the Noble Guard executed both. No remains were recovered.
After that, what they chose to do with the two "dead" people who were still alive, Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki, would depend entirely on the mood of whoever stood behind the Noble Guard.
Muten Natsu kept it brief, but in his calm voice, Orihime Inoue could almost smell the blood carried on the cold moonlight.
In the silence of that moonlit night, out on a barren stretch of wilderness, corpses covered the ground as far as she could see. When you lifted your eyes, all you saw were enemies.
And Rukia Kuchiki and Muten Natsu had only each other.
Facing an enemy that had planned this for a long time, and had the numbers on their side...
Orihime Inoue asked worriedly, "Then what did you do?"
"I killed them all," Muten Natsu replied. "Not a single one survived."
It had to be said, the Noble Guard's plan was nearly flawless.
The Executive Militia were already dead.
With no survivors, there were no witnesses.
If Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki fled, the charges against them would be made real.
If they didn't flee, the Noble Guard could simply arrest them on the spot.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
In the eyes of the Noble Guard, Muten Natsu and Rukia Kuchiki had no option but to surrender.
But they had overlooked one thing.
Something extremely simple, yet easy to ignore.
With their level of strength, they couldn't capture Muten Natsu at all.
The moment the first enemy stepped forward, Muten Natsu had already finished charging his draw technique.
A flash of cold light. Blood sprayed into the air.
The Reishi released from the fallen souls was absorbed by Myōki, turning directly into Muten Natsu's power.
A close-range strike was blocked by Ink Fortress. Black ripples spread as the unsheathed iaijutsu activated. Myōki tore through the air and split the second attacker in two amid a shrill scream.
By the time Rukia Kuchiki came back to herself, the third man's head had already been flung into the sky, blood spraying everywhere.
Before it could hit the ground, the fourth was cut clean through at the waist.
A sharp clang rang out. Ink Fortress bloomed with black ripples, the blade thrusting out from within and piercing straight through the fifth man's chest.
The pure moonlight followed Muten Natsu's flickering figure, staining itself with filthy crimson.
Muten Natsu moved like a soul-reaping ghost, passing unhindered through one enemy after another, leaving broken limbs and severed bodies to fall helplessly to the ground.
The sixth... the seventh... the eighth... the ninth...
"Muten!" Orihime Inoue cupped Muten Natsu's face, looking straight into his eyes. "You're not finished yet."
The warmth of her soft palms pulled Muten Natsu out of those blood-soaked memories. "Mm... where was I?"
"You said you killed them... all of them. And then?"
"Then we had to think about what to do next." Muten Natsu gave a strained smile. "No matter the reason, killing the Noble Guard was a fact. In Soul Society, where nobles rule above all else, there was no place left for us. So Rukia came up with an idea. She wanted to... run away with me."
"Run away?" Orihime Inoue caught on immediately. "To the World of the Living?"
"Yeah. But escaping to the World of the Living isn't that easy. There are a lot of complications in between." Muten Natsu paused. "So I came up with a better plan. I used my Bankai to tell her a lie."