"Awooo!"
Kuchiki Kōga's agonized howls echoed through the Seventh Division, loud enough to make the entire barracks feel his pain.
Kazuma showed no intention of stopping.
His face was dark, his eyes blazing, and every swing of his sheathed Zanpakutō carried all the rage he'd been holding in for days.
Today, this treacherous student was getting properly educated, and no one was going to talk Kazuma out of it!
Nearby, Batsu'unsai and Shunsui watched the spectacle with great interest.
They even had popcorn.
The two stood there snacking and occasionally chuckling as they enjoyed this touching display of master-student affection.
"Master's wife! Save me! Please save—!"
Kōga desperately reached toward Batsu'unsai, pleading for sanctuary.
"Hah! Like she'd dare!"
Kazuma, already blinded by rage, shouted the words without thinking.
The room went quiet.
"Hmm?"
Batsu'unsai's brow twitched.
She hadn't intended to interfere. In fact, she was perfectly happy watching Kōga get beaten after helping spread those rumors.
But Kazuma's casual like she'd dare was another matter entirely.
Was he challenging her authority as head of the household?
Had this man forgotten who outranked whom at home?
"Hmph."
A dangerous glint entered Batsu'unsai's eyes.
Apparently, Kazuma had gone too long without discipline.
One moment she was standing beside Shunsui.
The next, she was already in front of Kazuma.
Her right hand caught the wrist holding his Zanpakutō, instantly stopping the next strike and giving Kōga his chance to escape.
Her left hand went straight for the soft flesh at Kazuma's waist.
Then came the legendary—
The Waist Pincer.
"AWW!"
Kazuma's scream was every bit as miserable as Kōga's had been.
A vicious bolt of pain tore through his waist, twisting his entire body and draining the color from his face.
Shunsui visibly flinched.
"How terrifying…"
Just watching it made his own waist ache in sympathy.
"Saved!"
Kōga scrambled behind Batsu'unsai like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.
Panting heavily, he muttered, "When it really matters, Master's wife is still the reliable one. Captain Kyōraku has no loyalty at all. He just stood there watching me suffer…"
"My beloved wife, I was wrong!"
Kazuma immediately surrendered.
"Completely wrong! Every mistake was mine!"
With Batsu'unsai still firmly pinching his weak point, whatever courage he'd shown moments ago vanished without a trace.
Why had he been stupid enough to challenge his wife's authority in public?
"Kōga."
Batsu'unsai glanced behind her.
"Come here and tie your teacher up."
"Wife, please have mercy!"
The pain at Kazuma's waist only grew worse, sweat rolling down his pale face.
"I really learned my lesson!"
"Mercy?"
Batsu'unsai snorted.
"If I let you off today, won't you expect me to let you off again tomorrow? Do I look like I run a horse-release service?"
She'd already stepped in.
There was no stopping halfway.
Today, one way or another, Kazuma was going to accept the position of Captain-Commander.
"Master's wife?"
Kōga stared at her in disbelief.
Tie up his teacher?
That was the kind of thought he normally wouldn't even dare entertain.
Batsu'unsai's expression hardened.
"What are you hesitating for?"
"You already spread the rumors. Do you honestly think your teacher is going to forgive you now?"
She pointed toward Kazuma.
"Tie him up and take him to Genryūsai. Once that happens, the rumor becomes reality."
Kōga still hesitated.
Batsu'unsai gave him a disappointed look.
"You had the courage to start the rumor, but not the courage to finish what you started?"
"With that kind of indecision, how do you expect to accomplish anything important in the future?"
Kōga's face burned with shame.
She… had a point.
He was already in too deep.
If he backed out now, his teacher would beat him.
And Yamamoto would probably beat him too.
His eyes slowly hardened with resolve.
Kōga clenched his fists.
"Fine!"
He gritted his teeth.
"In for a penny, in for a pound!"
He raised one hand.
"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku!"
Glowing chains erupted from the air like living serpents and wrapped around Kazuma in an instant, binding his arms and body tightly.
Kōga swallowed.
"There."
Batsu'unsai studied Kazuma for a moment.
Then she decided it still wasn't enough.
Her hands formed several rapid seals, and she layered another binding spell over the first.
Kazuma could only curse inwardly.
Ever since returning from that chaotic space, less than a tenth of his former strength remained, and he still hadn't fully recovered.
Meanwhile, Batsu'unsai had become drastically stronger.
Breaking free from bindings cast by her in his current condition was almost impossible.
From the sidelines, Shunsui suddenly made a quiet sound of realization.
"Ohhh…"
Everything finally clicked.
So that was the missing piece.
Batsu'unsai was on Old Man Yama's side.
No wonder she'd laughed so hard when she heard the rumor.
Now the whole thing made sense.
Kazuma was the piece on the board.
Yamamoto, Batsu'unsai, and Kōga were the players moving him around.
Shunsui paused.
Actually…
No.
Kōga definitely didn't qualify as a player.
He was another chess piece.
And judging by the beating he'd just received, a particularly miserable one.