"Rukia," inside Muten Natsu's home, Orihime Inoue watched the green light on Rukia Kuchiki's hand fade and asked anxiously, "How is Muten now?"
The two of them had sensed the abnormal fluctuation in Muten Natsu's Reiatsu while at home. When they rushed over, they saw the black flames on his body extinguish and his shattered form collapse to the ground, and immediately brought him back.
"I don't know…" Rukia Kuchiki bit down on her lower lip.
Even setting aside the abnormality in Muten Natsu's chest, his condition was already extremely dire.
Where the black flames had once filled in the damage, their disappearance left behind horrifying, gaping wounds. Though his shape was still human, his body now looked as if many pieces were missing, like a barely assembled puzzle.
"This is as far as my Kaidō can go." Rukia Kuchiki carefully placed the unconscious Muten Natsu into the Gigai, hoping it would help him recover faster. "The rest… he'll have to manage on his own."
A deep sense of helplessness welled up inside Orihime Inoue, and she pressed her lips tightly together.
At least Rukia Kuchiki could do this much. She herself could do nothing at all.
She had always avoided Muten Natsu's past. Even though he never brought it up himself, she could tell from Rukia Kuchiki's reactions that it wasn't something pleasant.
But now, she wanted to know more.
Even if she couldn't help, she wanted to understand Muten Natsu's pain and face it together with him.
"Just now…" Orihime Inoue took a deep breath. "That black flame… was it also a Shinigami's power?"
"No." Rukia Kuchiki frowned. "That was forbidden power."
Forbidden power released in order to protect her.
Rukia Kuchiki stayed by Muten Natsu's side, telling Orihime Inoue about events from a long, long time ago.
Perhaps hearing her voice, the dreams of the unconscious Muten Natsu began to surface with fragments of the past.
...
Soul Society, South Rukongai, 78th District — Inuzuri.
Muten Natsu leaned lazily against a tree trunk, sitting on the grass. He tugged at his patched-up clothes and looked at the children bustling around the wooden hut.
"This feels great~"
The scene reminded him of his previous life, eating watermelon while watching his juniors suffer through military training.
"Muten," one of the children complained, "can't you rest somewhere else?"
"No." Muten Natsu rolled his eyes. "I worked from before dawn till after dark to finish my tasks, just so I could enjoy the shade and watch you all struggle right now."
"So you're not even hiding it anymore."
"At least pretend a little."
"Figures it'd be you."
"Watch out, bugs might fall from the tree!"
The children chattered noisily as they continued building the house.
"When I'm done, I'm going to lie there too."
"Muten, why don't you just make summer disappear? It'd be cooler that way."
Muten Natsu rolled his eyes again.
"Just because my name is Muten Natsu doesn't mean I can actually make summer disappear."
"Then why are you called Muten Natsu?"
"My dad's name was Natsu. Not long after I was born, he died." Muten Natsu's gaze drifted into the distance. "So my name is Muten Natsu."
"So that means Muten's dad came here earlier than you?"
A complicated expression, far beyond what his age should have held, crossed Muten Natsu's face.
"Who knows…"
This was the world after death — Soul Society.
Already an adult in his previous life, Muten Natsu died unexpectedly and was reborn as a child in Soul Society. It took him a long time to gain even a basic understanding of this strange world.
Those who had died came here with the help of Shinigami to begin new lives. Most people — or rather, most souls — didn't feel hunger, didn't need food, and could survive simply by drinking water.
Even though survival had become much easier, conflict between people never truly stopped.
In this area, where water was scarce, adults were either bandits or murderers, while children struggled to survive like wild dogs.
With the appearance of a child and the mind of an adult, the adolescent Muten Natsu successfully rose to become the leader of the children.
They looked out for one another, endured a long stretch of hardship, and life finally became a little more bearable.
From here on out, they would keep working toward a better future.
Mm… Muten Natsu shifted against the large tree, twisting slightly to settle into a more comfortable position.
After the break ended—
A girl with short, upturned hair stood in front of him, her small frame blocking his view.
"Break's over."
"Rukia…" Muten Natsu wriggled a couple of times like a grub, making space beside him.
"Come on, sit here."
"Get up already." Rukia planted her hands on her hips, deep purple eyes full of disdain as she nudged Muten Natsu's leg with her dusty little foot. "We're running out of planks."
"That fast?"
"And whose fault do you think that is?" Rukia shot back. "You're lying around here provoking them, so they're working themselves to the bone."
"Ah—wuu~" Muten Natsu stood up at a leisurely pace and stretched deeply. The sleepiness in his eyes finally faded a little as he brushed the dust off his clothes. "That was my real goal, actually."
"Yes, yes, of course." Rukia pushed him from behind, urging him to move faster. "You're amazing~"
The houses along the street were all occupied by adults. To keep the water they collected from being stolen, the children had no choice but to find a more secluded place and build their own shelter.
Without proper tools, making planks was difficult. Only the slightly older Muten Natsu was able to handle the job.
He straddled one end of the tree trunk and hammered an iron wedge near the cross-section. The wood slowly began to split. He struck the wedge again with the mallet, driving it deeper.
Then he hammered a wooden wedge in beside it to widen the crack. Once that was done, the iron wedge could be removed easily. By repeating the same process over and over, an entire trunk could be split into usable planks.
Rukia sat on a wooden stump nearby, helping him process the separated boards.
Like the other children, her clothes were full of patches, all sewn on by Muten Natsu.
Unlike the others, though just as busy, Rukia carried herself with a distinct, almost elegant air.
Her deep purple eyes were focused and bright. Her movements fell into rhythm with the steady thuds of Muten Natsu's hammer, her slender wrists washed in the glow of the setting sun.
Just as Muten Natsu finished splitting another log, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps.
Several children came running from the distance. They had been sent to collect water. The one in front was noticeably larger than the others, his vivid red hair standing out at a glance.
They rushed up to Muten Natsu, panting and visibly flustered.
"Something's wrong!"
"Just now, over on the street…"
"We—"