"Hey, hey! Why are you being so damn annoying?!"
The Fourth Division's general treatment station was unusually noisy. Several burly Eleventh Division squad members were shouting at the top of their lungs.
"I already told you I'm fine!"
"You're making this very hard for me..." a Fourth Division member said helplessly, holding a medical chart.
"So damn annoying!"
Several Eleventh Division members looked fierce.
"Keep yapping and I'll peel your skin off!"
"I'll kill you!"
"So loud..."
A newly assigned Fourth Division member at the entrance looked over curiously.
"Who are those people?"
"That's the Eleventh Division," the older members explained all at once.
"They've always been like this."
"Them again..."
"This is bad..." One of the veteran members suddenly stiffened.
"You're just some Fourth Division guy!" the red-haired Eleventh Division member shouted even louder. "And you think you can tell me what to do..."
Tap.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"You all seem pretty energetic."
"Uh..."
The squad member who had been acting so arrogantly a moment ago turned his head with difficulty.
"Na... Seated Officer Natsu... y-you... hello, sir."
"Why are they that scared?" came the whispers from the Fourth Division.
"Strength, obviously."
"Muten Natsu trained in the Eleventh Division for quite a long time."
"He may not know healing techniques, but back when he was in the Fourth Division, nobody dared cause trouble."
"He was even an unofficial seated officer in the Eleventh Division before."
"That's just how the Eleventh Division is. They respect strength like crazy."
Muten Natsu's gaze was cold.
"How are your bodies recovering?"
"W... we feel pretty good now."
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Really good!"
"I think your brains still need to be checked."
Muten Natsu patted the red-haired man on the shoulder.
"Otherwise, you wouldn't be shouting in the place that holds your lives in its hands, right?"
"Right, right!"
"Seated Officer Natsu is absolutely right."
"We'll go back and lie down right away."
"Rest our brains a little more."
"Muten," said Harunobu Ogidou, the Eighth Seat of the Fourth Division, greeting him. "Is your body all right now?"
"Yeah."
Muten Natsu nodded.
"I'm heading out for a bit."
As for where he was going...
"Woooooahhhhhh!!! No... I can't do it anymore!"
Ganju Shiba screamed miserably.
"Big Sis! I seriously can't do this anymore!"
"Cut the crap! You've still got a thousand left!"
Kūkaku Shiba mercilessly stepped on her younger brother, who was in the middle of doing push-ups.
"Keep going!"
"A... a thousand?! No way, Big Sis!"
"What do you mean no way?!"
"I can only count to fifty, aaaaaahhh!"
Ganju Shiba howled as his sister kept him pinned under her foot.
"Quit bullshitting! I already heard you were completely useless back there, you embarrassing idiot!"
Kūkaku Shiba pressed down harder with her foot.
"For next time, I'm going to train you into a real man! A man who fights on the battlefield to the very last moment!"
"Ow, ow, ow... my injuries still aren't healed yet!"
"They're just flesh wounds!"
Kūkaku Shiba showed no mercy.
"Get up!"
"N... no! Don't step on me anymore!"
"I'll stop when you get up!"
"How am I supposed to get up when you're standing on me?!"
Ganju Shiba suddenly felt the weight on his back disappear. A little surprised, he looked at Kūkaku Shiba, then followed her gaze and saw Muten Natsu.
Kūkaku Shiba's eyes were unfriendly.
"What are you here for?"
"B... Big Sis!"
Ganju Shiba sprang to his feet at once.
"Actually, it's like this. After that, then this happened, and in the end..."
"Even if you can't explain it clearly, I already know."
Kūkaku Shiba stared at Muten Natsu.
"That's exactly why I'm asking you... what are you here for?"
"Thank you very much for all the care Kaien-aniki gave me over the years."
Muten Natsu saw Kaien Shiba's bright, open smile flash before his eyes.
The next instant, that face was covered in blood.
"I'm sorry. I was the one who killed him."
"Ganju."
Kūkaku Shiba called her brother's name, but her eyes never left Muten Natsu.
"What are you going to do?"
"S... Sis?"
Kūkaku Shiba glared.
"I'm asking you a question!"
"I... I don't know..."
"The killer is standing right in front of you, and you're telling me you don't know?"
Kūkaku Shiba's voice turned harsh.
"Or are you hesitating, wondering whether one apology from him is enough to forgive him?"
"But Big Sis..."
Ganju Shiba clenched his fists.
"It really wasn't his fault... he... I..."
"Have you forgotten how Aniki took care of you? Have you forgotten the pain of the days without him?"
Kūkaku Shiba shot him a hard look.
"A man of the Shiba family always takes revenge for a grudge!"
"But he's not the one who really killed Aniki! If we want revenge, we should be going after Aizen..."
"Did you hear that?"
Kūkaku Shiba said, looking at Muten Natsu.
"That is the decision of a man of the Shiba Clan."
Muten Natsu looked at Kūkaku Shiba.
"I'm really sorr..."
Bang!
Kūkaku Shiba swung her fist down onto Muten Natsu's head.
"This is the choice of the Shiba Clan Lady! I absolutely refuse your apology! He did nothing wrong mentoring his juniors. He did nothing wrong avenging his lover and his subordinates. He did nothing wrong dying in the line of duty as a Shinigami. And there was nothing wrong with the things he taught you or the things you accomplished together!"
Her voice grew sharper with every word.
"What right do you have to apologize? Why are you apologizing? Are you insulting him?"
"Y... yes..."
Kūkaku Shiba grabbed Muten Natsu's face and squeezed his cheeks.
"Try apologizing again."
Muten Natsu looked at Kūkaku Shiba. There were faint traces of Kaien Shiba in her features.
He quietly closed his mouth.
"He really was right about you."
Kūkaku Shiba stared at him for a long moment.
"You're such a stubborn little brat."
"Kaien-aniki..."
"Yeah. He mentioned you a lot."
Kūkaku Shiba snorted.
"A foolish kid who thought he could carry everything on his own."
For a moment, Muten Natsu felt as if he could feel that large hand again.
Ruffling his hair.
That half-laughing, half-scolding voice echoing beside his ear.
["You little brat..."]
Kūkaku Shiba rubbed Muten Natsu's soft hair until it became a complete mess.
"If you want to become a proper adult, then instead of blaming yourself all the time, you need to learn how to forgive yourself first."
"That's what he told me."
Muten Natsu bit down hard on his lip.
"Yeah!"
"Oh, and one more thing."
Kūkaku Shiba clicked her tongue.
"That girl named Rukia Kuchiki. Tell her to stop sending things here. The Shiba Clan hasn't fallen so low that we need someone else's charity."
Muten Natsu raised his head.
"Rukia..."
"Your business is your own problem."
Kūkaku Shiba grabbed him, spun him around, and shoved him forward.
"Look ahead, Muten."