By the time Muten Natsu reacted, the bathroom door had already been opened by Orihime Inoue, who had changed into a loose white short-sleeved shirt.
All he could do was pull down a towel to cover himself. "Orihime, why are you..."
"I came to help." Orihime Inoue had thought Muten Natsu was ready since he had told her to come in. Seeing him so flustered made her face turn even redder. "You worked hard today, so let me help you relax properly!"
Muten Natsu understood what Orihime Inoue was thinking.
She wanted to repay the person who had helped her. She did not want to simply accept someone else's care one-sidedly. Muten Natsu knew that feeling all too well.
If the other party refused her repayment, then she would resist accepting their help too. Even if it came from kindness, she would not be able to accept it with a clear conscience.
Any relationship meant to last had to be mutual.
Muten Natsu, who liked maintaining stable relationships, understood that better than anyone.
That was how he had always done things in the past.
Now that Orihime Inoue wanted to do the same, of course he would not refuse.
"Then..." Muten Natsu calmed himself down. "I'll trouble you."
"Hehe~ That's more like it." Orihime Inoue closed the bathroom door. "How far did you get?"
"I'm almost done."
There was a hint of regret in Orihime Inoue's voice. "Eh... What about your hair? Did you wash your hair?"
"I rinsed it quickly."
"Then I'll wash your hair for you, properly. That carbonated shampoo you bought before is amazing." Orihime Inoue found the shampoo. "Okay, sit on the stool."
Muten Natsu obediently sat on the plastic stool in the bathroom. Orihime Inoue stood behind him and picked up the showerhead. "Close your eyes. I'll wet your hair a little more."
"Mm."
"Is this temperature okay?"
Muten Natsu kept his eyes closed, feeling the hot water run through his hair. "It's a little hot, but it feels nice."
"I was worried it might be cold..." Orihime Inoue reached out and combed her fingers through Muten Natsu's hair. "Looks like the temperature you usually use is lower."
"You usually use water even hotter than this?"
"Yeah." Orihime Inoue turned off the showerhead. "Now I'm using the shampoo. Don't open your eyes."
"Mm-hmm." Muten Natsu answered softly. Without his sight, his other senses seemed to sharpen.
He could clearly feel the dense foam touching his hair. As Orihime Inoue's slender fingers kneaded it in, the bubbles kept bursting with tiny rustling sounds, sending a pleasant tingling sensation through him that relaxed both body and mind.
Orihime Inoue moved her hands this way and that. While Muten Natsu could not see, she shaped the foam on his head into a pair of cat ears, and a faint smile entered her voice. "How does it feel?"
"It feels much better than when I wash it myself," Muten Natsu answered honestly. "So this shampoo was this comfortable?"
"Eh?" Orihime Inoue puffed out her rosy cheeks a little. "It's clearly me making it comfortable... Take this!"
Her slender fingers slipped through Muten Natsu's hair, her soft fingertips pressing gently.
A tingling ran across Muten Natsu's scalp, like a faint electric current passing through him. "I meant... the foam," he said, realizing his earlier wording had not been clear enough. "The foam you made feels richer than mine."
"Ah... do you just press it directly?"
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Muten Natsu had bought carbonated mousse shampoo precisely because one press produced foam directly, saving him the trouble of rubbing it into a lather.
"You have to shake it before using it." Orihime Inoue kept moving her hands as she explained the trick. "Then tilt the bottle gently and try to make bubbles without moving the bottle too much. That way, the foam comes out best."
"...So there was a trick to it. I only just found out."
"Hmph-hmph~ Then what about besides the foam?"
Muten Natsu was sinking into a drowsy comfort. "Even without the foam, your hands feel better than doing it myself."
"Then I'll massage it a little longer~" Orihime Inoue moved her fingers lightly, scratching his scalp with gentle motions. "So the ingredients that are good for your hair can seep in bit by bit."
It was not only the ingredients good for his hair. Muten Natsu felt as if some even more magical power was seeping into his body through the perfect pressure of Orihime Inoue's fingertips, bringing a comfort that made him want to sink into it completely.
"Okay, now I'll rinse off the bubbles." Orihime Inoue picked up the showerhead again, rinsed away the foam with warm water, and wrapped his hair in a towel. "There, all done. It feels so easy."
Muten Natsu came back to his senses from his daze. "It really does feel easy."
"I meant short hair." Orihime Inoue laughed softly. "Short hair feels so easy to wash. Long hair takes a really long time."
"If someone helps, it should feel easier too." Muten Natsu thought of Orihime Inoue's beautiful waist-length hair. "I'll help you next time."
"Okay~" Orihime Inoue patted Muten Natsu's back. "But only after I wash your back."
Muten Natsu: "...?"
The feeling of a towel rubbing against his back came, and Muten Natsu's body went a little stiff.
What he had meant was that next time Orihime Inoue washed her hair, he could help.
But from the way Orihime Inoue said it, it sounded as if she was going to wash her hair right after this.
In other words...
"Your shoulders feel really stiff." Orihime Inoue put down the towel. "I'll massage them for you."
"Eh?"
"I have a lot of experience relieving sore shoulders." Orihime Inoue gently kneaded Muten Natsu's shoulders. "Here... and here. If I rub it like this... Huh? Muten, did you get bigger?"
"Hm?" Muten Natsu lowered his head and looked at the towel. "This..."
How was he supposed to explain?
"You got bigger before too, but today it feels especially obvious."
Muten Natsu: "...Before?"
He did not remember anything like that happening before.
Could it have happened at night while he was asleep, without him knowing?
"Yeah. Back in Soul Society, your body was already growing." Orihime Inoue looked him over in confusion. "But it feels like you grew a lot today."
"Ah... my body." Muten Natsu realized Orihime Inoue was talking about his shrunken body growing overall. He had thought she meant... "It's probably because I destroyed Hollows today and replenished my Reishi."
"No wonder. In that case, you should be able to go back to school sooner, right?"
"More or less. My recovery speed will increase as my body recovers. The later it gets, the faster it'll be." Muten Natsu made a simple estimate. "If I destroy more Hollows, about a week should be enough."
"That's great. A lot of people asked about you today. Everyone is worried about you." Orihime Inoue patted Muten Natsu's shoulder. "Try moving a little."
It was as if some heavy burden had been lifted. Just swinging his arms lightly, he could feel a smoothness far beyond before.
"It really feels much better." Muten Natsu turned his head in surprise. "I didn't expect massage to be this effective. It's like..."
His voice stopped abruptly the moment he saw Orihime Inoue behind him. When she had rinsed his hair, the water from the showerhead had inevitably splashed onto her.
The loose pure white short-sleeved shirt was soaked through, turning almost transparent as it clung to Orihime Inoue's body and outlined breathtaking curves.
Muten Natsu suddenly understood why Orihime Inoue had so much experience easing shoulder stiffness.
Because her burden was too heavy. Back and shoulder aches were probably an everyday thing for her.
"Ah... it's soaked." Orihime Inoue tugged at the hem of the shirt where it stuck to her legs. "Oh well. This works out."
The instant he saw her cross her hands and grab the hem of the shirt, Muten Natsu immediately realized what was about to happen and hurriedly looked away.
"Heave~ ho!" Orihime Inoue set the shirt aside, then turned her head and saw Muten Natsu's back. "Muten, what are you doing?"
"Ah... um... I..." Muten Natsu did not dare look at her. He fiddled with the bottles and jars in the bathroom to distract himself, and when he heard Orihime Inoue's question, he answered in a panic, "I'm looking for the shampoo. Found it."
"Shampoo? Ah... right." Orihime Inoue remembered what they had just said and sat down on the small plastic stool. "Then I'll leave it to you~"
Muten Natsu froze for a moment before remembering their agreement.
At this point, he could not bring himself to back out.
He could do this... Muten Natsu encouraged himself inwardly.
He was already an adult. He could face this bravely.
After taking several deep breaths, Muten Natsu finally calmed down and turned to look at Orihime Inoue.
The girl who spent every day with him sat on the stool with her back turned to him. Her warm orange hair, like sunlight, fell to her waist, strand after strand draping down and covering most of her skin. The soft, smooth hair and the gentle curves it could not fully hide complemented each other, enough to steal anyone's breath.
No, this was completely impossible...
It was precisely because he was an adult that this was completely impossible.
"Muten?" Orihime Inoue turned her head in confusion, her clear eyes looking at Muten Natsu. "What's wrong?"
Under the gaze of those pure eyes, Muten Natsu's chaotic emotions instantly settled.
Orihime Inoue believed he would not do anything out of line. That was why she slept in the same bed as him.
Orihime Inoue believed he would not go too far. That was why she could stay in the same bathroom as him.
At this moment, faced with Orihime Inoue's trust in him, how could he possibly...
Shaking his head, Muten Natsu picked up the showerhead. "I'm adjusting the temperature."
He lowered the water flow and wet Orihime Inoue's hair, then asked softly, "How is the temperature?"
"It feels just right to me..." Orihime Inoue closed her eyes. "Does it feel hot to you?"
"This temperature is fine." Muten Natsu recalled everything Orihime Inoue had just done and followed the method she had described, pressing out the foam from the carbonated mousse shampoo and patiently working it into her hair.
Her hair became even softer once covered in foam. The silky feeling against his palm made Muten Natsu's heart grow calmer and calmer. "It feels... like touching sunlight."
"Muten... do you like it?"
"I like it very much." Muten Natsu felt the texture of her hair between his fingers and gently pressed her scalp. "Is this pressure okay?"
"Mm~" Orihime Inoue's voice rose softly at the end. "Just right~"
Just as Orihime Inoue had said, long hair took much longer.
After rinsing away the foam and wringing her hair dry with a towel, Muten Natsu wrapped her long hair in the towel under Orihime Inoue's guidance.
"I... I'm going out first." Muten Natsu dried himself off and fled the bathroom as if escaping, leaning against the wall outside and taking deep breaths.
Inside the bathroom, Orihime Inoue covered her frighteningly hot face as well, her pretty eyes watery.
Taking off her wet clothes earlier had been a moment of impulse. By the time she reacted, Muten Natsu was already looking for the shampoo.
At that point, she could no longer say she wanted to take it back.
So Orihime Inoue could only pretend to be calm as she sat on the little stool.
At first, of course, she had been so embarrassed that she wanted to find somewhere to hide, but influenced by Muten Natsu's calmness, Orihime Inoue slowly calmed down too.
Muten Natsu did not have any strange thoughts. If she started having strange thoughts, then she would be the strange one.
That was true, but... she was still embarrassed.
When Muten Natsu had been there, she could at least pretend.
Now that Muten Natsu had left, Orihime Inoue immediately felt as if her face was so hot it might start steaming.
Tonight, she wore a pale beige pajama top and pants.
After drying her hair, Orihime Inoue came to Muten Natsu's room and saw him reading a book. "What's this...?"
"Seireitei teaching materials. When I went to Urahara's Shop earlier, I bought some while I was there." Muten Natsu closed the book in his hand and put it on the bedside table. "There are some interesting changes. I'm checking whether any of the knowledge can be useful."
Orihime Inoue turned off the bedroom ceiling light and climbed onto the bed with the help of the bedside lamp's glow, then slipped under the blanket. "It feels like everyone has such a strong sense of urgency. The big battle only just ended, but everyone is already working hard to improve themselves."
Muten Natsu casually turned off the bedside lamp. "Partly because everyone realized their own shortcomings in battle. And partly because Soul Society often has turmoil. No one can guarantee whether this is the end, or the beginning of another upheaval."
Orihime Inoue's determined eyes shone in the darkness. "Then I'll work hard to improve myself too!"
"Having a sense of urgency is a good thing, but you can't push yourself too hard." Muten Natsu, who had been leaning against the headboard, lay down. "I'll help you too. For now, sleep well."
Orihime Inoue tucked the blanket around herself and answered softly, "Mm."
Muten Natsu was right. Sleeping well was the most important part of improving strength.
Orihime Inoue knew that from experience.
Muten Natsu gently kissed Orihime Inoue on the cheek. "Good night."
"!!!" Orihime Inoue's eyes widened instantly. Her smooth pale cheeks turned vividly red at a visible speed. Looking at Muten Natsu's profile, she pressed her lips together lightly, the corners of her mouth rising beyond her control. "G-good night~"