"Huh?" Rukia Kuchiki was a little surprised. She had assumed Isane Kotetsu was doing it wrong. "Try imagining that you want to pull him toward you while pouring in your own Reiatsu."
Muten Natsu also tried directing Heaven's Will's mist toward Isane Kotetsu, but no matter what he did, he couldn't establish a connection.
Isane Kotetsu tried her best for quite a while, but the pure white mist merely swirled around her without reacting. She looked helplessly toward her Captain. "Am I doing something wrong?"
"It's not your fault." Retsu Unohana shook her head. "You and Muten simply aren't close enough."
"Ah..." Isane Kotetsu looked pitifully at Muten Natsu. She had watched him grow up, after all. Hearing her Captain say that, especially when it seemed to be true, inevitably left her feeling a little...
Muten Natsu added matter-of-factly, "They're my girlfriends."
"Ah~" Isane Kotetsu immediately understood. "In that case, I really am not as close as she..." Her voice suddenly stopped. Her gaze moved from Rukia Kuchiki to Orihime Inoue, then finally settled on Retsu Unohana. "...they are?"
"You!" Rukia Kuchiki pinched Muten Natsu hard.
Why did this guy tell everyone he met?
It was as if he couldn't wait for the whole world to know about their relationship.
Well... she supposed that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
But saying it so openly...
Orihime Inoue's face reddened, and she giggled twice.
"I was talking about closeness in terms of power," Retsu Unohana explained without the slightest change in expression. "Orihime's abilities awakened under the influence of Muten's Soul Essence Stealing. Rukia grew up in Muten's arms, so naturally she was influenced by him as well. I've also passed a great deal of my own power on to him."
Retsu Unohana spoke of it casually, but the reality had been far more complicated and far more harrowing.
When Muten Natsu left Soul Society back then, his spiritual body had been on the verge of collapse from excessive use of the Hell's Karmic Flames.
Retsu Unohana had used Minazuki to heal him, and within that pool of blood, Muten Natsu had gone through death and rebirth countless times.
Later, during the Battle of Karakura Town, Retsu Unohana had killed Muten Natsu over and over inside the Dangai while simultaneously healing him and transferring her own power into him.
In a sense, one could even say that what flowed through Muten Natsu's body was Retsu Unohana's... blood, transfused into him.
Every bone and every muscle in Muten Natsu's body had been restored by Retsu Unohana.
"It's because your powers are so close that this kind of connection can form." As Retsu Unohana spoke, she severed the connection between the strands of mist, then reestablished it. "In other words, while this connection is the most obvious manifestation of the ability, it's actually an unexpected bonus."
The connection itself was not the true essence of Heaven's Will's ability. It was merely a derivative effect.
If there were no one whose power was so closely linked to Muten Natsu's, Heaven's Will would most likely manifest as mist surrounding his body, nullifying the special nature of an enemy's Reiatsu.
It was only because Retsu Unohana, Orihime Inoue, and Rukia Kuchiki were three such unique existences that the mist, capable of disregarding the nature of Reiatsu, could establish these special connections and allow power to be transferred through them.
"No wonder..." Isane Kotetsu had just been thinking that Muten Natsu's Heaven's Will seemed absurdly powerful. After hearing Retsu Unohana's explanation, it finally seemed a little more reasonable.
Muten Natsu closed his eyes and entered his inner world.
After Bokukō and Myōki left, only emptiness had remained.
Now, however, the space was filled with hazy mist.
"Is that how it works?" Muten Natsu asked.
{Yes}
Muten Natsu: "..."
And then?
That was it?
...That really was it.
Muten Natsu opened his eyes helplessly.
Once he got Bokukō and Myōki back, he would figure out a way to communicate properly with Heaven's Will.
He would put all three of them through a joint interrogation. He refused to believe Heaven's Will wouldn't talk then.
Now that they had figured out Heaven's Will's abilities and filled their stomachs, it was time to rest.
"You sleep with the Captain." Rukia Kuchiki took Orihime Inoue by the hand. "Orihime and I have something to talk about."
"I can listen in," Muten Natsu suggested. "I'll try not to say anything. How about it?"
Rukia Kuchiki put on a stern expression. "What do you think?"
"Come on~" Orihime Inoue gently pushed Muten Natsu away. "It's girl talk. If you're listening, we'll be too embarrassed to say anything." She glanced meaningfully toward Retsu Unohana. "You need to take good care of Unohana-san too. Good luck!"
His girlfriend, who was going to sleep with his other girlfriend, was cheering him on as he pursued another girlfriend.
Hmm... not complicated at all.
The night was quiet, and the room was familiar.
Beneath the warm covers, Retsu Unohana lay on her side and gazed at Muten Natsu beside her. "I didn't expect you to come see me so soon."
She had prepared herself for a long wait.
Yet not even two days had passed before Muten Natsu appeared before her.
Just as she had written in her letter, he had made both Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue happy, then proudly come to stand before her.
Of course, Retsu Unohana knew what Muten Natsu was like.
Once he made up his mind to do something, he would always do everything he could to do it well.
Even so, his decisiveness had caught her somewhat off guard.
The lingering afterglow from before had yet to fully fade, while the longing that had sprung up after they parted was already becoming unbearable. And at this delicate, dangerous moment...
Muten Natsu was in her bed.
"I came to correct one mistake in your letter." Muten Natsu wrapped an arm around Retsu Unohana's soft waist, his intense gaze fixed on her glistening eyes. "You're not the one who's bad. I am. I took advantage of how much you liked me and did whatever I wanted, leaving you to blame yourself. I relied on how much you spoiled me and kept depending on you, making you suffer. I've already taken so much from you, yet I still wanted more. I kept greedily asking for more, making you..."
Retsu Unohana placed a pale fingertip against Muten Natsu's lips. The corners of her mouth curled upward, amusement reaching her eyes. "It seems to me that you're the one who's always having things taken from him~"
Muten Natsu's face flushed. He buried his head against Retsu Unohana and protested in a muffled voice, "I was really getting into it..."
"My fault~" Retsu Unohana stroked Muten Natsu's head. "Go on. I'll listen carefully this time and won't interrupt."
Muten Natsu lifted his head. "Really?"
"Mm." Retsu Unohana chuckled softly. "Of course."
"Ahem!" Muten Natsu cleared his throat twice, opened his mouth, and struggled for quite a while, but he still couldn't continue.
"...Forget it."
Retsu Unohana shifted slightly. "You were doing so well just now. Keep going."
Muten Natsu tried again.
"...Never mind."
"Well then... if you're not going to use that little mouth of yours..." Retsu Unohana parted her lips slightly. "I'll start enjoying it myself."
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