Kōga Kuchiki hurried through the hallway of the Kuchiki manor.
He stopped outside his father-in-law's room, straightened his clothes, took a breath, and bowed.
"Father."
His voice was low.
"Head Captain Yamamoto has placed me in charge of his direct special unit!"
That afternoon, he had been summoned to the First Division barracks.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had looked at him and spoken at length.
He said Kōga had done well. He said he had been efficient. He said he had met expectations.
Then Yamamoto tapped the floor lightly with his staff.
"From today onward, the special unit under my direct command will be yours to lead. This unit operates independently and is not attached to any division. For personnel ranked Lieutenant or below, you may decide their deployment yourself."
Kōga had been placed in charge of the Head Captain's direct unit.
That meant that, aside from the Head Captain himself, he now held the most authority in that force.
Even the First Division's Lieutenant would have to treat him with respect.
He was below only one man.
When Kōga left the First Division, he felt as if he were floating.
Only one thought stayed in his mind:
This time, Father will finally acknowledge me... right?
That father who always said he acted too fast and lacked composure.
That father who only told him to "keep working hard" when he first became Third Seat.
That father who used him as a negative example after he executed the traitors at Mount Koifushi.
But this time was different.
This time, he had been praised directly by Head Captain Yamamoto.
This time, he had been given real authority.
This time, things should change.
Kōga remained bowed and waited for the door to open.
He waited for the look of pride his father might finally show.
The door opened halfway.
Inside, Ginrei Kuchiki sat with his back to the entrance, kneeling before a desk.
A paper lamp beside him gave off a dim yellow light.
He did not turn around.
"Is that so?" Ginrei said. His voice was flat. "Then remember this. Keep improving. Do not disgrace the name of the Kuchiki family."
Kōga froze.
He stayed bowed, but his mind went blank for a moment.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
This was recognition from Head Captain Yamamoto.
This was direct authority under him.
He had worked nonstop to get here. He eliminated traitors. He kept order. Wasn't that the point of all of it?
Wasn't it all to prove he was worthy of carrying the Kuchiki name?
And because of that book, The Loneliness and Arrogance of a Genius Youth, his reputation in the Seireitei had been rising every day.
Many lesser noble houses had already sent messages in private. Their meaning was obvious: they wanted to stand with the Kuchiki family.
Everything was moving in the right direction.
So why was his father still this cold?
What had he done wrong?
A hot pressure rose in his chest and caught in his throat.
He thought of his older brother, Sōjun.
He thought of the people in the shadows trying to strip the Kuchiki family of its position.
He thought of the nights when he slept only four hours, leading his unit back and forth between the Seireitei and the Rukongai.
He had worked this hard to protect the Kuchiki name.
He had done it to avenge Sōjun.
Kōga raised his head and looked at his father's back.
The old man sat straight.
At that moment, he looked cold and far away.
Before Kōga noticed it, his voice had already risen.
"Aren't you happy at all!?"
The words burst out, and once they did, he could not stop.
"I, the son-in-law of the Kuchiki family, have earned Head Captain Yamamoto's recognition!"
He stepped forward half a pace. The hem of his Shihakushō brushed the doorframe.
"What is wrong with that!?"
His voice echoed through the room.
The flame in the lamp shook.
Ginrei Kuchiki still did not turn around.
He did not even move.
After a few seconds, he spoke in the same calm tone.
"Then remember not to fail the expectations and trust the Head Captain has placed in you."
"Wha..."
Kōga opened his mouth, but the rest of his words got stuck.
He had expected an argument.
He had expected to be scolded. Even "watch your tone" would have been better than this.
But there was nothing.
Only a mild reminder, as if he were still a child who understood nothing.
Kōga bit his lip until he tasted blood.
Only then did he realize how hard he was biting.
He stepped back and bowed again. His movements were stiff.
"...I will remember your teachings."
Then he straightened, gave one last look at that distant back, and turned to leave.
He did not look behind him.
So he did not see the figure who stepped out only after he was gone.
At the end of the hall, a slender woman stepped out from behind the corner.
She was the Kuchiki family's daughter.
And Kōga's wife.
She held her sleeves tightly and looked in the direction he had gone. Her lips were pressed into a thin line.
Half her face was lit by the lamplight.
Her expression did not change.
But her eyes were slightly red.
She stood there for a long time.
Only after Kōga's footsteps had completely faded did she step back and disappear into the shadows.
At the same time, elsewhere in the Seireitei.
There was a sealed room with no windows. No spiritual pressure could be sensed from outside.
A low table stood in the center.
Three teacups sat on it, each giving off a thin trail of steam.
Three men sat around the table.
All three wore white sleeveless haori, but unlike the Gotei 13, there were no squad markings on the back.
This was not a Gotei 13 uniform.
It was the formal clothing of the Noble Council.
Only official members were allowed to wear it.
An old man with white hair sat in the main seat. His face was thin, and his fingers were long. He used the lid of his teacup to stir the leaves inside.
"The conflict," he said, his voice rough, "will be over very soon."
The middle-aged man on his left nodded.
He had a square face, thick brows, and narrow eyes. He always looked at people as if he were judging their value.
"Head Captain Yamamoto stepped in personally and shut down the unrest. The families making the most noise have already backed off. Next comes the division of the rewards... and the reshuffling of status."
"One place among the great noble houses is now open," said the young man on the right.
He looked the youngest, perhaps not even a hundred years old. But he looked more calculating than the other two.
"The Shiba family withdrew early. Among our three houses, who will take that place?"
The room went quiet.
The old man set his cup down with a sharp sound.
"Who rises is not decided by merit alone," he said. "It depends on who has the fewest obstacles."
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes.
"You mean that son-in-law of the Kuchiki family?"
"Kōga Kuchiki," the young man said.
"The man now leading the Head Captain's direct unit. The Head Captain's favored subordinate. And that book of his, praising him to the sky."
"Right now, ordinary Shinigami in the Seireitei see him as a hero. The lesser nobles want to follow him. If this continues, his name will be the first one written down when the rewards are handed out."
"Merit can be shared," the old man said.
"But reputation, prestige, and public support cannot. If he stays where he is, the three of us will end up fighting each other, and in the end, none of us may rise."
The middle-aged man lifted his cup but did not drink.
"I've been watching him. He's strong. His Zanpakutō is troublesome. We won't beat him in a direct fight. But he has a weakness."
The young man raised a brow.
"His state of mind?"
"Yes."
The middle-aged man set the cup back down.
"He wants to prove himself too badly. He wants recognition too badly. Especially from his father-in-law."
The old man gave a thin smile.
"Then this will be simple. To destroy a man, you do not always need to break his sword."
"Ruin his reputation?" The young man's eyes brightened.
"That part I can handle. Rumors, forged evidence, arranging for a few 'victims' to accuse him... done properly, and in three days his name will stink across the Seireitei."
The middle-aged man shook his head.
"That alone isn't enough. We need to be crueler."
He leaned forward and lowered his voice.
"Make him destroy what he values most with his own hands."
The room fell silent again.
At last, the old man spoke.
"Make the arrangements. Start with the people around him. Find their weaknesses and lay traps. Do not strike him directly. Lead him. Make him walk into a dead end on his own."
"When he finally breaks, when he makes a mistake, when Head Captain Yamamoto loses faith in him..." He raised a hand and drew it across his throat. "Then cleaning up the rest will be easy."
The young man laughed.
"Understood. I'll arrange a few 'coincidences' so he can uncover secrets he was never meant to find."
The middle-aged man added, "He has killed many people lately. In the families of the dead, there are always one or two who want revenge. All we need to do is stir them up a little... and place a weapon in their hands."
The old man nodded and picked up his cup again.
"Then it is decided."
The three men raised their cups together, as if they were already toasting a victory.
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