Good morning, my naughty baby.
I'm already back in Soul Society.
I know what you want to do.
But you can't.
I've taught you many things.
Now there's only one final lesson left.
Saying goodbye.
I've always worried that you wouldn't be able to handle matters of the heart on your own.
That's why I stayed by your side.
I wanted to help you.
You've already learned so much.
It's time for me to let go as well.
To let you face this on your own.
Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue are both wonderful girls.
They are people you must never hurt or let down.
And I am a very bad woman.
I took everything that should have belonged to them.
Now it's time to give them back the places that rightfully belong to them.
If you can't make them happy,
then you're not allowed to come looking for me.
I also need some time to deal with a few things.
Do your best to make everyone happy.
Then come stand before me with pride.
Just like you did on the day you graduated.
Unohana
Muten Natsu stared blankly at the familiar handwriting on the letter, his eyes trembling.
What he had felt last night hadn't been wrong.
Even while they were doing something that should have made him happy, Muten Natsu had felt an overwhelming sadness.
Even though they couldn't possibly have been any closer, Muten Natsu had felt himself growing farther and farther away from Retsu Unohana.
Even though he had given her everything, Muten Natsu had felt that Retsu Unohana still wanted more.
It wasn't greed. It was one final act of indulgence.
It was precisely because Muten Natsu had sensed the decision Retsu Unohana had yet to put into words that, at that moment, he had...
Raising a hand to the corner of his eye, Muten Natsu could still feel the tenderness of Retsu Unohana's kiss.
He carefully folded the letter and put it away, then took a deep breath and pulled open the curtains.
That was right. He had already learned so much from Retsu Unohana.
He couldn't keep relying on her forever.
He had to become someone she could rely on instead.
A true adult.
From now on, he wouldn't let anyone treat him like a child again!
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door before Rukia Kuchiki pushed it open. "How long are you planning to stay in bed? You're just like a little kid!"
Muten Natsu: "...I was just about to come out."
At the dining table, Rukia Kuchiki was still complaining to Muten Natsu. "It's all because you kept sleeping in. Did you even know the Captain went back to Soul Society?"
"Yeah." Muten Natsu nodded. "She said she had some things to take care of."
Rukia Kuchiki wrinkled her nose. "I was supposed to go back with her, but you just wouldn't get up."
"You're leaving too?" Orihime Inoue asked. "Is there something urgent?"
"Nothing urgent. It's just routine work," Rukia Kuchiki explained. "Now that the New Year has started, I need to go back and take care of a few things as a Lieutenant, and I also have to report on our previous missions."
"The New Year only just ended." Muten Natsu hadn't expected Rukia Kuchiki to be leaving as well. "Can't you stay and rest for a few more days?"
"I'm already late." Rukia Kuchiki looked a little embarrassed, a faint blush rising to her face. "I was actually supposed to go back once before the New Year..."
The end of the year was always the busiest time, yet she had stayed here to spend Christmas with Muten Natsu and had even prepared for the New Year with him.
Because of the fallout from the Reigai incident, not only Rukia Kuchiki, but Rangiku Matsumoto, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Momo Hinamori, and the Visored had all remained in the World of the Living to avoid any appearance of involvement in the investigation of the Tsunayashiro Clan.
But there was still work waiting for them in Soul Society. They couldn't stay away forever.
The investigation into the Tsunayashiro Clan was already proceeding smoothly. Most of the formalities had been completed, and dedicated personnel would handle the actual implementation from that point onward. The Shinigami of the Gotei 13 would not be involved, so the Shinigami who had remained in the World of the Living had already returned to Soul Society before the New Year.
Rukia Kuchiki had only delayed her departure because she wanted to spend the New Year with Muten Natsu.
Now that the New Year was over, she couldn't put it off any longer.
Muten Natsu thought for a moment. "Then I'll go back with you and help you with the paperwork."
Retsu Unohana had told him not to come looking for her, but she hadn't said he couldn't go to Soul Society.
Worst case, once he got there, Muten Natsu could simply focus on helping Rukia Kuchiki with her official duties and stay away from the 4th Division.
"You'd better not come back with me. You're the person I'm supposed to be monitoring right now. If you help me with my work, someone else will have to go over everything you did all over again." After finishing her meal, Rukia Kuchiki set down her chopsticks and handed Muten Natsu the documents she had prepared earlier. "Take a look and see if there's anything wrong with them."
Muten Natsu opened the documents and found that they were surveillance records on him, basically a daily account of what he had done and who he had come into contact with.
"Shopping... reading at home... studying for exams... the aquarium... When did I ever go to the aquarium?"
"I'm not asking you to check whether it's accurate. I want you to see if there's anything in there that people in Soul Society shouldn't know about, so I can delete it and save us some trouble." Rukia Kuchiki gave a soft snort. "If there's nothing wrong, I'll submit it like this."
Muten Natsu smiled and handed the documents back to Rukia Kuchiki. "There's nothing wrong with it... What kind of surveillance is this?"
Rukia Kuchiki tossed the documents aside in irritation. "And what kind of logic is it to put someone under surveillance right after he saved the world?"
Muten Natsu had defeated Sōsuke Aizen and was a benefactor to all of Soul Society, yet Soul Society had turned around and ordered him to be monitored.
Even if they weren't going to shower him with gratitude, there was no reason to repay a favor with suspicion.
Rukia Kuchiki's surveillance of Muten Natsu was nothing more than a formality, but even that was enough to make her feel that he was being treated unfairly.
"There are all kinds of people in Soul Society. Some are likable, like you, and some are irritating. That's perfectly normal." Muten Natsu didn't seem bothered by it. "Some people can only maintain their pathetic sense of security by doing things like this. We might as well take pity on them and let them have their way."
It was better for them to do something stupid than quietly plot something worse.
"What do you mean, 'likable'..." Rukia Kuchiki sneaked a glance at Orihime Inoue and found her smiling with unmistakable delight.
A faint blush spread across Rukia Kuchiki's face as she turned and stared at Muten Natsu. "You've seemed a little strange for a while now. What's wrong?"
Muten Natsu rubbed his earlobe and instinctively looked away. "Nothing..."
Halfway through the word, the hand rubbing his earlobe suddenly stopped. Muten Natsu could almost feel the lingering warmth of Retsu Unohana's kiss there.
His lips moved slightly. Then Muten Natsu raised his eyes and met Rukia Kuchiki's gaze.
"The Captain left so suddenly that I've been feeling a little empty inside. And now you're leaving too, and you won't even let me go with you... I don't really want to let you go."
"Why are you suddenly saying something like that?! You... are you a child?" Rukia Kuchiki's face turned bright red as she flusteredly avoided Muten Natsu's gaze. "All right... I'll help the Captain with some work while I'm there. We'll try to come back as soon as we can."