In Ririn's eyes, the laziness Muten Natsu showed was, at its core, closer to numbness.
One upheaval after another had left his once-normal life in ruins, and every change had come with loss and separation.
Muten Natsu wanted life to get better too. It was just that after so many blows in a row, he no longer dared to hope things would improve.
For him, being able to maintain the status quo was already the greatest stroke of luck. Any reckless change would only bring misfortune.
So he never took the initiative to seek change. He was content with the life he had now and tried not to alter it as much as possible.
The result was that, for a very long time, his relationship with Rukia Kuchiki stayed at its starting point.
Companions who depended on each other.
That was how it had been at first, how it remained later, and even after certain upheavals, after separation and reunion, it was still the same.
They had stayed that way for so long that neither of them knew how to change it anymore.
It was like taking the same route home from school every day. Even if the thought of trying another road sometimes came up, they would not know which direction to go.
That was when... Orihime Inoue appeared.
Like Muten Natsu, she had experienced sorrowful things, but unlike Muten Natsu's numbness, Orihime Inoue showed a brighter, stronger vitality.
The hardships that failed to break her became the fuel that made her shine.
Muten Natsu, who spent every day with her, could not be as sunny as she was, but he gradually began to realize that change was not always a bad thing. Because of that, he worked hard to respond to Orihime Inoue.
In Rukia Kuchiki's eyes, the way they got along meant that Orihime Inoue and Muten Natsu's relationship was steadily and rapidly heating up.
So Rukia Kuchiki began learning how Orihime Inoue and Muten Natsu interacted. When Orihime Inoue and Muten Natsu's feelings took another step forward, she learned to follow along.
The closer Orihime Inoue and Muten Natsu became, the more Rukia Kuchiki's relationship with Muten Natsu could warm up as well.
"...So that's why Rukia kept pushing them together." A thoughtful look appeared on Ririn's doll face. "But there's still something that doesn't add up. Once they reached a certain level of intimacy, Rukia should have been able to move forward with Muten in her own way, but she always brought Orihime with her. There must still be something I haven't noticed."
"Being able to figure out this much is already pretty amazing." Tatsuki Arisawa recognized the gap between their information-gathering and analysis skills. "Those three, honestly... One looks smart but turns out to be clueless. One is clueless but somehow always finds the right way. And then there's the lazy one who doesn't want to move, but jumps the moment you poke him."
"Actually, after saying all that," Ririn said, spreading her hands, "Muten is the one I understand best."
Tatsuki Arisawa clicked her tongue. "Nobody can say what'll happen in the future, so instead of overthinking it, you might as well enjoy what you have now?"
"Exactly." Ririn nodded. "Put off today's problems as long as you can, leave tomorrow's problems for tomorrow, sleep through trouble, and pretend you didn't see anything even if you did."
"I know thinking too much will only make things harder, and as an outsider, I shouldn't interfere too much in their feelings." Tatsuki Arisawa bit her lower lip and only let go after a long moment. "But... there's too little I can do for Orihime. I can't help in battle, so at least when it comes to her feelings, I should be able to do something. I just don't want Orihime, when she's this happy... to end up sad."
That answered Ririn's question.
In Ririn's eyes, Tatsuki Arisawa had always been a cool girl, and the advice she gave should have been the straightforward kind.
So why had someone like her suddenly become so interested in the progress of Orihime Inoue's love life, and why was she being so cautious and conflicted about it?
The reason lay in the powerlessness she had felt during the previous battle in Karakura Town.
Tatsuki Arisawa wanted to help Orihime Inoue in whatever way she could.
"Don't worry. If things ever really get to that point, Muten will definitely be the most anxious one." Ririn had faith in Muten Natsu. "That guy may be lazy, but when he runs into a problem he can't ignore, he's absolutely the most reliable person there is."
Tatsuki Arisawa smiled with some difficulty. "I really was overthinking it... Thanks for talking to me about all this."
"I should be thanking you for listening to me talk so much. Watching a show alone is boring. It's much more fun when two people can discuss it together." Ririn took out her Denreishinki. "Come on, let's exchange contact information. I'll tell you right away if there's any progress."
Tatsuki Arisawa: "..."
After their conversation ended, the two returned to the living room and saw Orihime Inoue opening a package.
Tatsuki Arisawa walked over to help and opened the package in a few quick motions, only to find another layer of packaging inside. "What is this? Why is it wrapped so tightly?"
The outer layer was black plastic wrapping. Inside was an unmarked cardboard box, and when the box was opened, there was yet another layer of paper wrapped around something square.
"Lisa-san started a company. She said it sells all kinds of books." Orihime Inoue showed them the e-book reader she had received and briefly introduced Lisa Yadōmaru and the Visored. "I thought since she was sending something over anyway, I could have her take some desserts back for the other members of the Visored, so I asked her to send some books suitable for me and Muten to read."
Lisa Yadōmaru's new company had only just opened, so she was clearly very busy. After delivering the package, she had left with the desserts.
Ririn froze. "Suitable for you two to read?"
She had a bad feeling. Knowing Lisa Yadōmaru's style, these could not be...
As they spoke, Tatsuki Arisawa had already opened all three layers of packaging, revealing several thin booklets inside.
"The art is really pretty..." Tatsuki Arisawa glanced over the covers. "Love You, First Love Time, Love Me, Short Stories After the Rain, The Uninvited Girlfriend's Pretend Play, Adolescent..."
Tatsuki Arisawa's voice cut off abruptly.
The first few were still fairly subtle, but for the later ones, the contents could be guessed from the titles alone, never mind the increasingly bold and obvious full-color covers.
Just a quick glance was enough to make Tatsuki Arisawa's face flush all the way to her ears.
"Th-these are not for you to read!" Tatsuki Arisawa stacked several of the booklets together and hid them behind her back. "No way!"
"Hm?" Orihime Inoue blinked, then curiously leaned sideways to look behind Tatsuki Arisawa.
Tatsuki Arisawa flicked her on the forehead. "No looking! It's... still too early for this!"
Orihime Inoue covered her forehead, tears welling in her eyes. "Tatsuki-chan~"
"Acting cute won't work either!" Tatsuki Arisawa hurriedly stuffed the whole pile of booklets into her schoolbag. "I'm confiscating these, and you're not allowed to order any new ones from Lisa-san. Ririn, you keep an eye on her!"