"Don't rush." Muten Natsu pointed at the redhead. "Renji, you tell us."
Red-haired Renji looked frustrated. "The water we collected was taken by an adult over on the street."
"He dared steal our water?"
"Damn it!"
The children who had been repairing the house gathered around at once.
"Were you hurt?"
"Let's go take it back!"
"Teach him a lesson!"
"Let's go now!"
"Kids shouldn't lower themselves to adults," Muten Natsu said, clapping his hands. "Alright, alright. It's time to drink water. Everyone, put your tools away."
All the water they collected was pooled together and distributed evenly. If there was extra, they stored it. If there was less, everyone drank a little less.
That way, even if they failed to find water one day, everyone would still have something to drink, instead of dying of thirst like before.
"Muten…" One of the children licked the chipped edge of a clay bowl, still unsatisfied. "We've already saved up quite a bit. Can't we drink a little more today?"
"No." Rukia, who was handing out the water, spoke first. "What if none of us find water tomorrow?"
The child licked the bowl again. "If only we could go to Seireitei. I heard they drink water from golden bowls there, and they even have hot porridge."
Seireitei…
Muten Natsu looked off into the distance.
Seireitei was the central stronghold of Soul Society, a place where only Shinigami and nobles were allowed to live.
A world completely different from Rukongai.
"If I could go to Seireitei, I'd drink a bowl of hot porridge and pour out another!"
"Idiot, don't waste it. Give it to me!"
"If you're giving it to anyone, give it to Muten!"
The children burst into excited chatter.
"I'll drink one bowl, give Muten one, and give Rukia two!"
"Hey, hey," Muten Natsu protested. "Why do I only get one bowl?"
"Then you don't get any." Rukia snorted lightly. "You're too lazy to eat anyway."
Muten Natsu sighed helplessly. "I'm not lazy to that extent, alright…"
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Renji, who had stayed silent the whole time.
"Don't take it to heart." Muten Natsu walked over and nudged Renji with his elbow. "Who hasn't had their water stolen before? You're the only one brooding over it."
"I…" Renji opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but couldn't find the words.
"Alright, tell me." Muten Natsu smiled. "Do you remember what the guy who took your water looked like? We'll avoid him in the future."
"It was on the eastern street…" Renji described him through clenched teeth. "Bald, gap-toothed, a little mustache, a scar on his chin, and he was carrying a…"
A kama.
Muten Natsu's gaze lingered on the kama for a moment before shifting to the water bag at the man's waist.
That was Renji's.
Night fell. The other children were already fast asleep when Muten Natsu returned to the area where Renji had been robbed and found the mustached man sleeping in a ramshackle grass hut.
Muten Natsu was lazy. Compared to the trouble of avoiding the mustached man, he much preferred giving him a lesson so that the man would avoid him instead.
He carefully surveyed the surroundings, thinking through how to act and how to get away.
"Hey."
The sudden voice startled him. He forced down the urge to cry out and turned to the red-haired boy behind him, lowering his voice.
"Why are you here?"
"I knew you'd come." Renji glanced toward the grass hut. "I'm the one who lost the water. How could I not come along for revenge?"
Muten Natsu had planned to act alone, but now that Renji was here, he couldn't very well send him back. He pointed to the corner of the hut.
"See that straw rope?"
"Yeah!"
"I'll go inside and grab the water bag. Once I've got it, you cut the rope. The hut will collapse, and we'll run."
"Leave it to me!"
Renji crept quietly toward the rope.
Once Renji was in position, Muten Natsu moved in on the mustached man.
Just as he expected, the water bag was tied tightly to the man's belt. There was no way to steal it quietly. So the only option was…
Muten Natsu grabbed the water bag, yanked hard, then turned and bolted.
"Huh…? What—?" The mustached man jolted awake and immediately reached for his waist. "Damn it!!!"
He scrambled up from the straw mat, glaring at Muten Natsu's retreating back.
"Give it back! You little brat! That water was hard-earned loot! Stop right there!"
Boom!
He had barely taken a step when the collapsing grass hut came crashing down, burying him underneath.
"Aaaaargh—!" The mustached man crawled out of the weeds, clutching his kama. "Aaaah… you're dead! Even if you give it back, it won't matter! I'm going to kill you!"
"Split up!" Muten Natsu shook the water bag in his hand, slowing down as he changed direction.
The mustached man spotted the water bag. Seeing that Muten Natsu was running slower, he decisively gave up on Renji, whose hair was far more noticeable, and sped after Muten Natsu instead.
The gap between them closed fast. As he chased, the mustached man began thinking about how he was going to torture this damn brat once he got the water bag back.
He reached out for the back of Muten Natsu's neck, a savage grin spreading across his face.
Then he saw the mocking smile on Muten Natsu's face.
Muten Natsu dropped his center of gravity. In the quick bend and spring of his legs, he burst forward, instantly widening the distance and sprinting toward the woods.
He'd slowed down on purpose, luring the mustached man into pursuit to buy Renji time to escape.
Now that Renji had gotten away, there was no reason for Muten Natsu to keep playing with him.
He'd gotten the water bag back and even brought down the man's grass hut. Muten Natsu was satisfied and intended to slip away through the dense trees.
Realizing he'd been played, the mustached man's anger exploded. With a violent swing of his arm, he hurled the kama.
The wind screamed behind him. Muten Natsu instinctively stopped short. The spinning kama reflected in his wide eyes as it skimmed past the tip of his nose and thunked into a tree trunk.
If he hadn't dodged…
His heart hammered wildly. Fine threads of red crept across the whites of his eyes, and a dark haze stirred beneath his skin.
As the mustached man closed in, Muten Natsu didn't keep running. He reached for the kama buried in the tree.
Thud!
A wooden stick abruptly appeared in front of the mustached man's feet. Caught completely off guard, he went down hard, face-first.
"Damn it!" he cursed, scrambling to get up.
Rukia cracked him twice with the stick, then rushed to Muten Natsu, grabbed his wrist, and yanked him into the small grove.
Only when the mustached man's resentful shouting faded away completely did they stop. Both of them bent over with their hands on their knees, panting, before dropping to the ground with a heavy thump, utterly spent.
"You…" Muten Natsu still hadn't caught his breath. "How… did you… get here?"