"Unohana, let's talk properly another day. I actually came here today because I wanted to invite Inoue and the others over to the Seventh Division for a visit. Since they've already come all the way to Soul Society, I should at least be a decent host and treat my students properly."
Kazuma turned toward Orihime and the others.
"Inoue, would you all be interested in visiting my Seventh Division?"
"Sensei, can we really? Then thank you for inviting us!"
Orihime accepted excitedly.
Ever since they entered the Seireitei, they'd either been running for their lives or being hunted down.
After finally reaching the Fourth Division, they'd stayed there the whole time.
Now that they had a chance to visit another division and see the scenery of the Seireitei, it sounded wonderful.
"Ishida, Chad, are you coming?"
"I'll go."
Chad had meant to refuse, but when he saw the hopeful look on Orihime's face, he agreed.
"Ishida? What about you?"
Orihime looked at him expectantly, hoping they could all go together.
"I'll pass. You can go without me."
Having finally recovered from his earlier panic, Uryū turned down the invitation without hesitation.
Now that he knew Kazuma's true identity, he wanted absolutely nothing more to do with him!
"Oh? Are you sure?"
Kazuma gave Ishida Uryū a mysterious look, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"I happen to know quite a few secrets about your father. Not just things about him, either. I also know the truth behind your mother's early death — and why your father dissected her body after she'd already passed away."
"What did you say? How could you possibly know anything about my parents? You must be lying! That's impossible!"
Just as Kazuma expected, the moment his parents were mentioned, Uryū could no longer stay calm.
His emotions churned like a violent tide.
Ever since he was young, he'd been filled with questions about his parents' past.
Especially after his mother died.
The man who had once loved her so deeply — his own father — had ignored Uryū's desperate protests and insisted on performing an autopsy on her body.
From that day on, no matter how many times Uryū begged or demanded an explanation, his father refused to give him a real answer.
Little by little, a seed of hatred took root in his young heart.
He'd become convinced that his father was a cold, cruel, bloodthirsty monster who had not only destroyed their once-happy family, but refused to let his mother rest even after her death.
"Believe me or don't. But I wouldn't joke about something this important."
Kazuma folded his arms and looked Uryū straight in the eye, his confidence absolute.
"Come with me to the Seventh Division, and you'll learn the truth for yourself. Don't you want answers to the questions that have tormented you all these years?"
Uryū struggled with himself for a long moment, but in the end he couldn't turn it down.
"Then I'll go! Please, you have to tell me the truth, Captain Kazuma!"
"You've already stopped calling me sensei? What kind of rebellious nonsense is that?"
Kazuma flicked Uryū on the forehead at once, displeased by the change in address.
"Yes, Kazuma-sensei!"
By now, much of Uryū's resistance had faded.
From Kazuma's words and behavior, he'd already grown certain that the man wasn't quite as terrifying as his father had described.
He was still the disciplinary dean they'd respected.
And in Kazuma's heart, they had always been his good students.
"Then let's go. Unohana, we'll be heading out."
Kazuma said goodbye to Unohana before leading Orihime and the others toward the Seventh Division.
...
After the captains' meeting, Komamura hurried back to the Seventh Division and immediately announced the news to every squad member.
"Listen carefully, everyone! Captain Kazuma has returned! He is not a criminal of Soul Society, and he will once again serve as captain of our Seventh Division!"
The announcement went off in the division like a bomb.
The squad members immediately started talking among themselves, delight and excitement spreading across their faces.
At the entrance to the Seventh Division compound, Iba Tetsuzaemon and the assembled squad members had already been waiting quite a while.
Every one of them stood solemnly, their eyes turning toward the distance again and again, waiting for someone to appear.
Before long, Kazuma finally came into view.
He walked up to the Seventh Division gates laughing and chatting with Orihime and the others, looking as though he'd never left at all.
"Captain Kazuma! Welcome home!"
With a loud cry full of respect, Tetsuzaemon led the assembled squad members in a deep, perfectly synchronized bow.
"Captain, you've finally come back!"
Tetsuzaemon's expression was unusually solemn.
The man who was normally so serious and restrained now had tears of excitement glimmering in his eyes.
The squad members behind him looked just as grave, as though they were opening some grand ceremony.
"Hey, Tetsuzaemon — and all of you! When did you learn to put on this kind of performance? Why make it so formal? Come on, cut it out and disperse already."
The scene made Kazuma burst out laughing.
Still laughing, he walked forward and warmly clapped Tetsuzaemon on the shoulder.
Then he waved at everyone, telling them to break formation.
For all his complaining, the joy on Kazuma's face was impossible to hide.
The already excited Shinigami swarmed toward him at once, packing in tightly around him.
"Captain, have you been doing well all these years?"
A young Shinigami eagerly asked.
"Yeah, Captain! We missed you so much!"
Another quickly joined in.
As one greeting after another came from the crowd, Kazuma smiled and answered each of them.
His eyes held familiarity and real concern for every person there.
To these Shinigami, the passing years hadn't put any distance between them.
After all, beings with such long lives didn't consider a mere twenty years all that significant.
More importantly, Kazuma had always been the superior they respected most.
He might usually seem careless, shameless, and a little unreliable, but whenever a true crisis came, he would step forward and use his overwhelming strength to turn the whole situation around.
Most importantly of all, he'd never put on airs with his subordinates.
He was always approachable, and he treated them warmly.
That was why every member of the Seventh Division had been overjoyed to hear he was coming back.
"Kazuma-sensei is this popular?"
Orihime and the others watched the enormous welcome with curious looks.
They couldn't understand how Kazuma had earned such standing among the Seventh Division's Shinigami.
What a ridiculous question!
Kazuma's reputation here towered over everything.
How could he possibly not be popular?