Chapter 707 Maxed Out Affinity From The First Meeting

In the blink of an eye, nine years had passed. The Living World, Karakura Town.

At Karakura High School, the dismissal bell had just rung. Students streamed out of their classrooms in twos and threes, footsteps and chatter weaving into a noisy symphony in the hallways.

A figure with an incredibly voluptuous build walked down the end of the corridor, turning the most ordinary school uniform into something with supermodel flair. The girls around her shot envious glances her way.

Her fair skin glowed softly in the setting sun. Her slender waist and long legs were accentuated by the uniform, making her proportions even more striking.

Her pretty, cute face, combined with that exaggerated chest that seemed about to burst her buttons, had the boys staring in fascination.

She was the acknowledged school beauty of Karakura High School, Inoue Orihime.

She had already been quite popular since her first year of high school.

And now, as a third-year, she was even more famous among the student circles in the area.

Many boys from other schools had come to see her, but all were politely turned away.

Over time, many people guessed that she was already taken.

And just recently, an even more heart-wrenching rumor spread through the school... she actually had a boyfriend outside of school.

It was said to be an 'older man' more than ten years her senior.

However, some girls' opinions were completely different from those of the disgruntled boys.

A few girls who had happened to see that man at the school gate were smitten, saying that a mature and refined man like him was clearly on a completely different level from the childish boys at school whose heads were full of nothing but dirty thoughts.

When school let out, Orihime and her best friends, Arisawa Tatsuki, Honsho Chizuru, and others, walked toward the school gate, chatting and laughing.

Just as they were about to step out of the gate, everyone stopped in their tracks.

A tall, upright figure stood at the school gate, his white clothes shimmering faintly in the setting sun's glow.

"Makoto-san!"

Orihime's already radiant face lit up instantly. Her voluptuous, perfect body threw itself into his arms without any reservation.

Makoto caught her steadily, one hand naturally wrapping around her waist.

Seeing this, the boys around felt their hearts shatter.

Even Honsho Chizuru, who had always had yuri tendencies toward Orihime, didn't look much better.

She wanted to push away the older man who had stolen her goddess, but she had to admit that the sight of the two of them embracing in the sunset was indeed somewhat beautiful.

"Sorry, I'm taking Orihime with me."

Makoto waved to Tatsuki and greeted her with a smile.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes.

Every time she saw this guy, they always showed PDA without stopping.

But she also had to admit that since Orihime had gotten together with this man, the smile on her face had indeed been much brighter than before.

The main reason Inoue Orihime had chosen to stay in the Living World instead of settling in the Soul Society with Makoto was her best friend, Arisawa Tatsuki.

After her brother had died, she had fallen into a helpless situation. When she was being bullied at school, it was Tatsuki who had been the first to rush out and protect her.

So Orihime planned to stay with her best friend a while longer. After graduating high school, she would tell Tatsuki she was going to study abroad in China, then move to the Soul Society with Makoto.

Makoto took Orihime's hand and returned to the small single apartment she rented in Karakura Town.

Pushing open the door, a tall, thin man with a pale face, wearing a Hollow Mask on his head and an apron around his waist, was busy in the kitchen. Hearing the door open, he turned around and smiled. "Makoto-sama, Orihime, you're back."

"Brother!"

Orihime gave the man her brightest smile, but still couldn't bear to let go of Makoto's arm.

This man was Orihime's brother, Inoue Sora.

Originally, when Orihime was in middle school, her brother had died protecting her. After that, she had lived alone in this small apartment.

However, coincidentally, a few years ago, when Makoto returned to Hueco Mundo to handle some matters, he happened to encounter the Hollow that Inoue Sora had become.

At the time, Yu had been about to shoot this mindless low-level Hollow.

But although Sora had lost his sanity, his almost instinctive obsession with his sister had made him repeatedly call out 'Orihime, Orihime' in his dying moments.

This made Makoto spare his life and use the Hogyoku to grant him the power of Arrancarization.

Sure enough, after completing Arrancarization, Sora regained his sanity and reported his identity to Makoto.

This matter became the most crucial catalyst for the rapid development of Makoto and Orihime's relationship.

Two years ago, Makoto had brought the Arrancarized Sora back to the Living World to find Orihime. When she saw that her brother, who had been dead for years, could still 'live' in another form before her eyes, the girl had burst into tears.

And from that point on, Makoto's affinity with Orihime was maxed out.

Sora was still busy in the kitchen. Soon, the aroma wafting from the pot filled the small room.

"It'll be ready soon. Please wait."

Sora adjusted the heat and called back.

Although Makoto had used the Hogyoku to grant him Arrancar powers, Sora had no real talent for combat.

He basically did odd jobs in the Seireitei.

But for him, this life was already satisfying.

Being able to live with his sister again was a miracle he had never dared to hope for after death.

Before long, Sora brought the food to the small table.

The three sat cross-legged around the low square table, eating.

Watching her resurrected brother sitting across from her, serving her food, and looking at her lover beside her, sipping his soup, Orihime smiled like a blooming flower.

After dinner, Sora glanced at the near-zero distance between his sister and Makoto.

Suddenly seeming to think of something, he made an excuse and left.

Orihime, of course, could guess her brother's intentions.

Her pretty face instantly flushed red.

Her figure had been getting better and better over the past two years, naturally thanks to a certain someone.

Sure enough, the next second, Orihime felt a warm, large hand wrap around her waist from behind.

She leaned back, falling into his broad chest.

Just as she looked up to say something, her lips were sealed.

Her big, watery eyes widened slightly. Her long lashes fluttered twice, then slowly closed.

Then, in the ordinary little room, the sound of the girl's sobbing, half-crying, half-laughing, echoed.

…

On the other side, the Soul Society.

After the earth-shattering war that had swept the entire Seireitei nine years ago, the Soul Society had enjoyed nearly a decade of peace.

And after that war, the power structure of the entire Seireitei had undergone an unprecedented reshuffling.

Besides Kyoraku replacing the retired Yamamoto as the new Captain-Commander, the other vacant Captain's positions were gradually filled.

The position of 3rd Division's Captain remained Gin's.

Yes, this traitor, who had openly defected alongside Aizen in the great war nine years ago, had returned to his original position after the war ended...

Many veteran officers in the Seireitei grumbled about this, but under the new Captain-Commander Kyoraku's tacit approval, no one dared to say anything openly.

Aizen, however, did not return to serve as 5th Division's Captain. Instead, he was directly promoted to a member of the new Zero Division.

This arrangement directly caused serious dissatisfaction from Komamura, the former Lieutenant of the 9th Division.

Because in the great war nine years ago, Tosen's fate was exactly the same as in the original work... after losing to the combined assault of Komamura and Hisagi, the trap Aizen had implanted in his Hollowfication was triggered, and that out-of-control Hollow power killed him.

This enraged Komamura to the point of near madness. Upon learning that after the war, Aizen had not only been spared execution but had been promoted to the Zero Division,

Komamura stormed into the new Captain-Commander's office and submitted his resignation as Lieutenant.

He refused to work alongside Aizen, the man who had killed his closest friend and was also a traitor to the Soul Society.

After Kyoraku reported this to Makoto, now the Soul King, Makoto directly reassigned Komamura to be stationed in Hueco Mundo.

That's right, now Shinigami could work in Hueco Mundo, and Arrancars could freely travel to and from the Soul Society.

Of course, this only applied to those Hollows who had gained intelligence and could communicate normally.

And this was the most earth-shaking change in the three worlds' structure over the past nine years.

Apart from the Living World remaining largely unchanged, the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo had undergone transformations sufficient to rewrite the history of the three worlds.

Precisely because of this, many interesting situations had emerged within the Gotei 13 that would have been completely unimaginable nine years ago.

For example, the position of 7th Division's Captain was now held by Ulquiorra Cifer.

Saeko had voluntarily resigned from her Captain's position soon after the war ended. After being reunited with her man after a century, she had no interest in being a Captain anymore.

Also, Saeko knew that soon, they, the players chosen by the Reincarnation System, would return to the real world.

Rather than scrambling to hand over her duties in a panic then, it was better to hand over the position to the natives of this world in advance and let them adjust.

And after the 8th Division's Captain position became vacant, Coyote Starrk took over.

He was much more popular than Ulquiorra.

Having an Arrancar serve as a Captain was absolutely unthinkable in the past.

But now, Ulquiorra and Starrk's appointments had been functioning smoothly for several years. Although there were still occasional disgruntled veteran officers,

The newer members had basically gotten used to it.

Even so, several Captain's positions remained vacant.

The 9th Division's Captain position left by Tosen had yet to be filled, not to mention the 5th Division's Captain vacancy left by Aizen.

Kyoraku had originally wanted Yoruichi and Kisuke to fill them.

But Yoruichi had refused without hesitation.

Makoto had already told her that he would be leaving this world soon and asked if she wanted to come with him.

Yoruichi's answer went without saying...

"I've become completely your shape, and you still want to leave me??"

And Kisuke, who had been so badly beaten by Yoruichi in the great war nine years ago that he couldn't continue fighting, naturally couldn't be a Captain either.

This matter made Yoruichi, even after officially returning to the Seireitei, too embarrassed to face Kisuke.

Of course, there were still many people dissatisfied with these changes, grumbling in secret, but at least on the surface, the Soul Society had indeed entered a rare period of peace.

However, beneath this seemingly peaceful atmosphere, in the shadows, a new crisis that would decide the future of the three worlds was quietly brewing.