"Who would be like him..." Rukia Kuchiki grumbled unhappily. "Instead of sleeping properly at night, he's always getting handsy..."
Putting his hands on her, messing with her feet.
"Speaking of that..." Orihime Inoue's eyes suddenly lit up. "Have you ever tried sleeping with socks on?"
"Sleeping with socks?" Rukia Kuchiki looked confused. "If you wear socks, does he stop touching you?"
"No..." Orihime Inoue blushed. "If I wear socks, he touches me for longer."
Rukia Kuchiki: "..."
She had just learned something very strange!
"The longer the socks are, the more he... Lately, I've been thinking about trying pantyhose..."
Rukia Kuchiki poked Orihime Inoue on the forehead. "You spoil him way too much."
"Uu~" Orihime Inoue let out a cute whine. "I don't~"
"Don't say you don't. You've already..." Rukia Kuchiki couldn't bring herself to say it. "...helped him like that. How can you let him take advantage of you so much?"
"Huh?" Orihime Inoue blinked her large eyes. "But it really tastes good."
Rukia Kuchiki froze. "What... tastes good?"
"Well..." Orihime Inoue leaned close to Rukia Kuchiki's warm, delicate ear and whispered, "Maybe it's because he likes sweets..."
"S-Sweet?" Rukia Kuchiki's eyes widened. "Something like that... how could it..."
"It really is. Next time, we can try it together..."
"N-No!" Rukia Kuchiki's face turned bright red. "Something like that..."
Orihime Inoue looked puzzled. "We can't?"
"I heard..." Rukia Kuchiki finally found an excuse. "...that it's bad for your health."
"Huh?" Orihime Inoue immediately looked worried, but soon came up with a solution. "Then next time, when we're done, I'll help him recover."
Rukia Kuchiki: "..."
Then there would be no need to worry about his health.
Wonderful.
What great news...
As if!
Just what had that Muten Natsu been getting Orihime to do?!
Rukia Kuchiki pulled Orihime Inoue into her arms and silently made up her mind.
She absolutely had to protect the adorable Orihime Inoue from Muten Natsu.
She couldn't let Muten Natsu do whatever he pleased!
Completely unaware of Rukia Kuchiki's resolution, Orihime Inoue happily hugged her back.
Compared to the intense warmth of Muten Natsu, the petite Rukia Kuchiki felt more gently comforting to Orihime Inoue.
Being able to wrap her up in a single embrace brought a deep sense of satisfaction.
The night fell silent again, but this time there was no uneasiness between them.
Or perhaps...
There was still some.
Outside the room where the two of them were resting, Retsu Unohana stood silently in the darkness.
Her raised hand never came down to knock on the door.
Happiness lay beyond it.
Retsu Unohana couldn't be certain that happiness would still be there if she opened that door.
She had originally come out to look for Muten.
Yet even after realizing he wasn't here, she had somehow found herself standing outside this room.
I'm here too...
I feel the same way.
I understood my feelings before either of you did.
Muten and I have done far more together than either of you have.
I want to...
I want to be like you too.
But Muten Natsu had already left.
He had left the moment she treated him like a child and assumed she could simply soothe him until the matter passed.
In the end...
They really were a better fit for him.
Retsu Unohana finally understood that clearly.
Whether it was the innocent and cheerful Orihime Inoue or the clever and resolute Rukia Kuchiki, either of them seemed far more suitable for him than someone as old as she was.
Retsu Unohana finally understood why she wanted to leave.
Muten Natsu had grown up.
He no longer needed her to teach him and care for him as she once had.
From now on, he needed someone more suitable to walk the road ahead with him.
As long as she remained beside him, he could never truly grow up.
Just like back in the Dangai.
Only through her death could Muten Natsu complete his growth.
She hadn't died then, but now it seemed the time had come for her to leave anyway.
Having always helped Muten Natsu grow, she could never accept becoming the very thing that held him back.
She already knew Muten Natsu had grown up, so why had she still tried to treat him like a child and soothe him at the very end?
Because...
She didn't want him to grow up.
She didn't want to leave him, and she didn't want him to leave her.
Depend on me a little more...
Just like you used to.
Don't grow up so quickly.
Even though Retsu Unohana knew it was true, she still didn't want to accept it.
But facts were facts.
Whether she accepted them or not.
Reality would only ever give you...
Reality.
Retsu Unohana silently walked away.
This was fine.
This was for the best.
This was how things were supposed to be.
She would return to her room and pretend nothing had happened.
Muten Natsu had grown up.
Her teaching was over.
How...
How had it happened so quickly?
Retsu Unohana's steps were heavy, while her thoughts drifted uncontrollably through the past.
The tears that night, his deep attachment, his flustered reactions, his embarrassed face...
Memory after memory rushed past. Muten Natsu's battle with the Reigai, his performance during the Battle of Karakura Town, his efforts in Hueco Mundo, everything he had done throughout Soul Society...
The painful battles in the Dangai, the grueling rebirths in the pool of blood...
As Retsu Unohana drew closer to her room, her thoughts wandered further into the past.
Back to before any of this had happened.
Back to when Muten Natsu had only recently arrived in Seireitei.
Back to when he had been tormented by his Primordial Form, unable to sleep at night, crouching helplessly outside her room while waiting for her to return from a meeting.
Just like now.
Retsu Unohana stopped.
Muten Natsu was crouched outside her door.
Tears shimmered in her reddened eyes before spilling down her cheeks in clear trails.
"Muten..."
She called his name softly, afraid that if her voice were even slightly louder, the Muten Natsu before her might vanish like an illusion.
Muten Natsu raised his head and met Retsu Unohana's gaze.
He had clearly grown up.
He was no longer the little boy he had once been.
Yet the moment he looked up, the instant she saw his slightly reddened eyes, Retsu Unohana felt as though she were looking at that helpless child all over again.
So, just as she had back then, she held out her hand to him.
"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Where did you go?" Muten Natsu grabbed her hand. "I've been waiting for you for so long..."
Retsu Unohana tightened her grip around his hand and gave him a gentle smile.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Just as Retsu Unohana had thought, Muten Natsu was indeed no longer the little child who could be soothed with a few comforting words.
But for her sake, he was willing to become that child again.
The child who could still be comforted as long as she was there.