"Back so soon? Did you not find Kuruyashiki and Ashido?" Batsu'unsai and Neliel asked Kazuma as he casually strolled back over to the lake.
"I found them in the Menos Forest, but they don't want to return to the Soul Society yet," Kazuma explained, recounting the two Shinigamis' solemn vow to wipe out the Gillian threat at its source.
"I met that Ashido guy, too. His strength is pretty solid, easily comparable to an average Captain. What about you two? How was the girls' day out?"
"What do you mean, 'what about us'?" Batsu'unsai huffed, crossing her arms. "We're sworn sisters now, so you don't need to worry about us." She was clearly starting to side with Neliel over him.
"Well, looks like my worries were completely unnecessary. Batsu'unsai, do you want to continue wandering around Hueco Mundo, or are you ready to head back to the Soul Society with me?" Kazuma asked, dusting the quartz sand off his robes.
"Aren't you going to stay in Hueco Mundo a little longer?" Neliel asked, genuinely wanting Kazuma to stick around.
"I'd love to, but I am an active Captain of the Gotei 13, after all. If I'm away from my post for too long without filing the proper paperwork, the old man is going to chew me out," Kazuma said with a helpless, exaggerated sigh.
"You still remember you're a Captain?" Batsu'unsai scoffed.
"Jin'emon and I handle literally all of your squad duties. Have you even stamped a single document since you woke up? You go back by yourself! I want to spend more time exploring with Neliel." Batsu'unsai was clearly not ready to leave her new friend just yet.
"Alright, then I'll head back to the Soul Society first. Come back soon, my love. I'll miss you," Kazuma said gently, giving her a quick kiss.
He raised his hand, tore open a Senkaimon, and stepped through, instantly vanishing from the white desert.
Kazuma sat alone behind his desk in the Seventh Division Captain's office.
After a moment of quiet contemplation, he muttered to himself, "That's one major loose end taken care of. With Neliel watching over Hueco Mundo and Baraggan serving as her attack dog, Aizen's future recruitment drive will meet massive, organized resistance. Still, with my localized Domain and absolute spiritual perception, his Kyōka Suigetsu is entirely useless against me anyway."
He leaned back, kicking his feet up onto the desk. "I'll just let Aizen handle the minor skirmishes for a while. After all, in a long era of absolute peace, Shinigami tend to grow soft and complacent. If it weren't for Aizen's eventual rampage through the Soul Society, the strength of the future Captains and Vice-Captains would be truly worrying. Brutal, life-or-death combat is the only way to forge true strength. As long as Yamamoto and I are here to clean up the final mess, the Soul Society won't fall into complete chaos."
...
After lazing around for half the day, Kazuma decided to finally pay a visit to Captain Kirio Hikifune of the Twelfth Division.
This was a formidable woman destined to earn a highly coveted promotion to the Zero Division through her revolutionary Artificial Soul technology.
Since Kazuma was a complete novice when it came to the microscopic manipulation of raw souls, he decided it was a good time to go learn a thing or two.
"Captain, Captain Satou Kazuma of the Seventh Division is here to see you," a member of the Twelfth Division reported to Kirio, who was elbow-deep in a complex research experiment.
"Captain Kazuma? Oh dear, my research has just reached a critical stabilization point, and I'm terribly busy," Kirio sighed, wiping her forehead.
She turned to a small, blonde girl nearby. "Hiyori, could you go and receive Captain Kazuma for me? Remember to be highly respectful to him, he is a veteran of the Gotei 13, after all." Kirio earnestly instructed her fiery Vice-Captain.
In the Twelfth Division's reception room, Kazuma sat cross-legged on a cushion, completely devoid of any dignified, Captain-like image.
He held a small, exquisite sake gourd in one hand, leisurely sipping from it.
If not for the large character for "Seven" painted on his white haori, anyone seeing him would have instantly mistaken him for Shunsui Kyōraku.
Just then, Hiyori Sarugaki pushed open the sliding door.
The first thing she saw was a grown man leisurely drinking on the job.
'So this is the legendary Captain of the Seventh Division? He looks like a drunkard! And my Captain said he's a highly respected senior and that I should be polite? Honestly...'
This was Hiyori's distinctly unimpressed first impression of Kazuma.
Kazuma looked at the newcomer, taking in her appearance.
She had blonde hair tied in two high pigtails, dark brown eyes, a distinct pair of canine teeth, a face dusted with freckles, and a hairpin with colorful beads clipped to her bangs.
She was wearing a tiny Shihakushō with her Zanpakutō strapped to her back.
'So this is the famous Hiyori Sarugaki,' Kazuma thought, amused.
Although Hiyori was internally displeased with Kazuma's lack of professionalism, she forced a polite smile.
"I am the Vice-Captain of the Twelfth Division, Hiyori Sarugaki. I'm very sorry, but Captain Hikifune is currently busy with an experiment and can't greet you personally, so I will be entertaining you instead."
Kazuma was slightly taken aback by her formal tone before flashing a friendly grin.
"Oh! So you're Vice-Captain Hiyori. It's an honor! I'm Satou Kazuma. It's a pleasure to meet you." He raised the sake gourd toward her.
"Care to join me for a quick drink while we wait?"
Hiyori thought to herself, 'Although he's a bit of an eyesore, he seems quite easygoing, he should be easy enough to handle. It's just... he's a far cry from the dignified image of a veteran I had in my head.'
She covered a small smile with her hand and replied, "Thank you for your generous offer, Captain Kazuma, but we have our own tea prepared here."
The two then fell into a slightly awkward silence, sitting across from each other and trying to think of how to break the ice.
Thankfully, the sound of hurried footsteps approached down the hall.
The sliding door opened to reveal Kirio Hikifune walking in quickly, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Captain Kazuma! I am so sorry to have kept you waiting. What brings you to my Twelfth Division?" Kirio asked with a warm, welcoming smile.
Looking at the beautiful, well-endowed woman before him, Kazuma couldn't help but sigh internally.
'It's hard to imagine that she'll intentionally gorge herself and turn into a massive, overweight woman just to store enough Reiatsu for her duties after joining the Royal Guard! But the current Kirio is indeed very charming.'
He quickly waved a hand. "I just heard through the rumours that Captain Hikifune is researching revolutionary soul-related technology, so I came to learn a little."
"Oh? Is that so?" A hint of genuine surprise flashed in Kirio's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. "
Then, what you're referring to must be my Artificial Soul theory, right?"
"That's right, Artificial Soul technology," Kazuma nodded. "I've always been very interested in the mechanics of the soul, but unfortunately, I've never had the chance to study it in actual depth."
Kirio smiled, her eyes lighting up with academic passion. "Actually, Artificial Soul technology isn't some untouchable mystery. Its core essence is to achieve various wondrous, practical effects through the careful manipulation and structural research of raw Souls. For example, we could theoretically create artificial souls tailored with specific abilities, or infuse those customized souls into inanimate objects to grant them temporary life and consciousness."
Kazuma listened with great interest, leaning forward. "So how exactly is that achieved on a microscopic level?"
Kirio patiently explained, "It requires a foundational understanding of the core structure and Reishi properties of Souls, as well as the mastery of several highly delicate extraction and binding techniques. However, it all requires long-term, rigorous practice and a massive accumulation of experimental data."
Kazuma nodded thoughtfully. This was absolutely a technology worth learning.
"If you're genuinely interested, you're always welcome to come by and exchange ideas with me," Kirio invited warmly.
"Then it would be incredibly rude of me to refuse," Kazuma replied with a bright smile.
Afterward, the two Captains spent the afternoon deep in conversation about the theoretical properties of Souls, and Kazuma gained a massive amount of insight.
Finally, Kazuma stood up, bowed politely, and departed from the Twelfth Division barracks.
"Captain, I heard you call him 'Senior' just now, but he looks so young," Hiyori said, finding Kirio's highly respectful form of address for the laid-back man very strange.
Kirio smiled faintly, watching the gates. "Him? He is from the exact same era as the Captain-Commander. You tell me if he's a Senior or not."
Hiyori's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Huh?! Then he's a thousand-year-old geezer too?! How the hell does he look so young?!"
Kirio shook her head, amused. "He's no geezer. He's just like Captain Unohana—proficient in highly advanced, cellular-level Kaidō. Maintaining a youthful appearance is a trivial matter for monsters of their caliber."
"Well, he's actually quite easy to get along with. At least he's not as suffocatingly rigid as Old Man Yama," Hiyori muttered, sneaking a glance at Kirio.
She knew she had just said something highly inappropriate, but she couldn't help but express her honest opinion.
"Hiyori, it's really not good to speak ill of the Captain-Commander behind his back," Kirio said gently, patting Hiyori's blonde head with a helpless smile.
Hiyori pouted, crossing her arms defensively. "I know, I know!"
But in her heart, she thought, 'It's not like the old man can hear what I'm saying anyway!'
"When you have some free time, you should visit the Seventh Division more often. Captain Kazuma's wife, Captain Batsu'unsai, is also a remarkably strong woman. There's no harm in networking and getting to know the seniors better," Kirio continued, trying to gently encourage Hiyori to broaden her horizons.
However, Hiyori shook her head, grabbing onto Kirio's sleeve. "Captain, how could you say that? I don't want to go anywhere else or meet anyone else. I just want to stay right here with you."
Her large brown eyes were filled with a fierce, moving dependence.
Kirio's heart warmed entirely.
She smiled and lovingly stroked Hiyori's pigtails, sighing with deep affection.
"What a silly, sweet girl..."