"Wahahahahahaha!!! SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU—!"
Muten Natsu and Orihime Inoue were curled up together on the sofa, watching Don Kanonji laugh uproariously on the screen.
Muten Natsu had originally planned to visit Soul Society today, but the Kōtotsu was passing through, so he decided against it.
Although Retsu Unohana had destroyed it before, the Kōtotsu was not a living creature. It was more like a conceptual existence.
Even if destroyed, it would reappear on a seven-day cycle.
The Kōtotsu carried turbulent currents of time with it, and the consequences of coming into contact with it were far too unpredictable.
The situation had been urgent before. Since nothing pressing required his attention now, there was no reason to take the risk.
Orihime Inoue held a bowl of fruit salad, speared a piece of fruit with her fork, and brought it to Muten Natsu's mouth. "Ah~"
"Om." Muten Natsu ate it in one bite, savoring the fresh fruit and rich yogurt.
Orihime Inoue's small hand trembled, and the yogurt left on the fork slid off, dripping onto Muten Natsu's chest.
"Ah..." Orihime Inoue set down the bowl and wiped his chest with a tissue.
Watching this, Ririn felt that Muten Natsu had already gone too far down the path of becoming completely helpless to ever turn back.
Muten Natsu looked a little embarrassed. "I can do it myself."
"It's fine. If the same thing happened to me, you'd help me too, wouldn't you?" Orihime Inoue carefully wiped him clean. "Did I get it all?"
Muten Natsu nodded. "Completely clean."
Satisfied, Orihime Inoue threw away the tissue, speared another piece of fruit, and ate it. Her face immediately lit up with happiness.
Then her small hand trembled again, and the yogurt remaining on her fork slid off and dripped onto her chest.
"Ah..." Orihime Inoue set down her fork and reached for a tissue while sneaking a glance at Muten Natsu. "I need to clean it properly."
Muten Natsu pulled out a tissue and helped wipe it away.
Boing, boing~
The simple motion produced a delightful elastic deformation, and the shifting curves made it impossible to look away.
Muten Natsu's Adam's apple bobbed. "Is it clean now?"
Orihime Inoue's cheeks flushed faintly. "I think there's still a little left..."
Muten Natsu wiped twice more. "How about now?"
"There might still be some here..." Orihime Inoue pointed at a spot with no trace of yogurt whatsoever.
"...I see." Muten Natsu threw away the tissue and patted his thigh. "I think you need to sit like this before I can clean it properly."
Avoiding his gaze, Orihime Inoue sat on his lap and leaned back against his chest. "Like this?"
"Mm." Muten Natsu nodded. "Now, where did you say it wasn't clean?"
Orihime Inoue lightly tapped the spot with a pale fingertip, pressing a subtle indentation into it. "Here... Mmm~"
A soft, lilting sound escaped her before she could stop it. She had known this would happen and had already experienced the same sensation before, yet the instant she felt the warmth of Muten Natsu's palm, Orihime Inoue still could not keep herself from humming softly.
Muten Natsu leaned close to her reddened ear. "Is it clean now?"
She had expressed what she wanted in such a roundabout way. Her adorable reaction made him want to tease her a little longer.
"I... I don't know..." Orihime Inoue shifted lightly against him. "Could you check for me...?"
"It looks completely clean already."
"Does it?" Orihime Inoue pressed her lips together. "Look again... Look carefully..."
Muten Natsu stopped moving. "It really is clean."
"...Really?"
"Really. This part is completely clean..." Muten Natsu adjusted his hand. "But this part still needs a little more. And here, and here..."
"Muten..." Orihime Inoue rested her head on Muten Natsu's shoulder and tilted it back, revealing the beautiful curve of her snow-white neck. A faint, tearful tremor entered her soft voice. "Don't..."
"Don't what?"
Orihime Inoue's unfocused eyes looked ready to overflow, and her lips parted slightly. "Don't let the sounds come out..."
Understanding what she meant, Muten Natsu lowered his head and kissed the source of those lilting sounds.
I-Is it really that intense?
Ririn stared at them, dumbfounded.
She had never expected an innocent girl like Orihime Inoue to possess such an incredible technique.
Who could possibly resist that?
Were they really going to start right there on the living room sofa?
Should she make herself scarce?
Then again, judging by the way they were acting as though no one else existed, there hardly seemed any point.
"Muten~" Orihime Inoue whispered against Muten Natsu's lips between breaths. "There's something..."
As she spoke, she reached out to find it.
The Denreishinki rang. Orihime Inoue instinctively raised her head and found herself looking straight into Ririn's eyes. Her already scarlet face instantly looked ready to start steaming.
"The... The Denreishinki is ringing..."
Muten Natsu reluctantly released Orihime Inoue and picked up the Denreishinki.
Orihime Inoue tried to stand, but her legs had no strength. With no choice but to avoid Ririn's gaze, she remained nestled in Muten Natsu's arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck like an ostrich.
Muten Natsu gently stroked her silky hair and opened the Denreishinki.
It was an email from Nayura Amakado, informing him of some information she had uncovered.
The message mainly concerned the man who had murdered Kaname Tōsen's friend, Kakyō.
The Daireishokairō contained an enormous amount of information, some of which had been encrypted through special means. Since the matter was also a disgrace to Central 46, a great deal of the relevant information had been concealed or erased.
Nayura Amakado had spent a considerable amount of time gathering the remaining traces and verifying the missing portions before finally compiling a relatively reliable account.
The murderer had attended the Shin'ō Academy alongside Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake. He had also studied under Yamamoto Genryūsai. During his student days, he had been taciturn and was the least conspicuous of the three.
After murdering Kakyō, his noble status initially allowed him to escape punishment. However, Shunsui Kyōraku reported him, after which Central 46 interrogated him and imprisoned him in the Nest of Maggots. Later, the senior members of his family deemed him a disgrace and placed him under house arrest.
The murderer's name was Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
He belonged to the same clan as Muten Natsu's deceased friend, Takuma Tsunayashiro.
Muten Natsu drew a deep breath and tossed the Denreishinki aside.
"What's wrong?" Sensing the change in his mood, Orihime Inoue lifted her face and looked at him worriedly.
"It's nothing serious." Muten Natsu smiled. "Don't worry."
"Really?"
"Mm." Muten Natsu wrapped his arms around her. "Let's continue."
"I... I'm asleep..." Orihime Inoue buried her face in the crook of his neck again. Remembering what she had just done, she no longer dared to look up.