"But I never thought it would end up making you feel lonely, Nii-san." Orihime Inoue couldn't stop her voice from breaking. "I'm sorry… Nii-san… I'm really sorry…"
"I know… I know all of it…" The crimson glow in Sora Inoue's eyes faded away. His claws scraped helplessly along the edge of the Hollow hole in his chest, leaving behind ragged scars. "I know you didn't want me to worry. I… I was just scared. Scared that you'd forget me. I don't want to be forgotten…"
"That's why I told you to really look at who she is now," Muten Natsu said quietly, lowering his gaze. "That hairpin. Because it was the first gift you ever gave her, she wears it every day. Orihime… she never forgot you."
"I really didn't notice at all…" Sora Inoue stared at the sky-blue hairpin in Orihime Inoue's hair. At last, he fell silent as the remaining fragments of his Hollow mask peeled away from his face. "I thought she had thrown it away long ago."
What had he done?
"I'm sorry, Natsu. Do it…" Blood mixed with tears streamed down Sora Inoue's face as he grabbed Muten Natsu's Zanpakutō and pressed the blade's tip against his own throat. "I don't want to turn back into what I was before. I don't want to hurt Orihime anymore. Bring Orihime's Nii-san back. Then send Orihime's Nii-san away."
"Nii-san…" Orihime Inoue's voice was faint and trembling.
"Once someone becomes a Hollow, there's no way to return," Rukia Kuchiki said softly. "For Hollows, being cut down by a Zanpakutō purifies their sins and allows their souls to enter Soul Society. That's what we Shinigami exist for."
"Then…" Sora Inoue took one last look at Orihime Inoue. "Goodbye… Orihime…"
Orihime Inoue forced her eyes open wide.
When she had just cut her hair short, Sora Inoue had bought her a hairpin shaped like a six-petaled flower.
She couldn't even explain why herself.
She just didn't like it.
That was the first time she and her Nii-san ever fought.
Before Sora Inoue went out that day, Orihime Inoue hadn't even said goodbye.
Why did it have to be that day?
Maybe saying it back then wouldn't have changed anything.
But Orihime Inoue had always deeply regretted never saying those words to her brother…
"Nii-san…" Looking at Sora Inoue's shattered body, Orihime Inoue finally spoke the words that had been three years too late. "Take care… on your way."
Sora Inoue gave a gentle nod. "…Yeah."
A black Jigokuchō fluttered its wings, carrying away the last trace of Sora Inoue from this world.
"Orihime!" Tatsuki Arisawa suddenly jolted awake. "Run!"
Boom!
From the tubular device in Rukia Kuchiki's hand, a wobbly little duck popped out amid a cloud of smoke.
Tatsuki Arisawa, who had just regained consciousness, promptly fainted again.
"This is a Kikanshinki," Rukia Kuchiki explained to Orihime Inoue. "What just happened was far too strange for her. It's better if she forgets."
"Yours is way cuter than Natsu's…" Orihime Inoue stopped halfway through her sentence, then gasped. "Natsu's injuries!"
Muten Natsu leaned over toward Rukia Kuchiki. "Help me."
Rukia Kuchiki kicked him lightly. "Sit down."
Muten Natsu was far taller than she was. If he stayed standing, she couldn't even reach his wounds.
Muten Natsu sat down obediently. "Is that really how you treat an injured person?"
"So now you remember you're injured?" Rukia Kuchiki adjusted her Reiatsu as she treated him. "You could've ended this quickly earlier. Why did you have to say so much?"
"I'm really weak right now…"
"Did you forget that Kaidō requires replenishing the patient's Reiatsu first? That's why I need to synchronize my Reiatsu with yours." Rukia Kuchiki shot him an annoyed look. "Which means I know exactly how strong you are right now."
"I didn't remember either. You know I've never been good at Kaidō."
"Try changing the subject one more time."
"Other than that last accidental hit, despite all the harsh things Brother Sora said earlier, he never actually hurt Orihime," Muten Natsu said, tugging at the corner of his mouth. "He really went all out on me, but when I blocked that first attack for Orihime, I could tell he was holding back. Even if I hadn't stepped in, he wouldn't have hurt her."
And just as Muten Natsu had predicted, the moment Sora Inoue accidentally injured Orihime Inoue, he almost immediately regained some of his clarity.
"You believe what he did wasn't truly what he wanted," Rukia Kuchiki said softly, biting her lower lip. "And that the things he said weren't his real feelings."
"I just wanted him to say what he actually meant," Muten Natsu replied quietly. "I didn't want him to die as a monster. He shouldn't have died as a monster."
Rukia Kuchiki lifted her gaze. "Speaking from experience?"
In her deep violet eyes, Muten Natsu's face overlapped with the image of a skull mask engulfed in black flames.
The traitor who had slaughtered the Central 46 stood at the center, wielding a horrifying weapon. An old man's complete spine had been twisted by black fire, jagged spikes growing from it as it formed the shape of a long blade.
At the guard, the shriveled skull of the old man continued to wail, its shrill cries eerie and unsettling.
Black flames billowed behind Muten Natsu like a cloak, writhing restlessly. Within them, distorted human figures struggled, packed so densely it was nauseating to behold.
["Rukia Kuchiki!"]
From beneath the skull mask came a voice layered with savage, overlapping roars.
["You captured me once. Do you think you can capture me a second time? Don't delude yourself!"]
["Daring to appear before me… you're courting death!"]
["Regret it… despair… and meet your end in terror!"]
["Your blade failed to kill me back then, so now it's my turn to kill you!"]
["In that endless, boundless darkness, I relived that moment every single second!"]
["The day I see the light again will be the day your soul is completely destroyed!"]
["Die!!!"]
Those memories rose vividly before her eyes. Yet the Muten Natsu standing before Rukia Kuchiki now shifted awkwardly, turning his gaze away to avoid hers.
"Well… who knows," he said.
"Do you realize how incredibly stupid you sounded back then?" Rukia Kuchiki stared at him. "You were just like The Path of Justice in the Seireitei Bulletin. Nobody liked it, but it kept getting serialized anyway thanks to the editor-in-chief's privilege."
"You didn't have to put it that harshly, did you? I thought about it for a long time," Muten Natsu protested. "If you talk about The Path of Justice like that, Captain Tōsen would cry."
"If you think that's harsh, doesn't that mean you also think The Path of Justice is boring?" Rukia Kuchiki snorted. "Besides, the longer you thought about it, the more pathetic it is. And you still have the nerve to say it out loud?"