Orihime Inoue stared at Tatsuki Arisawa in disbelief.
Tatsuki Arisawa raised an eyebrow. "Did I hit the mark?"
"Mhm!" Orihime Inoue nodded vigorously, like a little bird pecking at grain. "Tatsuki-chan, you're amazing! How did you know?"
"Isn't this kind of plot everywhere in TV dramas?"
"Is it?" Orihime tilted her head, trying to remember.
"You watch comedy variety shows like Laugh Point all the time. Of course you wouldn't notice the usual drama tropes."
"Laugh Point only airs on Sunday evenings."
"That's not the point," Tatsuki Arisawa said, pulling the conversation back on track. "What matters is how you feel."
"How I feel?"
"The person you were so familiar with suddenly feels like a stranger because someone else appeared. You even start doubting whether you ever really understood him. And then there's the tacit understanding between the two of them. It makes you feel like they're driving away in a car called 'the past,' leaving you behind."
Tacit understanding.
Orihime Inoue thought of the moment when Rukia Kuchiki had been explaining a Shinigami's duties. With just a glance from her, Muten Natsu had immediately handed over the paper and pen.
And the same thing had happened again today while they were cleaning.
They never talked about the past, yet it undeniably gave the present them a certain special atmosphere.
An atmosphere she couldn't step into.
Like she was being left behind...
Wait.
Orihime Inoue looked up. "An illusion?"
"What else could it be?" Tatsuki Arisawa said. "Do you really think they could just use their shared past to abandon you?"
Orihime Inoue hugged her knees and stayed silent.
She really had been left behind.
In a very literal sense.
"Actually, when Muten first came to the dojo to train, I already knew he didn't need to learn anything there."
"Huh?" It was the first time Orihime Inoue had heard this.
"He looks lazy, but he's clearly had professional training. Even without learning karate, three or five ordinary people wouldn't be able to get near him."
"Then why did he...?"
"For you." Tatsuki Arisawa's gaze fell on Orihime Inoue's long orange hair.
When Orihime had just started middle school, a third-year senior said she hated the sight of her hair and cut it off.
Orihime Inoue had no choice but to cut the rest of her hair to make it even.
Not long after that, Sora Inoue died in a car accident.
Quiet, withdrawn, and all alone, she became an easy target for upperclassmen who wanted to assert their authority.
That was when Tatsuki Arisawa first met Orihime Inoue.
She scolded others loudly to push Orihime to find the courage to resist, and stood in front of her whenever she was needed.
There were still people who came looking for trouble, but at least Orihime Inoue was no longer alone.
Then, on the very first day Muten Natsu transferred to the school.
He sent three upperclassmen to the hospital, one of them badly hurt.
The incident caused a huge uproar, and Muten Natsu was taken away.
Fortunately, he had only counterattacked once and hadn't continued pursuing them, so it was ruled as self-defense.
"He came to me because he wanted to learn how to teach people a lesson without making too big a scene." Even now, Tatsuki Arisawa found it hard to believe. "He learned karate in three days, then spent a week beating up every delinquent around."
"The most famous one was probably that incident at Mashiba Middle School."
"No wonder he was always in such a hurry back then..." Orihime Inoue murmured. "I didn't even know..."
Only now did she realize that after that, nobody ever came looking for trouble with her or Tatsuki again.
"Thinking about it is honestly kind of depressing," Tatsuki Arisawa said with a sigh. "While I was busy dealing with that bunch of losers who had nothing better to do, he went straight to the source and solved the problem in one go."
Orihime Inoue let out a soft laugh. "That's just how Muten is."
Because he was lazy, he preferred solutions that would end everything once and for all.
"See?" Tatsuki Arisawa pointed out. "You found out about a past you didn't know, but your reaction is completely different. He's still the same guy he's always been."
Orihime Inoue blinked, then suddenly understood. "You're right."
"We can't change the past, but we're not living in it either." Tatsuki Arisawa rubbed Orihime Inoue's hair hard. "Instead of worrying about how the past affects the present, think about how to make a better future."
Orihime Inoue looked a little dazed. "How do we make it?"
Tatsuki Arisawa swept a hand toward the river. "Drive it!"
"Huh?" Orihime Inoue remembered what Tatsuki Arisawa had said earlier about the [car called the past], and she immediately got what she meant. "Right! Muten and Rukia have a past, and Muten and I have a past too. If they can drive a car called the past, then so can I."
A scene flashed through Orihime Inoue's mind: her and Rukia Kuchiki drag racing, while Muten Natsu bounced wildly left and right in the car.
So... so dangerous!
"I mean, you're all living together already, so just get straight to the point," Tatsuki Arisawa said, gesturing at her own chest. "Just press yourself up against him and it'll be settled instantly!"
"T-T-T-T-Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime Inoue's face went red, and she could barely form words.
"But you're not wrong," Tatsuki Arisawa said as she stood up, brushing grass off her pants. "Anyway, just look forward—ugh!"
Her voice cut off abruptly.
A huge purplish-red hand seized her head and slammed her hard into the grass.
"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime Inoue rammed her shoulder into the purplish-red arm, forcing it away. She grabbed the unconscious Tatsuki Arisawa and stumbled backward.
Only then did she finally see the monster that had appeared out of nowhere.
It was massive, with a human-like upper body and a snake-like lower half. A circular hole gaped in its chest. Its face was covered by a pale mask with bared teeth, and its eyes glowed crimson.
This was... a Hollow!
"Tatsuki-chan! Wake up!" Orihime Inoue cried as she retreated, clutching Tatsuki Arisawa. "Tatsuki-chan!"
"Orihime... why are you only looking at her?" The Hollow's voice layered over a low, rumbling snarl. "Look at me more."
"What did you say?" Orihime Inoue's pupils shrank sharply. "How do you know my name?"
"You... can't even recognize my voice anymore?" The red light in the Hollow's eyes trembled as its purplish-red claws slammed down. "That hurts, Orihime!"
The wind from the strike rushed at her. Orihime Inoue didn't have time to dodge, so she could only turn and shield Tatsuki Arisawa in her arms.
A cold flash of light.
A sharp blade cut toward the Hollow's head.
The Hollow forcibly halted its downward strike, twisting its snake tail to jerk its body aside.
The blade in Muten Natsu's hand sliced across the Hollow's mask, but it wasn't a killing blow.
They had just finished eliminating the Hollow at the Kasasaki District Kanpaku Supermarket when Rukia Kuchiki received a new order.
Muten Natsu had rushed over the moment he saw Orihime Inoue being attacked. In the scramble, he couldn't build up strength properly, and both his power and speed fell short.
Rukia Kuchiki moved to Tatsuki Arisawa's side and checked her injuries.
"Ah... so you're here too." The Hollow's voice trembled. Its mask cracked apart, revealing half a human face. "Muten Natsu."
Muten Natsu recognized that face.
"Sora?"