"What is that thing?!" The Lizard Hollow caught sight of the claw formed from black fire. "It actually caught up?!"
The claw struck, and the Lizard Hollow twisted aside to evade it.
After shrinking its body, the Lizard Hollow's speed increased dramatically. It darted through the trees, using the trunks as cover to further widen the distance.
It needs… to be even stronger.
Muten Natsu sensed the Lizard Hollow pulling away and drove the black flames to further erode his own body, trading himself for greater power.
"You really are…" Retsu Unohana noticed what Muten Natsu was doing. She sighed softly and silently released part of her own defenses, allowing the black flames to creep onto her body.
Even she couldn't say whether this was to make the later treatment easier, or if she simply wanted to see just how far Muten Natsu's power could go.
The instant the black flames touched Retsu Unohana's skin, a terrifying force erupted, instantly surpassing the total of all the power Muten Natsu had displayed before.
That immense strength surged along the fire tether, swelling the slender cord into a monstrous black serpent. At its end, the flaming claw expanded wildly, bearing down on the Lizard Hollow like a collapsing tide.
Everything happened far too fast.
One moment, the Lizard Hollow was still easily pulling away from the black-flame claw. The next, when it looked back, the once-small claw had already become a pitch-black curtain, brutally filling its entire field of vision.
The Lizard Hollow fled in a panic, desperate to escape the advancing black flames.
But the claw was simply too large.
The massive black-flame claw closed, crushing the Lizard Hollow into a tight ball. The serpent-like fire tether contracted, dragging the remains of the Lizard Hollow straight back to Muten Natsu.
"Where do you think you're going?" Muten Natsu looked at the wreckage dragged before him and showed a gentle smile. "Go die."
The black-flame claw clenched tightly, completely engulfing the Lizard Hollow.
As the black fire burned, the Lizard Hollow's body steadily shrank, until it finally condensed into a palm-sized doll.
The strange doll retained some of the Lizard Hollow's features, but there was no hole in its chest. Instead, a bizarre circular ring sat atop its head.
The instant Muten Natsu looked at the doll, it trembled, then shattered into countless points of light. Wrapped in a streak of black radiance, they surged into his body.
Over Muten Natsu's exposed flesh, new skin rapidly formed. At his shoulder, muscle writhed as the missing arm regenerated at visible speed.
The pale heart tugged at the hole in his chest, pulling it smaller. Retsu Unohana released her grip on the heart, and the soft green glow in her palm helped the wound on Muten Natsu's chest complete its final stage of healing.
Muten Natsu finally regained control over the black flames, and the violent fire gradually died down.
The strain on both his body and mind was simply too great.
Almost the instant the flames faded, he collapsed unconscious into Retsu Unohana's arms.
Retsu Unohana laid him gently on the ground. Her hand, still glowing faint green, moved to the wound at her collar where the black flames had scorched her.
Flesh knit itself together, forming a twisted scar that looked like a crimson flower blooming at the center of her collarbone.
…
Retsu Unohana woke from her sleep. Perhaps because she hadn't seen Muten Natsu for such a long time, she had dreamed of the past.
The scar at the center of her collarbone had faded considerably. Compared to a wound, it now looked more like an elegant, deliberate tattoo.
She lightly touched the scar. As her fingertips brushed over it, memories from long ago seemed to ripple through her heart in gentle waves.
Retsu Unohana rose from the bed and stepped out of Muten Natsu's room.
Originally, Orihime Inoue had planned to share a room with Rukia Kuchiki and let Retsu Unohana sleep in her own room.
But Muten Natsu had insisted on taking the sofa, so in the end, Retsu Unohana slept in his room instead.
When Retsu Unohana opened the door, she saw Muten Natsu sitting on the sofa, quietly gazing at the moon outside the window.
"Can't sleep?" Retsu Unohana asked as she walked over and sat down beside him.
Clear moonlight spilled across her, draping her soft skin in a cool, silvery glow.
Orihime Inoue's pink nightgown, which had looked a little ill-fitting on Rukia Kuchiki before, now rested naturally against Retsu Unohana's body.
Even where it hung loosely, the thin fabric faintly traced her graceful curves. Bathed in the warm air of a summer night, it seemed almost translucent.
"Mm." Muten Natsu forced himself to look away, yet he could still sense the faint, tranquil fragrance coming from Retsu Unohana, threading itself around him little by little.
Retsu Unohana tilted her head with a smile, watching the faint flush on his profile. "Thinking about the past?"
"…Yeah." Muten Natsu's gaze paused briefly on the scar at her collarbone. "Back then… why did you save me?"
"Before you, I had seen other souls who underwent Hollowfication," Retsu Unohana said calmly. "I couldn't save them. As a healer, when faced with a similar situation again, even I would feel compelled to try once more, almost out of stubbornness."
She paused, then continued, "Let me ask you this. If you met someone who was injured while protecting their companions, someone who needed saving, and you had the ability to do so, would you save them?"
"…I would."
"That's the answer," Retsu Unohana said, gently ruffling Muten Natsu's soft hair. "But that's not what you really wanted to ask, is it?"
"You saved so many people…" Muten Natsu bit his lower lip, holding it there for a long moment before letting go. "But the one you saved… me… I ended up killing so many people…"
"If you had to choose again, would you still kill them?"
"I would."
"Then you don't regret it. You're just afraid of dragging me into it," Retsu Unohana said softly, her eyes gentle. "You're thinking that if I hadn't saved you back then, you wouldn't have gone to Seireitei. You wouldn't have experienced all those things. You wouldn't have killed so many people. You wouldn't have involved me at all. You're wondering why I chose you, and thinking that I should have let you die in Rukongai instead."
Muten Natsu nodded lightly.
Retsu Unohana pulled his head into an embrace. "You silly child. You only killed a few people who deserved it. It's nothing worth tormenting yourself over."
Muten Natsu turned to look at her, utterly stunned that such words had come from the captain of the medical division. "Huh?"
"If you had to choose again, you would still kill them," Retsu Unohana said as she released him, meeting his eyes with unwavering certainty. "And no matter how many times you chose, I would still save you."
Muten Natsu opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"All right," Retsu Unohana said gently as she stood up and returned to his room. "Go to sleep."
Muten Natsu remained seated on the sofa. The turmoil that had been churning inside him finally settled completely.
"Muten," Retsu Unohana called softly.
"Hm?"
"It's been a long time since we slept together," she said, standing in the doorway and beckoning to him. "Come in."
The calm he had just found instantly began to unravel again. "Um… I…"
"Muten," Retsu Unohana repeated with a warm, patient smile. "Come in."
Muten Natsu: "…All right."