"Woo~~~"
Orihime Inoue pressed her temples with both hands, eyes squeezed shut, her face flushed bright red.
"Yaaah~~~!"
Tatsuki Arisawa looked helplessly at Rukia Kuchiki and Muten Natsu.
"What exactly is she doing?"
"She's trying to see whether she can still use her previous ability," Rukia Kuchiki said, sensing Orihime Inoue's Reiatsu. "From the looks of it, it's not going very smoothly."
Muten Natsu looked Tatsuki Arisawa up and down.
"Your body is really okay now?"
Her injuries back then had been extremely severe.
"The physical injuries are fine," Tatsuki Arisawa replied, folding her arms. "But the psychological shock will take some time to settle. A classmate you see every day suddenly turns out to have superpowers. Even if you explain everything from start to finish, there's no way to accept it that quickly."
"Exactly!" Orihime Inoue nodded vigorously. "When I found out about Muten's identity, I was completely shocked too."
"You accepted it pretty fast, though," Muten Natsu said bluntly. "Focus. Your Reiatsu has mostly recovered already. You should be able to use it."
Rukia Kuchiki lightly pinched her pale chin.
"What does Myōki say?"
"According to Myōki's analysis," Muten Natsu said, rubbing his earlobe as he repeated the contents of the light screen in front of him, "Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka mainly functions by deploying barriers. Its attributes are similar to Kidō, and its strength is tied to incantation-like resonance."
"However, the fact that it's a sentient spiritual entity makes it resemble a Zanpakutō. And Zanpakutō can't manifest in this way. And also…"
"And also what?" Orihime Inoue asked curiously.
"And based on the activity of the dispersed Reishi," Muten Natsu hesitated for a moment before deciding to be honest, "there are traces of Hollow aura mixed in."
Clear worry surfaced in Rukia Kuchiki's eyes.
"You're saying her soul is undergoing Hollowfication?"
"It's not that severe," Muten Natsu replied. "Describing it as having similar power properties would be more accurate."
Rukia Kuchiki finally relaxed.
"That's good to hear. Still, with such a strange ability, I can't really give any concrete advice either."
"Hey," Tatsuki Arisawa said, looking puzzled. "Don't you think you're all making this way too complicated?"
"Hm?" Muten Natsu looked up.
"Doesn't this kind of thing happen all the time?" Tatsuki Arisawa said, striking a karate stance. "You train day after day, and one day you finally throw an incredible punch. After that, trying to throw another punch at the same level isn't so easy."
"So you have to calm yourself down and replay that moment over and over in your mind. Not trying to throw that punch again, but becoming the version of yourself who threw it."
"So it really was me… or rather, Myōki, overthinking it," Muten Natsu said, suddenly enlightened. "Compared to digging into the exact truth, sometimes finding the right feeling matters more."
Rukia Kuchiki's eyes lit up as she spoke.
"Orihime, think back to that moment. Remember what you wanted to do then, and what you want to use this power for in the future. Once you understand that, your power will respond to you."
Back then…
Orihime Inoue lowered her eyelids slightly, the helplessness she felt at the time welling up in her heart once more.
She wanted to save Tatsuki.
Just like how Tatsuki had saved her before, she wanted to save Tatsuki.
The pale blue hairpin shimmered faintly. All three noticed it at the same time, and all three tacitly chose to remain silent.
From now on…
Orihime Inoue lifted her gaze, looking at the three people before her, each of them wearing slightly tense expressions.
Tatsuki Arisawa protected her and taught her courage.
Muten Natsu watched over her and helped her grow.
Rukia Kuchiki saved her and introduced her to a new world.
Now that she possessed power, she wanted to use it the same way they had used theirs for her.
To help others.
The petals on the hairpin separated, transforming into six palm-sized figures, each a different color.
"It's…" Orihime Inoue looked at them in delighted surprise. "It's you!"
"Did you run into danger? Why are you calling us out when nothing's happening?" Tsubaki grabbed Orihime Inoue by the hair. "You stupid woman!"
"Ah!" Orihime Inoue hurried to apologize. "I'm sorry!"
"Hey!" Shuno stepped in to stop him. "Tsubaki, knock it off!"
"To get messed with by your own ability…" Rukia Kuchiki let out a sigh. "Muten, does Myōki ever mess with you like this?"
"How could that happen?" Muten Natsu shook his head. "Of course not."
"My Sode no Shirayuki always acts like she can't be bothered with anyone," Rukia Kuchiki muttered, unable to hide the envy she felt toward the easy back-and-forth between Muten Natsu and Myōki.
"That's on you," Muten Natsu said bluntly. "A Zanpakutō is a mirror of a Shinigami's soul. If she doesn't want to get close to you, it means you don't want to get close to her."
Rukia Kuchiki shot Muten Natsu a sharp glare.
"Do I need you to tell me that?"
Rukia Kuchiki knew he was right.
The look in her eyes softened a little, and she had a feeling that when she returned to Soul Society and took up Sode no Shirayuki again, things would probably be different.
Tatsuki Arisawa had been nervous at first, but once she realized Tsubaki was just putting on a show, she finally relaxed, a relieved smile creeping onto her face.
Ever since Orihime Inoue's Nii-san attacked them, Tatsuki Arisawa would sometimes have moments where her memories felt scrambled, and she'd start seeing vague, blurry things.
She'd been planning to sit down and talk to Orihime Inoue properly, but then they were attacked by a Hollow again, and this time she saw everything clearly.
Not only clearly. She learned a lot of things she'd never known before.
Just like she'd said, it was a huge shock.
But… seeing Orihime still smiling like she always did eased a lot of Tatsuki Arisawa's worry.
Selfishly, Tatsuki Arisawa didn't want Orihime Inoue to end up in danger.
But as someone Orihime Inoue had saved, Tatsuki Arisawa also had no right to hold her back.
And more than anything, as her close friend, Tatsuki Arisawa supported Orihime Inoue's decision.
From the look in Orihime Inoue's eyes just now, Tatsuki Arisawa understood. Orihime wasn't some delicate flower that needed to be sheltered. She was a brave warrior.
Orihime knew how dangerous it was, and she still chose to face it head-on. That was why she'd awakened this kind of power.
Tatsuki Arisawa reached out and ruffled Orihime Inoue's pretty hair, praising her happily.
"You've grown up."
Orihime narrowed her eyes and nuzzled into Tatsuki Arisawa's warm palm.
"Hehe~"
"Alright. Next is learning how to control your ability." Muten Natsu clapped his hands. "The form is different, but the essence of power is still the same set of things: Reishi, Reiryoku, Reiraku, Reiatsu. Once you understand it, we can do targeted training, and you'll improve fast."
"Your ability is driven by word magic, so the principle should be similar to Kidō incantations." Rukia Kuchiki patted her chest confidently. "Leave that part of the training to me!"
Her Kidō skills were excellent.