"Yama-jii, well… I need to hurry over to the Fourth Division and deal with the trouble those Ryoka caused, so I'll be taking my leave!"
Kazuma spoke while quickly making his way toward the door, a fawning smile plastered across his face.
He knew perfectly well that he'd just sold the Captain-Commander out.
If he didn't make himself scarce immediately, nothing good would be waiting for him.
Kazuma moved so fast that he reached the doorway in the blink of an eye.
Just before crossing the threshold, he glanced back at Yamamoto, who stood there glaring with his beard bristling, and gave him another placating smile.
"Hehe, don't be angry, Yama-jii. I'll report back as soon as I'm finished!"
The moment he finished speaking, Kazuma bolted like a rabbit and vanished, giving Yamamoto no chance to explode.
"Hmph! That damned brat has gotten far too bold! Once he returns, this old man will teach him a proper lesson!"
Yamamoto slammed his staff against the floor with a dull thud.
Harsh as the words were, he hadn't truly meant to stop Kazuma.
He knew the brat was reliable when it mattered, even if he pulled a few clever little tricks along the way.
At that thought, Yamamoto shook his head helplessly and turned back toward the room.
...
Fourth Division
Kazuma passed through the Fourth Division without anyone stopping him.
The Fourth Division Shinigami he passed didn't recognize him, but he was wearing a captain's haori, so none of them dared get in his way.
Before long, Kazuma reached the medical room and saw Inoue Orihime, Chad, Ishida Uryū, and Shiba Ganju, all of whom he hadn't seen in a while.
"Hey, Inoue. Long time no see. Have you been enjoying your stay in Soul Society?"
Kazuma cheerfully greeted his bewildered students.
"D-Disciplinary Dean?! Why are you in Soul Society?"
Orihime stared at Kazuma and started stammering.
This made no sense at all!
"Disciplinary dean?"
Ganju looked over Kazuma's clothes.
The coat he wore was clearly a captain's haori. How could that have anything to do with being a school disciplinarian?
Besides, this man looked strangely familiar.
Ganju felt as if he'd seen him somewhere before.
Uryū, meanwhile, looked like he'd seen a ghost.
He'd already thought Kazuma seemed familiar, but he'd never dared confirm the suspicion.
After all, one was supposedly an ordinary human living in the World of the Living, and the other a captain of Soul Society.
Judging by the insignia on Kazuma's haori, he was the Seventh Division captain.
Which meant this was probably the man who had nearly killed Uryū's father.
Before Uryū came to Soul Society, Ishida Ryūken had warned him again and again to be careful around the Seventh Division captain.
According to his father, that man held no fondness for Quincy and might simply cut him down on sight.
'Wait, that doesn't make sense. From what I got out of the Fourth Division Shinigami, the Seventh Division captain should be Komamura Sajin — a tall, imposing man. How did it suddenly become this guy?'
The more Uryū thought about it, the less any of it added up.
Ryūken had never told him the exact details, since nearly being killed wasn't exactly something to brag about.
As a result, Uryū felt like his brain was about to overheat.
Chad stayed as expressionless as ever. His face looked permanently frozen, giving away nothing.
That was only on the surface.
Inside, his thoughts were already in turmoil.
"I believe I've met you once before!" Ganju suddenly said. "Unless I'm mistaken, you're Captain Kazuma, the former captain of the Seventh Division! I've heard some stories about you. Supposedly, you ambushed Uncle Isshin while he was on a mission in the World of the Living, and later there were rumors that Aizen killed you there…"
Ganju spoke while struggling to dig up the rumors he'd heard.
After his initial shock faded, he'd finally recognized the mysterious yet familiar man in front of him.
'Damn it! It really is this walking death sentence!'
Everything Ganju said lined up perfectly with what Uryū knew.
The former Seventh Division captain had visited Karakura Town more than twenty years ago, and he was acquainted with Ichigo's father, Kurosaki Isshin.
Uryū shuddered and instinctively edged backward, as though the man standing in front of him weren't a man at all but a savage beast that might open its jaws and swallow him at any moment.
His eyes widened with fear as he silently prayed Kazuma wouldn't suddenly draw his sword.
Otherwise, his life might end right here.
Kazuma stared at Uryū, thoroughly confused.
Why was this usually obedient, well-behaved student so terrified of him?
Kazuma might have been a bit strict as the school's disciplinary dean, but he'd never gone out of his way to make Uryū's life difficult.
Could it be that every student just had an instinctive fear of whoever handled discipline at school?
"Uryū, what exactly are you afraid of? I remember you always being a good, obedient student. I don't think I ever did anything that bad to you, did I?"
Kazuma frowned, trying to find an answer in Uryū's face.
Uryū merely lowered his head without a word, his body still trembling.
Kazuma watched him carefully for a moment before it hit him.
More than twenty years ago, he'd nearly killed the boy's father.
Ryūken must have told Uryū about that before he came to Soul Society, and warned him over and over to stay on guard against Kazuma.
At the thought, Kazuma shook his head helplessly.
'This father and son really are ridiculously cautious.'
"Hahaha…"
A sudden burst of hearty laughter rang through the room.
Without warning, Kazuma began laughing loudly and casually dropped his right hand onto Uryū's shoulder.
The moment Kazuma touched him, Uryū jolted as if he'd been shocked.
The shaking grew worse and worse until he looked ready to collapse.
Orihime paled at the sight. She stared at Uryū, worry written all over her face.
His whole body was trembling, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking the hair hanging over his brow.
"Ishida-kun, what's wrong? Did your injuries suddenly get worse?"
Orihime hurried over and reached out to steady him, afraid he might fall.
Kazuma waved a hand, his seemingly friendly smile still in place.
To Uryū, though, that smile looked horrifying beyond words, like a demon crawling straight out of Hell.
"It's fine, Inoue. Don't worry too much. Uryū probably just has a tiny misunderstanding about me. He'll recover in a moment."
Kazuma spoke lightly, apparently paying no attention to Uryū's state.
His relaxed tone clashed so badly with Uryū's condition that the whole scene turned even stranger.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
Uryū suddenly wailed with a voice full of despair.