"Phew! Thank God. That demon isn't here."
Shuren patted his chest in relief, then carefully looked over the group of Shinigami in front of him.
To his immense relief, Kazuma was nowhere among them.
'As long as that monster isn't here, everything's fine.'
His confidence immediately started returning.
'These reckless Shinigami actually dare come down here and act tough in front of me? Do they really think I, Shuren, am some pushover?'
Just thinking about Kazuma still sent a chill through him.
The man was absurdly powerful, unpredictable, and perfectly capable of killing someone permanently over the smallest provocation.
But since he didn't appear to be here, Shuren could finally relax.
He was just about to teach these arrogant Shinigami a lesson when a familiar figure caught his eye.
Shuren froze.
His eyes widened so far they nearly popped out of his head.
Rukia.
She was standing right there among them.
The hand he'd already raised stopped halfway through the motion.
Shuren knew perfectly well that Rukia was Kazuma's student.
If she'd come to Hell, then there was every possibility that Kazuma was hiding somewhere nearby and simply hadn't revealed himself yet.
That thought immediately killed most of Shuren's enthusiasm for fighting.
'No. Absolutely not.'
Cold sweat began forming across his forehead.
'I'm not gambling on this. The second I attack, that demon could jump out of nowhere and kill me before I even understand what happened.'
After wrestling with the decision for only a moment, Shuren abruptly changed his entire attitude.
"Oh my! If it isn't my honored lady!"
He vanished from where he stood and hurried straight toward Rukia.
"What brings you back to our humble little Hell? Is there anything this lowly one can possibly do for you?"
By the time he reached her, his face was covered in the most shamelessly flattering smile imaginable.
He bowed repeatedly, looking every bit like a groveling servant.
The sudden transformation left everyone speechless.
Hitsugaya and the others had already drawn their Zanpakutō halfway from their sheaths, only to stop and stare.
A moment ago, Shuren had looked ready to tear them apart.
Now he was practically bending over backward to please Rukia.
The contrast was so extreme that nobody quite knew what to make of it.
"Hahaha! Long time no see."
Rukia folded her arms, thoroughly enjoying herself.
"I only came to Hell to take care of a few minor matters. Everything's finished now, so I'm heading back to the Human World."
She lifted her chin.
"So hurry up and open the Gate of Hell for me."
Rukia could finally understand why people enjoyed throwing their weight around.
This felt fantastic.
"Did Lord Kazuma not come with you?"
Shuren kept looking around while he spoke, his gaze repeatedly sweeping across the surroundings.
There was still no trace of Kazuma.
Eventually, he couldn't resist asking.
"You mean my teacher?"
Rukia answered casually.
"Nope. He didn't come."
"YOU FUCKING—!"
Shuren's face changed instantly.
The respectful, obedient little servant disappeared as though he'd never existed.
Kazuma wasn't here?!
Then he'd just spent all that time humiliating himself in front of this brat for absolutely nothing!
When Kazuma came, Shuren got bullied.
When Kazuma didn't come, he still got bullied.
Did these people seriously think he was some weakling they could squeeze however they pleased?
"Oh?"
Rukia remained completely calm despite his sudden change in attitude.
"My teacher may not have come with me, but he's waiting for me in the Human World right now."
A sly smile appeared on her face.
"If he finds out you attacked me…"
"Hehehe."
She looked Shuren straight in the eye.
"Do you think he might immediately come back down here and beat the hell out of you?"
Shuren fell silent.
Rukia was shamelessly borrowing Kazuma's reputation, confident that he wouldn't dare take the risk.
After all, how was Shuren supposed to know whether she was telling the truth?
If she really was—
he was completely screwed.
'What do I do?'
Shuren's thoughts tangled together.
'Do I believe her?'
'Or call her bluff?'
Should he gamble?
"Come on."
Rukia cheerfully added more pressure.
"You're a Togabito. Even if you die, you'll just revive, right? What are you scared of?"
On the surface, it sounded almost like encouragement.
In reality, she was reminding him exactly what could happen.
Shuren glanced back at his three remaining subordinates.
The memory of Gunjō's fate was still painfully fresh.
Kazuma had killed him so thoroughly that he never revived.
No.
Not worth the risk.
"I'll open the Gate of Hell immediately!"
Shuren activated his power without another word.
The sky distorted, and a Gate of Hell slowly opened above them.
"We're leaving!"
Rukia immediately rushed through first.
Yoruichi, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, Kira, and Rangiku followed close behind.
If Shuren had known that they'd entered Hell specifically because Kazuma was missing, he probably would have regretted his decision so badly he'd want to smash his head against the nearest rock.
...
"We're finally back!"
The moment Rangiku stepped through the Gate, she drew a huge breath of the Human World's reishi.
It felt wonderful.
The constant sensation of Hell's miasma gnawing at her spiritual body disappeared almost immediately.
"Hey, Rukia."
Rangiku leaned closer with obvious curiosity.
"Why was that Togabito so terrified the moment he heard Captain Kazuma's name?"
"At first, those four were ready to fight us, but the second you stepped forward, they started acting like frightened grandchildren."
She narrowed her eyes mischievously.
"Did Captain Kazuma do something particularly horrible to them last time?"
"It wasn't anything special."
Rukia answered casually.
"There used to be five of them."
She paused deliberately.
"My teacher killed one."
Then she emphasized the important part.
"Permanently. He couldn't revive afterward."
Everyone fell silent.
"What?"
Kenpachi understood the significance better than almost anyone.
During this trip through Hell, he'd fought plenty of Togabito.
He'd cut them down more than once.
Every single time, they eventually came back.
Actually killing one permanently?
Kenpachi knew he couldn't do that.
The concept itself went beyond what he understood about Hell.
Wonderful.
He was the clown again.
Yoruichi barely reacted.
At this point, she'd long since accepted that Kazuma was a complete freak of nature. Hearing that he'd done something impossible merely earned a brief flicker of surprise out of courtesy.
Rangiku and Kira, on the other hand, were thoroughly bewildered.
Permanently killing a Togabito?
What kind of ridiculous joke was that?
And while they were still processing it, another uncomfortable realization crept in.
Rukia herself felt increasingly strange.
The longer they were around her, the more she gave off the same kind of presence as a captain.
What the hell had happened to the world while they weren't paying attention?
For one brief moment, Rangiku and Kira felt as though reality itself had personally decided to bully them.
They wanted to report this.
They wanted to file a formal complaint.
Someone was blatantly cheating and destroying the established rules of progression.
This game was becoming completely unplayable.