Leisurely days... huh?
Tōshirō Hitsugaya suddenly understood both the similarities and the differences between himself and Muten Natsu.
The similarity was that they both possessed power they still could not fully control, and neither of them wanted that power to hurt the people around them.
The difference was that compared with Muten Natsu, Tōshirō Hitsugaya had succeeded.
To gain control over his power, he followed Rangiku Matsumoto into Shin'ō Academy. In less than a year, he graduated from Shin'ō Academy, mastered Bankai as soon as he joined a squad, and on top of his extraordinary talent, he also showed excellent administrative ability. In the end, he became the youngest Captain in history.
While learning to control his power, Tōshirō Hitsugaya received encouragement and praise from his seniors, the envy and admiration of his peers, and the trust and respect of his subordinates.
He gained everything in Seireitei that he had never had in Rukongai. After parting from his grandmother, he found that same warmth she had given him in many other people.
On his days off, he could spend a relaxing day with his grandmother. While working, he could spend a fulfilling day with his colleagues. While training, he could spend a satisfying day by himself.
He had chosen to leave Rukongai of his own will, and through his own efforts, his life kept getting better and better.
Because of that, he came to identify more and more strongly with being a Shinigami, and used that identity to discipline his words and actions.
The harder Tōshirō Hitsugaya worked to control his power, the more qualified he became as a Shinigami, and the more recognition he received from others.
That positive cycle kept pushing him higher.
But Muten Natsu was not like that.
Just as Tōshirō Hitsugaya had originally only wanted to stay in Rukongai with his grandmother, the Muten Natsu of the beginning had only wanted a house with Rukia, one that could keep out the wind and rain.
Like Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Muten Natsu achieved his goal through effort.
But unlike Tōshirō Hitsugaya, the appearance of a Hollow turned all of Muten Natsu's efforts to ash.
Muten Natsu was pushed into Seireitei. Pushed into fighting Hollows. Pushed into confronting Central 46. Pushed into... leaving Soul Society.
Every time, he had to fight with everything he had, because if he did not, he would die.
But even though he was already fighting desperately, the results only kept getting worse.
That vicious cycle left Muten Natsu with no room to think about the duties of a Shinigami the way Tōshirō Hitsugaya could.
He had too little, so little that he could not afford to think too much.
The only thing Muten Natsu dared hope for was nothing more than a stretch of peaceful days.
Putting himself in Muten Natsu's place, Tōshirō Hitsugaya felt that if it were him, then his greatest wish would probably be nothing more than eating watermelon with his grandmother.
"I thought..." Tōshirō Hitsugaya recalled that unforgettable scene from years ago, Muten Natsu standing in the sky with a wailing skeleton in hand, cloaked in black flames that sounded like the cries of evil spirits. "I thought you'd be hard to talk to."
"If there's a problem with trust, then it's better to deal with it early. Once everything's clear now, it'll save a lot of trouble later."
"Solving the problem once and for all... that really is your style." Tōshirō Hitsugaya felt that he understood Muten Natsu a little better now. "From here on, let's work hard together."
"Before that..." Muten Natsu gave the tray in his hand a small shake. "Say something nice."
"Hm?"
"Orihime made this. Say a few nice things, and I'll pass them on to her later. She'll be happy about it for a long time."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya felt like maybe he did not understand Muten Natsu all that well after all. "...It was very good."
...
"Don't you think this is weird?" Ikkaku Madarame squatted on top of a tall building. "Yumichika..."
"What is it?"
Ikkaku Madarame raised a hand. "This."
In his hand was...
A handmade salmon mayonnaise rice ball.
"To make rice balls this delicate, and even package them in such a complicated bag, and that shop still had so many more..." Ikkaku Madarame looked deadly serious. "And I asked the clerk, and she said they get restocked many times every single day. That's absurd! I never thought an ordinary clerk in the World of the Living could be that capable. There has to be some mastermind behind this!"
"What a coincidence... I was thinking about that too." Yumichika Ayasegawa ate his rice ball at an unhurried pace. "If we find the mastermind, we should be able to find a place to stay too."
That was how they used to do things back in Rukongai.
Find the strongest person around, beat them up, then enjoy everything they had with a perfectly clear conscience before moving on to the next place.
"Hm?" Ikkaku Madarame suddenly turned to stare in one direction.
"There's a Hollow presence." Yumichika Ayasegawa had noticed it too. "Should we go take care of it?"
...
"So that's how it is! Like, that kind of transfer student showed up in class today!" Keigo Asano gestured dramatically in front of his chest. "And I somehow didn't even see her..."
"There were five transfer students." Mizuiro Kojima tapped away on his phone. "I'm not interested in girls that young, so I really don't get why you're so disappointed or excited."
"Judging only by age is way too shallow!" Keigo Asano repeatedly stressed. "There are other sizes you should be paying attention to! I mean, they were like this! Like this!"
"You're so loud... be quiet for a minute." Mizuiro Kojima placed a call. "Hello... yeah, no, I'm not texting someone else..."
"That's a weapon... no! A deadly weapon! The kind that can completely destroy a man's sanity... listen to me here!" Keigo Asano was still trying to go on, but Mizuiro Kojima kept talking on the phone as he walked farther away.
"Wait..." Keigo Asano looked up at the strange thing in the sky. "Me?"
If it was a bird... it seemed a little too big.
Keigo Asano narrowed his eyes and looked carefully. The strange thing in the sky seemed to notice his gaze and suddenly rushed toward him at high speed.
A pale mask. A hole in its chest. Huge bat-like wings. Insect-like limbs... what kind of monster was that?
Keigo Asano tried to run, but the monster was too fast. It dove down from the sky and closed the distance in an instant.
Boom!
A violent gust roared out, and dust billowed everywhere.
Keigo Asano was thrown to the ground. Reflected in his terrified eyes were the hideous monster... and the bald man standing in front of it.
"Hey!" Ikkaku Madarame turned his head. "Kid!"
"Y. Yes!" Keigo Asano shouted back on reflex.
"The thing is, I don't have anywhere to stay tonight, so I'm thinking I'll save your life and give you a chance to let me stay at your place." Ikkaku Madarame fixed him with a fierce stare. "As a meeting gift, I'll kill this Hollow for you. Sound good?"
"Uh... um... well..." Keigo Asano had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"What do you mean, 'uh'?!" Ikkaku Madarame roared. "Yes or no?!"
"Yes!!!"