"Are you hurt?"
"Is this an infirmary?"
"Yes."
"Then yes," I frowned. "And anyway, throwing yourself at children is against the law. Sexual harassment!"
"What?!" Her eyes widened.
"Yes, I am the innocent victim of an attack by a dangerous seductress."
"You little brat!" She grabbed me and started shaking me by the hair. "I'm going to twist your ear off!"
"I don't care about your erotic fantasies," I snapped. I didn't know what came over me, but I really wanted to tease her.
"Well, you're going to get it now," she said, rolling up her sleeve.
But then Isane came in.
"Matsumoto-san, what are you doing?" she exclaimed indignantly. "Let him go—he's only just starting to recover!"
"This parasite is picking on me," the woman pouted.
"Enough. He's just a child."
"All right, all right," she waved her hand dismissively. I turned away."What's your name?"
"I don't know," I muttered.
"You don't know?" she asked in surprise.
"He just arrived, and then the Hollows attacked," Isane replied.
Matsumoto looked embarrassed. Yeah, picking on a kid who just arrived—and died young—wasn't exactly classy.
"Well, you know…" she hesitated. "I'm sorry. Anyway, the influx of souls has slowed down a bit. Looks like the war in the world of the living is over," she said to her friend.
"Yes, Captain Unohana said it would all be over soon," Isane replied.
"What's going on there now?" I asked.
"Well, there's a world war going on in the world of the living," she said. "The second one, I think. Everyone's working flat out right now. Lots of souls are arriving, and there are more and more Hollows."
I didn't say anything. I'd heard that somewhere before. I couldn't remember exactly where. But I knew about the war. It was logical to assume that I died there. That meant I was just another victim of war—and most likely had no family. They were either alive or...
"Can I find my relatives somehow?" I asked. "We're souls, so we should be able to do that, right? Or not?"
"Well," the Shinigami said, embarrassed, "we rarely meet our relatives. The Rukongai is too big, so few people find each other. Ordinary souls can't sense others—only Shinigami are capable of that."
"Then I'd like to become a Shinigami," I decided. "I have nowhere to go and nowhere to return to anyway. All I want is to find out who I am."
"I'm sorry, kid, but that's not possible yet," the blonde stretched lazily. "You need to grow up for five years, then you can enter the Academy. They'll tell you there whether you can become a Shinigami or not."
"Five years, then?"
"Yep."
"Hmm." I sighed heavily. "What's next for me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, they'll heal me, and then what? The Shinigami aren't going to bother with a kid. They'll definitely kick me out somewhere," I said calmly. "I have no illusions, so I just want to know what to prepare for."
They hesitated to answer. Probably, someone like me wasn't really supposed to be treated, but they'd brought me here and healed me anyway. Still, that didn't mean they'd let me stay.
"I'll help," said the red-haired beauty, standing up so abruptly that it startled me. "I have a friend in the Tenth District. I'll ask her to look after you. She needs an assistant in her shop, and you don't seem like the type to turn down work."
"Heh," I chuckled. "Thank you…"
"That is excellent," the girl smiled. "As for your name, I'll call you… Karasumaru."
"Raven?"
"Yes, indeed, you're not quite ready for the big leagues yet.… Kogarasu suits you better."
"Pff… hehehe," Isane giggled into her fist.
"What?" My eye twitched.
"Just kidding, Karasu-chan, just kidding. That's enough for you," she said, ruffling my hair."So, when you get better, we'll talk."
"Well, okay," I shrugged.
"Let's change the bandages," Isane said.
She bandaged me up. I was relieved to see that my eye wasn't lost—it was still there, and I could see perfectly well with it. Good. I'd been getting nervous about that. I didn't have many wounds—just one large cut on my back and a bunch of small ones scattered all over my body.
After bandaging me, they gave me some kind of potion to drink and then put me to bed.
The night passed quietly, except that it felt like someone came in to check on me. It was either Isane or one of the doctors. Sensing someone nearby, I opened my eyes for a moment and saw a figure—then quickly fell asleep again.
* * *
"So, his eye is still there?" Retsu Unohana asked her lieutenant. "Surprising. I was sure it was gone."
"What could this mean, Unohana-taichō?" Kotetsu asked anxiously.
"Only that the boy is capable," she nodded, deciding to think it over herself rather than worry the lieutenant. "I was quite surprised that you brought him to our barracks. After all, you could have treated him on the spot."
"But he's still a child, and—"
"I know," sighed the captain. "I'm not blaming you. But understand—we can't help everyone. I know better than anyone how unfair this world is. Our job is to save lives, but these are difficult times, and some Shinigami may have needed your help instead. That Shinigami might have gone on to save even more lives. I'm not asking you to leave children to die, but you must understand how limited we are. Given the Central's policy, we must be as efficient as possible. There are more and more Hollows every day, and we cannot waste time. Besides, what will we do with him later? We can't keep him."
"Yes, Captain," Isane said sadly. "Matsumoto-san said she would find him a family. He expressed a desire to become a Shinigami, and…"
Retsu smiled faintly at her lieutenant's naivety and kindness. In this rotten, greedy world, people like her were needed—because only they still kept their hearts pure.
"I'll examine the boy tomorrow," she sighed.
She had to check him herself. Who knew what effects the Hollows might have had on him? Besides, according to Isane, the boy was unusually calm and serious, which is rare for children his age. He had just died—and now this. An unusual child, indeed.
"Thank you," Kotetsu nodded and returned to work.