Just now… was that Muten Natsu?
Ichigo Kurosaki watched as Muten Natsu, dressed in black, slipped into an alley.
No one on the street seemed able to see Muten Natsu.
That alley…
Ichigo Kurosaki kept walking toward where he'd originally been headed, but then it hit him. There had been a little boy's ghost in that alley.
Did Muten Natsu go in there to…
Ichigo Kurosaki didn't hesitate anymore. He spun around and ran into the alley.
All he caught was Muten Natsu's back as he sheathed his katana and walked away.
And the little boy's ghost that had been there was gone.
All that remained were dark spatters of blood on the ground.
Who exactly was Muten Natsu?
What was he doing?
And where was he going now?
Staring in the direction Muten Natsu had left, an image floated up in Ichigo Kurosaki's mind: a little girl with twin ponytails.
There was a girl's ghost over there. Ichigo Kurosaki had promised he'd come see her today.
Could Muten Natsu be…
Ichigo Kurosaki took off running for their meeting spot.
Don't… don't disappear…
He was sick of that powerless feeling—
He stopped short, his ragged breathing catching for a split second.
At the corner by the utility pole was where he and the girl had agreed to meet.
She'd died in a traffic accident, and ever since then she'd been crouched there, crying.
She was about the same age as Ichigo Kurosaki's sister, and he couldn't stand watching her like that. He'd been the one to speak to her first, and only then had she finally stopped crying.
They'd agreed to meet here again.
But now, there was only spattered blood.
Not again…
Ichigo Kurosaki unzipped his backpack and took out the bouquet he'd wrapped up inside.
He'd planned to buy a bottle of water when he passed a shop, stick the flowers in it, and leave it here.
That way, the flowers could keep the kid company for a few more days.
But she wasn't here anymore.
Even though… she'd been gone a long time already.
Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't find words for what he was feeling. He just bit down hard on his lower lip.
"Big brother?"
A voice rang out.
Ichigo Kurosaki stared toward it, hardly believing what he saw. It was the very girl he'd promised to meet.
"You…" He paused, and a faint smile tugged at his lips. "I came, just like I said I would."
"I knew you'd come!" The little girl threw herself at Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Aren't you usually here?" Ichigo Kurosaki rubbed her hair gently. "Where'd you go just now?"
"A monster tried to eat me!" The girl tilted her head up. "I just kept running and running, and then I met a big brother in black clothes. After that, the monster disappeared."
"A big brother in black clothes?" Ichigo Kurosaki's mind flashed to Muten Natsu's back. "And then?"
"He said… he was going to send me to another world."
"What?!" Ichigo Kurosaki jolted. "He was going to kill you?!"
"No, not like that. He was going to help me move on," the little girl said. "But I promised you I'd meet you here today, so I talked to him. He said he'll come back tomorrow."
"Tomorrow…" Ichigo Kurosaki murmured. Then he lifted the flowers in his hand. "Then this will be a goodbye gift."
The little girl reached out. "Thank you, big brother~"
Her half-transparent hand passed straight through the bouquet.
The little girl's expression dimmed for an instant, then she flashed a huge smile again. "I almost forgot—I'm a ghost now. Big brother, just leave the flowers here. If this is going to be the last thing left behind, flowers are a lot prettier than bloodstains."
"…Yeah." Ichigo Kurosaki set the bouquet down carefully and stood, still smiling. "I—"
He'd barely started when something familiar flickered into view at the edge of his vision.
Muten Natsu, dressed in black, stood perched on top of the wall. Cold light flared in his dark eyes beneath soft black hair.
He dropped down in a single motion, drew the long blade at his waist, and slashed straight at the little girl.
In that split second, Ichigo Kurosaki snatched the girl up and dove to the side. They hit the ground and rolled twice before he sprang back to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"So that's what it is," Muten Natsu said, eyes narrowing. "This doesn't concern you. Stay away from her."
Ichigo Kurosaki shoved the girl behind him. "What did you just say?"
Muten Natsu had clearly tried to cut the girl down. There was no way Ichigo Kurosaki was going to stand aside.
"Don't be scared," Ichigo Kurosaki said, tilting his head toward her. "I'll protect—"
Before he could finish, Muten Natsu was already in motion.
Ichigo Kurosaki threw a punch on instinct, but Muten Natsu slipped past it with ease.
Muten Natsu caught Ichigo Kurosaki by the wrist and yanked hard, pulling him off-balance.
A razor-sharp claw swept past Ichigo Kurosaki's cheek, missing by a hair.
Ichigo Kurosaki's pupils snapped tight.
That attack… came from behind him.
He looked back at the little girl. She stared up at him, confused. "Big brother?"
Behind her, in a shadow that was thinner than any normal person's, a sharp claw pushed out, planted against the ground, and levered itself up.
Like something hauling itself out of water, a lanky monster crawled out of the girl's shadow.
A bone-white mask covered its face, and in the center of its humanoid chest yawned a hole that went straight through.
Ichigo Kurosaki stumbled back into a steadier stance. "What… is that?"
"A Hollow that feeds on Souls." Muten Natsu swung his Zanpakutō down.
"Don't move." The Hollow's needle-sharp claw pressed against the little girl's throat.
Muten Natsu stopped his blade mid-swing, forcing it to a halt.
The Shadow Hollow glared at him. "How did you find me?"
"This should be the fourth time we've crossed paths." Muten Natsu lifted his Zanpakutō slightly, the blade catching light as it shifted. "The first was when you'd just arrived in the World of the Living. You chased that kid all over the place, and the moment I showed up, you hid in the shadows. Noon was the second time—same situation. Just now was the third."
"I kept wondering… if you're so fast I can't catch you, how did the three Souls you went after manage to survive?" Muten Natsu's gaze slid toward Ichigo Kurosaki. "Then I saw him, and it all made sense. You're… picky."
Compared to ordinary Souls, Hollows preferred Souls with higher spiritual density.
Those Souls didn't just satisfy hunger. They also gave a Hollow a noticeable boost in power.
Souls cast shadows too—some dark, some faint.
And the Shadow Hollow hid inside those shadows.
It would frighten Souls into panicked flight.
People with high spiritual density could see Souls. Once a terrified Soul started running around, whoever noticed that panic became the Shadow Hollow's real target.
It used low-density Souls as bait, luring high-density prey to feed on.
"If you run into a Shinigami, you slip away through the shadows and avoid a head-on fight," Muten Natsu said, laying out the Shadow Hollow's pattern. "I'll give you that—among Hollows, you're in the top tier for being sly. Too bad you weren't as good at hiding as you thought."