People from His Memories

Watanabe Yuji hadn't expected Natsuki to turn the question back on him. He paused before answering, "I don't want too many ties holding me down."

He didn't say anything more.

But Natsuki understood.

Once you married a woman, it was as good as having a home—and someone to worry about.

For ordinary people, that was certainly a good thing.

But Soul Reapers were different.

Soul Reapers had to fight Hollows and other such creatures at all times. The 11th Division was a combat division, and its members faced greater dangers than those of the other divisions. Having a family meant having someone by your side, but if you died, it would leave your family grieving.

Rather than bring that kind of trouble to someone else, it was better to stay alone from the beginning.

Once he understood, Natsuki didn't press Watanabe Yuji further on the matter.

The party continued on the other side.

The drinking party had supposedly been held by Kuruyashiki Kenpachi to welcome Watanabe Yuji back, but the guest of honor had ended up sitting with Natsuki instead of catching up with his old friends.

After a while, a somewhat aggrieved voice rang out.

"Kuruyashiki, you held a drinking party without telling me!"

"If I hadn't smelled the wine from all the way over there, I would've missed it!"

At the sound of the voice, some members of the 11th Division turned to look, while others seemed unsurprised and continued drinking with their companions.

Natsuki also watched the newcomer with some surprise.

The newcomer had long, slightly curly hair, which he tied back with a hairpin. A few strands fell over his temples, giving him a carefree air. But that wasn't what stood out most. What drew the eye was the pink coat embroidered with patterns that he wore over his shoulders. There was nothing wrong with pink itself, but the patterns were so tacky that it was impossible not to notice his shabby getup.

Beneath the coat, he wore a white robe.

Only those at the very top of the Gotei 13 were allowed to wear such a robe.

It was the Haori of a Gotei 13 captain.

"That's Captain Kyoraku Shunsui of the 8th Division." Watanabe Yuji was worried that Natsuki, having just joined the 11th Division, might not know much about the Gotei 13, so he quietly introduced him. "Captain Kyōraku is one of the old guard. Back when I was still in Soul Society, he used to come to the 11th Division to drink all the time. He's a seasoned drunk. I didn't think he'd still be the same after all these years."

Watanabe Yuji had spent decades in Hueco Mundo.

Though he'd only been back for a short time, he'd already gotten a rough idea of the Gotei 13's current state. Quite a few divisions had seen their captains replaced. It was hard to accept, but it was also a common occurrence.

There weren't many people in the Gotei 13 who'd served as captains for over a hundred years.

Captain Kyōraku, however, seemed to be among the most powerful and had escaped any mishap.

The familiar sight made Watanabe Yuji lose himself in thought for a moment.

Natsuki sat beside him, still saying nothing.

Actually, Natsuki had recognized Kyoraku Shunsui without Watanabe Yuji's introduction.

He was one of the rare characters from the "anime" whom Natsuki had encountered so far.

As he recalled this world and tried to learn more about it, he'd realized that the timeline he'd arrived in seemed to be set a very long time before the original protagonist, Kurosaki Ichigo, came along.

Popular characters like Aizen, Urahara Kisuke, and Shihoin Yoruichi had yet to appear.

After arriving in Seireitei, he'd also tried to learn a little about the Gotei 13, just as Watanabe Yuji had.

Aside from the Head Captain, Unohana Retsu, Kyoraku Shunsui, and Ukitake Jushiro, he hadn't heard of most of the captains.

Even Natsuki hadn't expected to see the Kyoraku Shunsui from his memories so soon.

Seeing a character from the story appear in the flesh, a sense of unreality and reality blending together surged through Natsuki.

In the end, Natsuki calmed down again.

Hadn't I already figured this out? This may be a world invented by a manga artist, but since I'm here now, it's a real world full of people with flesh and blood.

Natsuki murmured softly to himself.

Even the liveliest celebrations eventually came to an end.

As night deepened, the 11th Division's drinking party wound down.

After that, the 11th Division held no more parties for a while.

As a new member of the division—and because of his connection to Watanabe Yuji, a Seated Officer who had left the 11th Division decades ago to venture into Hueco Mundo and had now returned—Natsuki was soon greeted by many Seated Officers. They looked after him, the "junior" Watanabe Yuji had picked up in Hueco Mundo. Natsuki's story was no secret; many Soul Reapers in the 11th Division already knew about it.

There were plenty of cases of Rukongai commoners finding a dead Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto and becoming Soul Reapers themselves. In fact, several Soul Reapers in the 11th Division had become Soul Reapers through just such a stroke of luck.

The difference was that after finding their Zanpakuto, they'd taken them along when they applied to the Shino Academy. They'd naturally been accepted with ease. The only real difference was that the Academy hadn't issued them Asauchi after they enrolled.

What made Natsuki's case most unusual was that he'd found his Zanpakuto in Hueco Mundo.

He'd accidentally fallen into Hueco Mundo and should have become a Hollow, but after finding a Zanpakuto, he'd become a Soul Reaper instead and set off down the right path.

Once the story spread, it was impossible not to take notice of such a tale of someone finding their way back.

Natsuki felt the warmth of the 11th Division's members. They really were an easygoing bunch. At first, he hadn't been used to it, but as time went by, he gradually settled into the 11th Division.

During that time, he even took part in several battles.

Of course, the battles weren't especially frequent, nor were they very dangerous.

After all, this was Soul Society. Though the news Ashido had brought to Hueco Mundo had claimed that a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande had appeared in Soul Society, such Hollows were rare even in Hueco Mundo, and the chances of one appearing in Soul Society were even lower.

During this time, most of the Hollows Natsuki fought had accidentally crossed over into Soul Society.

Soul Society was a world of souls, and countless souls lived there. Hollows had an instinct to devour others of their kind, driven by a desire to fill the emptiness inside and evolve. Aside from Hueco Mundo, where Hollows were already locked in a state of mutual slaughter, Soul Society was also an enticing world for them.

Natsuki was no weakling. He easily cut down the Hollows that crossed over, and his strength naturally won gasps of admiration from many Soul Reapers in the 11th Division. They gained a better understanding of him.