"Let me ask you something. How much do you actually know about Kuchiki Kōga and Kuchiki Rukia?"
Kazuma regarded the young Shinigami calmly.
The man gave a weak snort.
"They're your favorite students. What else is there to know?"
After the beating he'd taken, even speaking seemed to drain what little strength he had left.
Kazuma's expression hardened.
"Idiot. You don't even realize someone used you as a pawn."
By now, Kazuma was certain the rumors were part of something larger.
Someone had deliberately pushed the story into circulation, and this young Shinigami was merely one of the useful fools who'd swallowed it whole.
So Kazuma began with Kōga.
"Five hundred years ago, Kuchiki Kōga served as Third Seat of the Sixth Division. He was later transferred to the First Division, where he commanded a special forces unit for centuries. Now he's captain of the Seventh Division."
Kazuma paused.
"His record and ability speak for themselves."
Then he turned to Rukia.
"You already know most of her history, so I won't waste time repeating it. You probably think she became First Division lieutenant purely because she's my student."
Kazuma shrugged.
"I won't pretend our relationship had nothing to do with it. But she also has the strength to hold the position."
He laid out both of their records plainly, giving the young man the context he'd never bothered to seek out for himself.
The more he heard, the more troubled the young Shinigami became.
He'd known Kōga was Kazuma's student.
That was about it.
The special forces Kōga had commanded were secretive by nature, so ordinary Shinigami knew almost nothing about his service record.
From the outside, it had looked as though a Kuchiki had appeared from nowhere and immediately been handed a captaincy.
Seen that way, favoritism had seemed like the obvious explanation.
The young man lowered his gaze for a moment before speaking again.
"Fine. Captain Kōga clearly has the experience and qualifications. I won't argue with that."
Then he looked toward Rukia.
"But what about her? Why should I believe Kuchiki Rukia is strong enough to serve as First Division lieutenant just because you say so?"
Kazuma didn't bother arguing.
He crouched beside the battered Shinigami and used Kaidō to stabilize his injuries, making sure the idiot wasn't about to die on him.
Then he glanced at Rukia.
"Show him."
Rukia understood immediately.
"Hah!"
Her reiatsu erupted.
The pressure slammed into the young Shinigami like a tidal wave.
His eyes went wide.
'What the hell…?'
He'd never felt spiritual pressure this overwhelming.
He'd never personally witnessed a captain fighting at full strength, but the suffocating force bearing down on him felt close enough that the distinction hardly mattered.
His body crashed flat against the floor.
Sweat poured down his face as he struggled for every breath, unable to lift so much as a finger.
Rukia watched him carefully.
After roughly two and a half seconds, she withdrew her reiatsu.
Any longer and the poor bastard might genuinely have been crushed by it.
The young Shinigami lay there gasping before finally forcing himself upright.
"Captain-Commander…"
His voice had lost all its earlier defiance.
"I'm sorry."
He bowed his head.
"I was wrong. I listened to people stirring up trouble and spread rumors without knowing the facts."
Now that he knew Kōga's actual history and had experienced Rukia's strength firsthand, he understood exactly how badly he'd jumped to conclusions.
Kazuma had always had more patience for people who could admit when they were wrong.
The truly exhausting ones were the idiots who knew they'd screwed up and still doubled down rather than lose face.
Those people were unbearable.
Kazuma walked over and placed a hand on the young Shinigami.
Star power flowed from his palm.
Warm energy swept through the man's body, and his injuries vanished almost instantly.
"Captain-Commander…"
The young Shinigami stared at him, eyes beginning to water.
He'd publicly slandered Kazuma, spread false accusations, and openly challenged his authority.
The beating he received was something he could hardly call undeserved.
Yet Kazuma had personally healed him.
And that wasn't all.
As the star power moved through his body, his reiatsu began climbing rapidly.
He was still far from being considered truly powerful, but that was already around the level expected of a respectable mid-ranking seated officer.
Tears gathered in his eyes.
Kazuma immediately frowned.
"What are you crying for? Pull yourself together."
The young man hurriedly tried to compose himself.
Kazuma turned toward Iba.
"Tetsuzaemon, take him away. I want a detailed written report on everything he heard, who he heard it from, and where the rumor started."
"Yes, Captain-Commander."
Iba bowed, then gestured to the young Shinigami.
"Come with me."
The two left the office.
Once the door closed, Kazuma turned to Rukia.
"Rukia."
His voice softened slightly.
"Did you understand why I handled it that way?"
Rukia nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course!"
She grinned.
"You scared the hell out of him first, then gave him something in return once he admitted his mistake."
She clasped her hands behind her back.
"The stick and the carrot."
Then she gave Kazuma an innocent smile.
"I understand that much, Teacher. I'm not stupid."
...
"Good. At least you understood what I was trying to teach you."
Kazuma gave Rukia an approving look.
"So, do you still think I was being too harsh?"
In truth, part of his concern had less to do with leadership and more to do with preserving his image in Rukia's eyes.
If he handled this badly, he really was going to end up looking like the villain everyone kept insisting he was.
Before long, Iba hurried back into the office with a detailed report in hand.
"Captain-Commander, according to his statement, the rumor came from a Shinigami named Takaha Sabei. He was the one who told him that you and the Kuchiki Clan had some kind of secret arrangement."
"Takaha Sabei?"
Kazuma frowned and tapped a finger against the desk.
The name sounded familiar.
After a moment, recognition finally clicked.
"Right. I've heard that name before. Sixth Division, wasn't it?"
Iba nodded, then asked carefully,
"Should I have the special forces keep digging?"
"Absolutely."
Kazuma's expression sharpened.
"I want the whole thing traced back to its source."
He had no intention of letting this disappear quietly.
He'd only just taken office. If there was ever a good time to establish exactly how far people could push him, this was it.
"Bring Kuchiki Byakuya here as well."
Kazuma intended to attack the problem from both directions.
The special forces could follow the rumor trail, while Byakuya could tell him more about Takaha Sabei himself.
If the man belonged to the Sixth Division, its captain should know at least something about him.
"Yes, Captain-Commander."
Iba vanished in Shunpo.