Once before, Muten Natsu got caught lying by Retsu Unohana.
Retsu Unohana had grabbed him by the ear and lectured him for a long time.
Ever since then, whenever Rukia Kuchiki saw Muten Natsu rubbing his ear, she knew he was trying to figure out how to talk his way out of something.
What was there to talk his way out of...?
It was not as if Muten Natsu had never slept beside someone before.
Rukia Kuchiki had slept beside him too.
Sleeping together for one night was not a big deal.
And yet, before Rukia Kuchiki had even said anything, Muten Natsu was already thinking about how to smooth it over.
That was exactly why Rukia Kuchiki was angry.
"Morning~" Rangiku Matsumoto pushed the door open while rubbing her messy golden hair. Her loose nightgown exposed a dazzling stretch of pale skin across her chest. "Huh? Orihime is not awake yet? Could it be you two were a little too worn out last night..."
"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Orihime Inoue had originally wanted to keep pretending a little longer, but the moment she heard Rangiku Matsumoto steering things in a dangerous direction, she answered right away and hurried out of Muten Natsu's room. "Um..."
Everyone's eyes turned to her at once. Orihime Inoue's body stiffened slightly. There were not any obvious traces, right...?
She lowered her head to check herself and realized she had gotten out of bed too fast, without taking time to fix her appearance.
The white long sock that had been hanging from her toes had already fallen to the floor when she got out of bed.
But the sock on her left leg was still half on, hanging loose around her foot and bunched around her ankle.
The creamy white folds of the sock and the smooth skin of her straight calf created such a sharp contrast that it looked as though she had gone through something wild yet restrained...
"Muten Natsu!" Rukia Kuchiki could not hold back anymore. "Look what you did!"
"I did not do anything." Muten Natsu looked perfectly calm. "I just sang a song..."
"You were singing while doing it?" Rukia Kuchiki grabbed Muten Natsu by the collar. "What exactly were you doing while singing?!"
Orihime Inoue hurriedly spoke up. "I..."
Rukia Kuchiki: "!?"
Even Ririn was stunned. Was she really going to say it that directly?
"I could not fall asleep... so I asked Muten to sing me a lullaby..." Orihime Inoue's face was bright red. "You know how I like to hug something when I sleep... Muten probably did not want to wake me up, so he stayed still..."
Rukia Kuchiki remembered that when she had slept with Orihime Inoue before, Orihime Inoue had indeed hugged her in her sleep.
She turned to look at Muten Natsu.
Muten Natsu repeated innocently, "I just sang a song."
Then why were you thinking about how to cover it up just now... What was there to cover up?
Rukia Kuchiki got even angrier and kicked him.
Muten Natsu: "...?"
Why was she still angry?
"I..." Saying out loud that she had hugged Muten Natsu only made Orihime Inoue blush harder. "I... I'm going to change clothes..."
Then she fled in a panic.
Rangiku Matsumoto leaned closer to Ririn and whispered, "Is it always this fun around here?"
Ririn whispered back in the same low voice, "This is the first time it has been this exciting."
Rangiku Matsumoto suddenly felt full of anticipation for the days ahead.
After breakfast, everyone went to school together.
They had said they would meet at school, but...
"Ishida and Chad are absent again today... Kurosaki took leave too. That is rare. He skips class all the time, but he hardly ever actually takes a day off..." Homeroom teacher Misato Ochi flipped through the attendance sheet. "And the five new transfer students... are absent too. Alright, class is starting!"
Only Misato Ochi could start class that casually. Any other teacher would probably have had a much harder time with it.
Unlike Rukia Kuchiki, the five Shinigami who came from Soul Society had no intention of staying here for any long period. Wearing school uniforms was only for convenience while they were operating here. There was no real need for them to sit through class.
At noon, the few people who had actually attended class went up to the rooftop and finally reunited with the others they had parted from the day before.
"Orihime" Rangiku Matsumoto rushed over happily. "I have been waiting for you"
"Try this~" Orihime Inoue handed Rangiku Matsumoto the bento she had prepared that morning.
"Wow! This looks amazing!" Rangiku Matsumoto opened the lunch box and happily started eating, proudly showing it off to everyone else. "Orihime made this especially for me, you know."
"There is one for Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya too." Orihime Inoue handed another bento to Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
"Thank you." Tōshirō Hitsugaya paused for a moment, accepted it, then remembered Muten Natsu's earlier reminder. "...It is delicious."
Orihime Inoue: "Huh?"
Muten Natsu: "...At least finish eating it before you say that."
"So Captain got one too..." Rangiku Matsumoto muttered. "Well... mine is still better than everyone else's~"
The others she meant were, naturally, Renji Abarai, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa.
Renji Abarai was eating bread with milk. "Since we rarely get to come to the World of the Living, of course we should try the unique convenient foods here. Right, Ikkaku?"
Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa silently took pink packages out of their bags. Inside were pink bento boxes. They opened them and set out the layers one by one. Every layer had been carefully prepared, with the ingredients arranged into little heart shapes.
The bread in Renji Abarai's hand instantly lost all appeal. "This..."
"I was inspired by Ikkaku's aura." Yumichika Ayasegawa ate his bento with a smiling face. "That person put a lot of thought into it."
Renji Abarai pressed on. "And by that person, you mean...?"
"With both Ichigo and Chad absent, our rooftop lunch group is not nearly as lively as usual. Even the bread in my hand does not taste as good..." Keigo Asano complained to Mizuiro Kojima as he walked onto the rooftop. "I..."
His voice stopped abruptly. The moment his eyes locked onto Rangiku Matsumoto, his whole expression turned dreamy.
"Big sis! You look amazing in that uniform. Ah!"
He rushed straight at her in total excitement and was casually sent flying by Rangiku Matsumoto.
Pointing at Keigo Asano sprawled on the ground, Rangiku Matsumoto asked Muten Natsu, "Is this how people in the World of the Living greet each other?"
"Everyone has different tastes," Muten Natsu replied. "Yours just happens to be exactly the kind he likes."
Compared to Ichigo Kurosaki's attacks, Rangiku Matsumoto had actually been pretty gentle.
"Asano-san." Mizuiro Kojima nudged the collapsed Keigo Asano with his foot. "Even with Ichigo absent, you still found a way to repeat your unique daily routine."
Keigo Asano twitched twice. "How is this any kind of daily routine?"
Ikkaku Madarame pointed at Keigo Asano. "By 'that person,' he means his older sister."