"Maybe the reason you didn't notice is because I wasn't staring." Muten Natsu rubbed his ear.
Noticing that small gesture, Orihime Inoue's toes curled reflexively inside her white socks.
Rukia Kuchiki lifted her foot and kicked at Muten Natsu. Her small foot, wrapped in black knee socks, felt as smooth as chocolate ice cream. "And you still say you weren't staring!"
Muten Natsu skillfully caught her warm little foot. "Why don't you first make sure you understand the difference between glancing by accident and actually staring?"
Rukia Kuchiki raised her other foot and kicked at him too. "Your eyes may have only glanced over it, but your mind was already staring, wasn't it?!"
Muten Natsu caught that one as well. "There's a limit to how much you can slander someone!"
Ririn spoke up to remind her, "Your skirt..."
Hearing Ririn's warning, Muten Natsu's gaze naturally shifted.
"Don't look!" Rukia Kuchiki stomped down right against the direction of his gaze.
Muten Natsu froze. "Uh..."
"I think that should count as a reward..." Rangiku Matsumoto had a pretty good idea of what Muten Natsu liked.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Orihime Inoue was already used to Rukia Kuchiki and Muten Natsu fooling around like this. "Just wait a moment, okay?"
Cream cheese pasta, blueberry steak, and bacon roasted bananas.
"Waaah. I'm so full, I'm stuffed~" Rangiku Matsumoto cheered with a thoroughly satisfied look on her face. "It's so good, Orihime!"
Orihime Inoue's cheeks flushed with delight. "R. Really?"
"Of course! It looked kind of strange, but it tasted surprisingly amazing. I was honestly startled watching you cook." Rangiku Matsumoto looked at Rukia Kuchiki and Muten Natsu with envy. "Do you two eat like this all the time? That's way too lucky!"
Rukia Kuchiki dipped a french fry into her ice cream and blinked blankly. "That's actually true. Is everyday life really this happy for us? It's always been like this, so I never even noticed."
"Hehe... it's not that great~" Orihime Inoue scratched her head shyly.
"I'm sweating so much..." Rangiku Matsumoto touched her shirt. "It's all sweaty under my chest. Orihime, let's take a bath together!"
"I, I think I'll wait a little before bathing..." Orihime Inoue's small face turned bright red as she pointed upward. "Come to think of it, is Captain Hitsugaya okay?"
"Don't worry about him." Rangiku Matsumoto could sense Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Reiatsu from the rooftop, so she deliberately raised her voice toward the window. "If he wants to stay up there, let him stay there. He's stubborn. The more you try to persuade him, the less useful it is."
That woman Rangiku... On the rooftop, veins throbbed on Tōshirō Hitsugaya's forehead.
Renji Abarai wanted to improve himself. Ikkaku Madarame simply wanted to fight. Yumichika Ayasegawa was only there to stay with Ikkaku Madarame. Rangiku Matsumoto felt even more like she had just come to hang out with her best friend.
Out of that whole group, the only one truly putting all his energy into the mission was Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
Without him, this team would fall apart.
Muten Natsu carried a tray up to the rooftop. "Here."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya glanced at it. "Don't need it."
"So I have to coax you too?"
"..." Tōshirō Hitsugaya shot him a sidelong look, took the tray, and started eating.
Muten Natsu pointed downstairs. "It's warmer inside."
"Controlling temperature is the most basic part of my power." Tōshirō Hitsugaya set down the tray after finishing every last bite. "It's fine here."
Muten Natsu picked up the tray. "...Suit yourself."
"Muten Natsu."
"Yeah?"
"When I was in Rukongai, I would unconsciously release my Reiatsu in my sleep." Tōshirō Hitsugaya gazed at the night sky, silver white hair fluttering, green eyes deep and distant. "If Rangiku hadn't found me, I probably would have frozen my grandmother to death."
Muten Natsu paused, not understanding why Tōshirō Hitsugaya had suddenly brought that up.
"If I couldn't control my power, then sooner or later I would kill someone important to me. I became a Shinigami so I could learn to control that power. It's only an identity, but it really did help me define what I wanted and what I should strive toward." Tōshirō Hitsugaya turned to look at Muten Natsu. "You also have power beyond your control, so why did you become a Shinigami?"
"For the salary."
"Huh?"
"When I was in Rukongai, Rukia and I had nowhere to live. All the houses Seireitei built in Rukongai were occupied by adults, so we had to build one ourselves." Muten Natsu recalled those wandering days with Rukia. "But we had no idea what we were doing. The house collapsed right after we finished building it. Back then, all I wanted was a house sturdy enough to hold up. Later, we gathered a lot of friends and finally built a solid one."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya vaguely guessed the rest. "A Hollow?"
"The house was gone. The only ones still alive were Rukia, me, and Renji." Muten Natsu's expression barely changed. "Captain Unohana brought us to Seireitei. I thought I'd become a Shinigami, collect a salary, save enough money, retire, and open a dessert shop."
Back then, Muten Natsu had never felt much of a sense of crisis. If the sky fell, there were Shinigami who had lived hundreds or even thousands of years to hold it up. There was no way it would ever be his turn.
And yet, it became his turn.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya's expression stiffened a little.
He had originally wanted to guide Muten Natsu, as someone with experience, and help him strengthen his identity as a Shinigami.
After all, the situation was urgent. Even the slightest trace of hesitation could affect the final outcome.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya had not had much contact with Muten Natsu, but as a dependable Captain and also the leader of the World of the Living team, and considering Muten Natsu's past record, Tōshirō Hitsugaya had a responsibility to help him firm up his stance.
Even though Muten Natsu had not finished everything, Tōshirō Hitsugaya knew some of what had happened afterward.
By the time the conversation reached this point, Tōshirō Hitsugaya suddenly realized his original goal might be impossible to achieve.
With everything Muten Natsu had gone through, someone else might have died countless times over already.
At this point, asking him to firmly stand on the Shinigami side simply because he was a Shinigami was... a little too much to demand.
"I understand what you mean. You're worried I'll be tempted by power and go work with Aizen to study Hell. Soul Society sent people here partly to deal with the Arrancar, and partly to keep an eye on me." Muten Natsu smiled indifferently. "Earlier, you said the easygoing days were over... I don't agree."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya raised his eyes. "Then what do you think?"
"The easygoing days," Muten Natsu said as he turned to leave, "have only been paused for a little while."