The lunch break bell rang, and the students took out their bentos.
Orihime Inoue cheered. "Bento time..."
As she opened her schoolbag, her voice grew quieter, and the happy look on her face slowly turned blank.
Tatsuki Arisawa, who was pushing desks together, noticed the change in her mood and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I forgot to bring my bento..." Orihime Inoue realized it belatedly. Because she had secretly kissed Muten Natsu that morning, her head had been a little fuzzy, and she had come to school without making a bento.
"I've been trying to cut down lately anyway." Tatsuki Arisawa opened her bento box. "Let's eat together."
"Me too!" Chizuru Honshō leaned closer. "Come on, Orihime, let me feed you bite by bite, hehehehehe..."
Before she could finish, Chizuru Honshō was already drooling in anticipation and letting out a creepy laugh.
Orihime Inoue waved her hands. "I'll just go buy something myself."
Her appetite was huge. Forget sharing with her classmates, even Chizuru Honshō and Tatsuki Arisawa's bentos combined would not be enough for her alone.
She might as well go straight to the shop and buy something.
As soon as she went down the stairs, Orihime Inoue sensed a familiar presence. She turned her gaze and saw Muten Natsu. "Muten!"
Muten Natsu was standing on the air outside the window. Seeing that no one was in the hallway, he handed the bento box in his hand to Orihime Inoue. "You forgot your bento when you left this morning, right?"
He was not wearing his Bokukō Gigai, so he did not have to worry about ordinary people seeing him.
But the bento box in his hand was not a spiritual body. Ordinary people could see it.
So he still had to avoid being seen. Otherwise, a bento box flying through the air would be pretty unsettling.
"Hehe~" Orihime Inoue took the bento box. "I forgot to make one, actually... Did you make this?"
"I had nothing else to do." Muten Natsu had not recovered his original size, but there was nothing seriously wrong with his body.
"It's been so long since I've eaten your cooking." Orihime Inoue put the bento box on the windowsill, grabbed onto the window, and started climbing out.
"Careful." Muten Natsu hurried closer to support her. "What are you..."
"Mua!" Orihime Inoue planted a big kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for bringing it!"
"...You're welcome." Muten Natsu pushed her back inside. "Go eat."
"Mm-hmm~" Orihime Inoue waved goodbye. "See you at home."
Watching Orihime Inoue head back to the classroom, Muten Natsu lightly touched his cheek with his fingertip. The warmth of Orihime Inoue's lips still lingered there.
His Denreishinki rang. Muten Natsu glanced at it, then stepped through the air and ran toward the location shown on the e-book reader.
...Another one of these monsters.
Karin Kurosaki sprinted through the alley, using the speed she had built up from playing soccer to rapidly widen the distance.
The monster's face was covered by a cold mask. It looked like an insect, and instead of hands at the ends of its arms, it had blades like scythes.
Karin Kurosaki glanced back and sped up even more, until she could no longer see the monster.
Hollow.
That was the name she had learned from her older brother, Ichigo Kurosaki.
Those monsters fed on souls, and they would also attack humans with Reiryoku.
Recently, Karin Kurosaki, who had already been able to see souls, had experienced a sudden surge in Reiryoku. The power she could not control had drawn the Hollow's attack.
Feeling that the distance was finally enough, Karin Kurosaki gradually slowed down and stopped, catching her breath.
She lifted her trembling hand and clenched it tightly under her own unwilling gaze.
Why... couldn't she fight like her brother?
Karin Kurosaki could sense the disappearance of her brother's Reiryoku. Her brother, who had once been able to fight Hollows, could no longer even see ordinary souls.
Her own Reiryoku had clearly grown, but all she could do was run away...
Karin Kurosaki's clenched fist shook. It was clearly her turn to protect her brother now, so why could she still do nothing?
Boom!
A huge monster descended from the sky, shaking the ground.
Karin Kurosaki instinctively backed away and saw the wings slowly folding behind the Hollow.
Oh no...
She had not shaken off the Hollow. It had flown into the air!
With a deafening roar, the Hollow swung its arm, driving the scythe extending from the end of its limb down toward her.
She could not escape... Karin Kurosaki gritted her teeth and swung her fist at the approaching scythe.
Then she would fight!
A sharp sound rang out, and the vicious Hollow suddenly split in two. A huge section of flesh and blood vanished from the middle of its body, and the remains scattered apart as they fell.
Karin Kurosaki stared blankly at her own fist. Was that her... no!
Reflected in her wide eyes was the figure devouring Reishi.
Muten Natsu drew Myōki back into his arm. "Are you hurt?"
"You're..." Karin Kurosaki sounded a little uncertain. "My brother's friend?"
In her memory, Muten Natsu should have been taller.
"Something happened, and my body shrank." Muten Natsu explained briefly. "Your Reiryoku has clearly grown, but you haven't learned to control it yet. In a Hollow's eyes, you're the perfect target."
Strong Reiryoku meant a powerful soul, and eating it would bring greater growth.
Being unable to control Reiryoku meant weak combat ability, making the hunt far more likely to succeed.
"Can I..." Karin Kurosaki stepped forward excitedly. "Can I fight like my brother, like you? I want the power to fight!"
"I can't help you with that..." Muten Natsu saw something go out in Karin Kurosaki's eyes and sighed. "But I can help you find someone fairly reliable. Maybe he can help you gain the power to fight."
Muten Natsu was not trying to drag Karin Kurosaki into battle. He only hoped that if she got dragged into battle, she would have some ability to protect herself.
At the very least, enough to hold on until help arrived.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Muten Natsu turned and led the way. "Do you know Urahara's Shop?"
Watching Muten Natsu and Karin Kurosaki leave, Uryū Ishida pushed up his glasses. "So it was Muten who eliminated the Hollow. Looks like things will be a little easier for me lately."
"But a certain heretic seems to be in an even heavier mood." He glanced toward the corner of the alley. "Sado, I'm leaving first."
"Mm." After watching Uryū Ishida leave, Yasutora Sado walked toward the direction he had looked in. "Ichigo..."
"That was a Hollow just now, wasn't it?" Ichigo Kurosaki clenched his fists. "It was hunting Karin..."
"Muten... saved her," Yasutora Sado said in reassurance. "Urahara-san asked Uryū to help handle the Hollows, and I'll keep an eye out too. Now that Muten is back as well, you don't need to worry too much..."
Ichigo Kurosaki lowered his head. "What if none of you are free?"
"Ichigo." Yasutora Sado hesitated for a moment, looking at Ichigo Kurosaki's heavy expression. "Do you want... to regain your power?"
Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly raised his head. "You know a way?!"
"I know... some people like me. They might be able to help you." Yasutora Sado paused. "But their... attitude is complicated. They're hostile toward Shinigami..."
"No matter what their attitude is, I have to try." Ichigo Kurosaki's voice was firm. "At the beginning, Shinigami were our enemies too."
Yasutora Sado nodded. "All right. I'll contact them and take you to meet their leader."
Leader?
Ichigo Kurosaki instinctively pictured the aged face of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and then Sōsuke Aizen's elegant look, as if everything were under his control.
Then he saw a middle-aged man slurping ramen.
"A half-Shinigami, half-Quincy mixed-blood, and human on top of that, who has also undergone Hollowfication. In the end, the three powers formed a seal, and their mutual conflict caused you to lose your Reiryoku..." Kūgo Ginjō muttered while slurping his noodles. "If you want to regain your power, it's simple. You just need to master the power of a Hollow."
Ichigo Kurosaki had personally experienced that violent power. "Can that really be done?"
Kūgo Ginjō put down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin, and wiped his mouth. "You just need to learn Fullbring."
"Fullbring?" Ichigo Kurosaki pressed. "What's that?"
"It's the power Sado uses, and also the special ability we special humans are born with." Kūgo Ginjō tapped the edge of the ramen bowl. "Did you know? The soul of a bowl of ramen is all in the broth."
Ichigo Kurosaki did not understand at all. "What are you talking about?"
Kūgo Ginjō brushed his hand over the bowl. The broth inside rippled and lit up with a strange glow. Then, as if it had a life of its own, it flowed upward and entered Kūgo Ginjō's mouth.
Ichigo Kurosaki tried to understand and failed. "What... did you just do?"
"I extracted the soul of the broth," Kūgo Ginjō answered. "Our ability lets us extract the soul of anything."
Ichigo Kurosaki: "...?"
"I can tell from your face that you don't get it." Kūgo Ginjō explained further. "Everything in the world has a soul. Animals, plants, microphones, chairs, they all have their own souls. A tool you use often feels easy to handle because you've sensed its soul. The innate ability of a thing's soul helps the person who uses it. Our ability is to draw that out, then strengthen it with our own souls and turn it into a powerful force. For example, we can extract the soul of asphalt and increase its elasticity to help us jump higher, or like just now, increase a liquid's fluidity so it flies into our mouths. If it's a tool we're used to, we can even change its composition."
"For example... my necklace." Kūgo Ginjō took off the cross necklace from his chest. As it flashed with light, a massive sword pierced into the floor. "We call this ability Fullbring."
Ichigo Kurosaki frowned deeply. "What does that have to do with mastering Hollow power?"
"We Fullbringers who use Fullbring all had parents who were attacked by Hollows before we were born. The Hollow power left behind in the mother's body after the attack took root in the abilities born inside us, making them closer to Hollows than to Shinigami." Kūgo Ginjō concluded, "In other words, we've always been using Hollow power as humans. We'll help you master Fullbring and control the Hollow power inside you. That way, your Quincy power won't need to seal the Hollow power anymore, and your Reiryoku will recover along with it."
"Then..." Ichigo Kurosaki was not carried away by the tempting offer. "What are your conditions?"
"The exact opposite of you. You have to help us get rid of this disgusting ability that comes from Hollows," Kūgo Ginjō answered directly. "There was once another child of a Shinigami and a human, just like you. By transferring power to him, several Fullbringers were able to return to being ordinary humans."
"I understand." Ichigo Kurosaki took a deep breath. "I'll help you."
Kūgo Ginjō chuckled. "It's a deal."
...
Muten Natsu placed the final dish on the dining table. "Welcome back."
"It smells so good~" Orihime Inoue, who had just returned from school, set down her schoolbag and leaned over beside the table to sniff lightly. "You could've waited for me to come back and make dinner."
"It's all the same." Muten Natsu went to get the bowls and chopsticks. "Go wash your hands."
"Okay~" After washing her hands, Orihime Inoue sat at the dining table with Muten Natsu. She picked up a piece of tempura and put it in her mouth, and a look of bliss immediately spread across her face. "Delicious~!"
The last time she had eaten food made by Muten Natsu had been a very long time ago.
After discovering Orihime Inoue's difficulties in daily life, Muten Natsu had rarely cooked for himself. Instead, he would buy ingredients and send them to Orihime Inoue's house, asking Orihime to cook for him, then eat together with her.
That way, what had originally been a one-sided act of charity out of sympathy became mutual support between the two of them.
And now Muten Natsu had said, [It's all the same].
That meant the two of them were no longer two separate sides, but... one whole.
Orihime Inoue's face warmed, and she hurriedly took a sip of soda to cool herself down.
Was it really that delicious...? Ririn took a suspicious bite. Why did it feel like Orihime Inoue looked as happy as if she were eating at her own wedding banquet?
After dinner, Muten Natsu looked through Orihime Inoue's class notes, used Myōki to record and analyze them, then tutored Orihime Inoue on her homework.
After all, she had missed class for quite a long time, and final exams were approaching. Muten Natsu had Myōki to help him, so there was no need to worry about him, but Orihime Inoue still had to work hard to catch up.
As the night grew late, Muten Natsu stood in the bathroom under the hot shower, his mind returning to the memory of taking Karin Kurosaki to Urahara's Shop.
Regarding Karin Kurosaki's situation, Kisuke Urahara did not have any especially good solutions either. He could only provide some self-defense spiritual tools and a few basic books on controlling Reiryoku.
Right now, Karin Kurosaki's Reiryoku growth was still in its early stage. Her Reiryoku would continue to grow later, and her specific ability would gradually take shape during that growth.
At this stage, outside interference was very likely to affect the formation of her ability. Acting rashly could easily backfire.
Muten Natsu turned off the shower, feeling that although many things had already ended, many others were just beginning.
Who knew what other "surprises" were waiting for him in the future.
"Muten?" Orihime Inoue's voice came from outside.
"What's wrong?" Muten Natsu answered.
"I'm coming in."
"Come in." Muten Natsu answered out of habit, then suddenly felt something was wrong.
He was not in his room right now. He was in the bathroom!