First Division
"Where is Rukia? Where is Kuchiki Rukia?!"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri arrived wearing a completely deranged expression, having unknowingly passed Rukia on her way to the Department of Research and Development.
"What exactly are you planning?"
One look at Mayuri was enough for Kazuma to know the man was up to no good.
Rukia's strength had suddenly skyrocketed, so naturally the mad scientist had found himself a fascinating new research subject.
"I'm warning you. If you dare do anything inappropriate to Rukia, I'll twist your head off."
Mayuri looked utterly unimpressed by the death threat.
Kazuma couldn't possibly keep Rukia beside him every moment of the day.
Eventually she'd be alone.
And once she was alone…
"Don't even think about it," Kazuma continued. "I know your urge to explore the unknown borders on insanity, but Rukia is my student. If so much as one hair on her head goes missing, I'll flatten the entire Department of Research and Development."
Kazuma understood that threatening Mayuri's life would accomplish little.
Research data and experimental materials, however, were his real lifeblood.
Without his laboratory, specimens, and accumulated research, he'd no longer be able to continue his work.
"Surely Captain Kazuma is joking."
Mayuri's panic was immediately visible.
"The Department of Research and Development is one of the Seireitei's most important institutions. I don't believe you'd dare destroy it."
"Oh? Then try me."
Was Mayuri really stubborn enough to gamble on Kazuma not losing his mind and demolishing the whole facility?
After several thoroughly merciless threats, Mayuri had no choice but to lower his head.
He left the First Division with his tail between his legs, muttering complaints to himself the entire way back.
At almost the exact same moment, Rukia returned from the Department of Research and Development.
The two passed each other yet again without noticing, like a pair of parallel lines destined never to meet.
"Teacher, I brought the sword back as you asked. I also brought Renji with me."
Rukia spoke between heavy breaths, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat from rushing all the way there.
She hadn't only retrieved the severely damaged Zanpakutō, but dragged its owner along as well.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Kazuma took Zabimaru from her and examined it with great interest.
The blade was riddled with fractures and looked ready to crumble at the slightest touch.
Even he was astonished by what he saw.
The destructive power of Yōkō was far more vicious than he'd expected.
A single strike had reduced a perfectly good Zanpakutō to this miserable state.
"Captain Kazuma…"
Renji's face was filled with desperate hope.
"Can my sword still be repaired?"
He stared nervously at Kazuma, his eyes carrying the faintest spark of expectation.
All his hopes now rested on hearing the two words he wanted most:
It can.
Without a working Zanpakutō, Renji's strength would drop by several times over.
How could he continue serving in the Gotei 13?
His only alternative might be transferring to the Kidō Corps.
The thought of his own catastrophic Kidō abilities made his heart sink even further. With skills as awful as his, whether the Kidō Corps would even accept him was questionable.
"Leave the sword with me."
Kazuma didn't immediately give him a clear answer.
He frowned slightly and kept studying the badly damaged blade.
After a moment of silence, he spoke only those four simple words.
Even so, Renji's tightly wound nerves relaxed a little.
Kazuma hadn't promised that Zabimaru could be restored, but the fact that he was willing to take the sword meant there was still some hope.
A relieved smile finally appeared on Renji's face.
It was far from cheerful, but it was considerably better than the despair he'd shown before.
"Teacher, can you really repair it?"
Rukia stared at him skeptically.
Before she left for the Department of Research and Development, Kazuma had said he couldn't fix it.
Had he somehow found a solution in that brief window?
Or was he only saying this to comfort Renji?
"Rukia, you'll stay in the First Division for the time being. You're not allowed to go anywhere. Stay here obediently and wait until I return."
Kazuma gave her a brief set of instructions.
He certainly didn't want Mayuri kidnapping her the instant his back was turned.
"Oh. All right."
Rukia didn't understand why Kazuma wanted her to remain in the First Division, but she obediently nodded and agreed.
"Brat, be careful."
Yamamoto, who'd stayed silent until then, finally spoke.
His tone was stern, but the concern behind it was unmistakable.
"Don't worry, Yama-jii."
Kazuma turned back with a broad grin.
He wasn't going to die that easily.
He waved casually and walked away, soon disappearing from sight.
"Wasn't Teacher only going to get a sword repaired? Why is everyone acting like it's dangerous?"
Rukia looked utterly confused.
Could repairing a Zanpakutō somehow make the forge explode?
"Kuchiki Rukia."
Yamamoto rolled his neck.
He'd become curious about the fact that she could shatter Zabimaru's Bankai.
He wanted to see exactly how much she'd learned from Kazuma and whether Yōkō's power could truly destroy all things.
"Present!"
Rukia's whole body went rigid.
The solemn way the Captain-Commander said her name sent a jolt through her.
"Come with this old man to the training ground."
"What?!"
...
A short while later, Rukia followed Yamamoto back into the captain's office.
Her face was swollen and bruised, her shihakushō had been torn to pieces, and the smell of something scorched clung to her whole body.
Even sections of her hair had been burned into curls.
Yamamoto gave her performance one brief evaluation.
"Acceptable."
Her Zanjutsu was somewhat better than that of most captains.
Her ordinary Shunpo was only passable, but when combined with her mysterious footwork, it could be called excellent.
The abilities of her Zanpakutō were also acceptable, particularly the power of the Nine Stars.
At present, Rukia could activate the abilities of only two stars at once.
Considering she'd only just learned Shikai, that was already a respectable achievement.
She'd likely need to master Bankai before she could unleash the power of all nine stars at once.
Her Kidō was passable too.
The one area that seriously dragged down her overall assessment was Hakuda.
Rukia's hand-to-hand combat was an absolute disaster.
That was precisely why Yamamoto had beaten her into her current miserable state.
As for the smell of burnt clothing and hair, that was naturally the result of being roasted by Ryūjin Jakka.
Yamamoto had also personally tested the Yōkō power that destroyed Zabimaru.
Its destructive ability was indeed tremendous, but it was still far from strong enough to damage Ryūjin Jakka.
"Not bad."
Yamamoto nodded with satisfaction.
"That brat may be thoroughly unreliable in his conduct, but he does know how to train a student."
It was a rare acknowledgment of Kazuma's teaching ability.
Rukia, however, had suffered horribly.
She'd been perfectly fine earlier, only to be beaten until her face was swollen beyond recognition.
She strongly suspected Yamamoto had used the sparring match as an excuse to vent his anger toward Kazuma on his student instead.
She'd effectively been punished in her teacher's place.
Then again, she'd caused an enormous disaster herself.
She should probably be grateful Kazuma hadn't brought out the bamboo switch again.
One debt repaid another.
That was only fair.