Komamura Sajin is known for being a gentle person with a heart of gold. Many know him for his impartiality in leading his division. He is one who accepts and forgives the fault of others, which is what made him so loved by his subordinates in his division. His deep loyalty to the Captain Commander is well-known, and thus many Shinigamis' impression of him is that he is as loyal as he is brave.
However, what he wasn't expecting to happen one fine day is for the Captain of the Sixth Division, Kuchiki Ginrei, who had just passed on the title of Head of the Kuchiki clan to his grandson, to personally pay him a visit. Ginrei's grandson, Kuchiki Byakuya, is also slated to take over Ginrei's position as the Captain of the Sixth Division in a few years, which will finally allow the aged Captain to retire.
Sajin was surprised further the moment Ginrei told him the purpose of his visit. Ginrei is asking him a favour to take his granddaughter into his division and is already apologising in advance for what she might do in the future, much to Sajin's bafflement.
Sajin had heard a little about the little Kuchiki prodigy who had graduated from the Academy in a single year. Upon looking at her file, he can see why the Captain Commander had asked for her to be tested and let her graduate should she pass the requirements. He can also see why Ginrei was apologising to him in advance the moment Sajin agreed to take the young Kuchiki under his wing. Given the number of classes she skipped and the number of assignments she never handed in, he is impressed that Kuchiki Kurui even managed a passing grade. The only reason why she didn't fail is because she aced all her tests, thereby helping her to scrapped through and achieving the bare minimum overall grade required of her to pass.
She basically exploited the rules of the Academy's system to let herself pass with minimum effort.
The instructors at the Academy had obviously picked up on how smart she is. Kuchiki Kurui is just playful and lazy, but she is by no means stupid. There's no way someone who can consistently score full marks for all her tests only achieve an overall passing grade. Kurui's practical scores are nothing to scoff at either. Her Hakuda is only above average, but her skills in Kido, Hoho, and Zanjutsu are exceptional. From what the Academy had documented about Kurui, she and her friends had survived an unexpected hollow encounter with no injuries to their person, although that may be attributed to the fact that Kurui was smart enough to call for reinforcements the moment she found that something is amiss. Her weird personality aside, Kuchiki Kurui's skillset would make her an exceptional Shinigami.
And so, Sajin agreed to Ginrei's request. There will be problems trying to get the young Kuchiki to listen to him and adhere to the rules of his division, but he is sure that they can come to a compromise. The Kuchiki isn't a spoiled brat as far as he can tell, she just chose to ignore the rules in favour for her own convenience as long as it doesn't implicate others. At least she shows some form of consideration to others when she chose to break the rules.
Kuchiki Kurui is even smaller than he had imagined.
That was his first thing that came to his mind when Sajin looked at Kurui through his helmet. Kurui had to crane her neck upwards to even look at him eye-to-eye.
"Wow, you are really huge, Captain."
Sajin wasn't expecting someone of noble birth to forgo all sense of formality and address him so casually, but he doesn't mind. It is a nice change of pace. Kurui still treats him with the respect a Captain deserves, it's just that she did so in a manner different from most.
His division was on a lull period at that time, so seeing as he had nothing better to do, Sajin decided to personally give the newest member of his division a tour of their barracks.
"This is our division's insignia." Sajin still remembered the time when he purposely brought the young Kuchiki to the spacious area in the barracks where most of his subordinates will spend their idle time together. Their division's insignia is painted on a large wall which overlooks them. "Our insignia is represented by the Iris plant, which symbolises many meanings. However, the one meaning which the whole of the Seventh Division emphasise above all is courage."
Sajin turned to Kurui, who was staring up at the division's insignia.
"Our division is made up of sincere, unpretentious people who live life with gusto. Given what I heard about you, I believe that you will fit in well here. We also strongly believe in moral obligation and compassion. This is the ethos that we passed down through the ranks in our division. Unlike other divisions, we recognise a warrior's strength not by the power they wield, but with their overflowing devotion and unwavering courage. We value those with a strong sense of loyalty and those who puts friendship and honouring of their obligation above all. I believe that you have these qualities, which is the main reason why I accepted your grandfather's request to accept you into my division."
"Devotion, courage, and loyalty, huh?" Kurui said out loud in thought. "Never thought that I will be described as such. People always call me playful, lazy, insufferable, noisy-"
"That is just the façade that you love to hide your true self with." Sajin got straight to the point and broke the figurative mask that the young Kuchiki wore in public. "Beneath that delinquent exterior is a heart that is fiercely loyal to those that had earned your recognition and those who you hold dear. Never stray from this path, Kurui."
It seems that his words that day got Kurui to respect him even more, judging by how she never shirked off her work if he tells her that it is urgent and he wants it done immediately. She still breaks the division's rules on a daily basis, much to the exasperation and frustration of his vice-captain, Iba Tetsuzaemon, but these rules that she broke repeatedly are basically harmless ones. Sajin is willing to turn a blind eye to such behaviours if it allows him to keep the energetic Kuchiki better under control in the larger scheme of things.
Kurui is always sneaking out of the division barracks to explore the other divisions. She had always complained that the reason why her grandfather pulled strings to send her here was because he and Byakuya were afraid that she will really go through on her promise to join the Eleventh Division, much to Sajin's amusement. Somehow, Kurui had managed to befriend many Shinigamis from various divisions on her daily escapades. According to Yachiru, on one occasion that Kurui had visited the Eleventh Division, Kurui had proved herself there by 'beating the guys senseless with just her fists' in a free-for-all match. Yachiru used her authority as a vice-captain to grant Kurui the status of an honorary member of the Eleventh Division after that incident, even if that status isn't recognised by anyone other than Yachiru herself. Zaraki even had the gall to demand Sajin to transfer Kurui to his division immediately, a request that both Sajin and Ginrei had instantly denied.
Sajin noticed that Kurui's skills in combat is exceptional for her age in the first week after she joined the Seventh Division. The only thing she lacks is field experience, but that can be quickly rectified by sending her on missions that is on her skill level. There were also many of his subordinates who were unhappy that Kurui got sent on a real mission so soon after getting herself posted to the Seventh Division. When Kurui was being granted a seated position immediately after her graduation from the Academy, their dissatisfaction about her rose even further, believing that Kurui is receiving preferential treatment because she is from a noble family. They stopped when Kurui demonstrated why Yachiru granted her the status of an honorary member of the Eleventh Division. For someone so tiny, her punches are painful if you are on the receiving end of it and Hakuda isn't even her forte. Every member of the Seventh Division who were dissatisfied at the treatment Kurui received upon joining them had shut up when she proved her strength and worth. It was through such 'bonding sessions' that Kurui slowly climbed her way up as their Third Seat within a year after she joined. No one in the Seventh Division is able to match her blow for blow save Tetsuzaemon and himself.
The only thing that Sajin cannot seem to figure out is that no matter how much Kurui skives on her job, she can always get her work done in a satisfactory manner within the deadline. Somehow. If only she can impart her secrets to him, his job would be so much easier.
Despite their differences, his subordinates soon formed a strong bond with Kurui and treated her as one of their own. His men are not the type of people who holds petty grudges. With that, most of his worries of the young Kuchiki not fitting into his division are relieved.
Kurui did have some problems trying to get to learn the name of her Zanpakuto, which puzzled everyone. Given her strength back then even when she first joined, she should be at least capable of invoking a Shikai at that point in time. It took her another year shortly before she got promoted to Third Seat, but Kurui did managed to achieve Shikai eventually.
Kurui had told him that her Zanpakuto's name is Honsoku Kowasu, which literally means Rule Break. According to her, her Shikai grants her immense physical boost at the cost of physical exhaustion once the effect ended, allowing her to have a tremendous increase in power for a short period of time by temporarily surpassing her own physical limits. When her Shikai is released, Kurui's Hakuda is no longer her weakest point due to the increase of her physical power.
Sajin doesn't buy her explanation even if he gave the impression that he had accepted it. He knows the young Kuchiki well enough to know that she is not telling him the full truth. Her Zanpakuto's real ability must be something else, but if she wants to keep it a secret, then so be it. He can understand the need to not disclose everything about one's Zanpakuto's abilities, since the manifestation of one's sword abilities reflects your soul. It is something personal.
Sajin gave a mental sigh when he opens the door to his office and spotted Kurui already in the room playing with his pet dog, Goro, again.
"Kurui. How many times have I told you to not sneak into my office?"
"Hi Captain!" Kurui replied with a cheery wave as she hugged Goro close to her with her other arm. "Tetsuzaemon-senpai is out for my blood for sneaking out of our division barracks to play with Yachiru yesterday! So I'm laying low for a while until the storm has passed!"
Sajin would have facepalmed if it wasn't for his helmet getting in his way. Nevertheless, he accepted the flimsy explanation and moved to his desk, sorting through the paperwork for the day. At least Kurui volunteers to help him take care of Goro, a gesture that he appreciates since he can be extremely busy at times to take proper care of his pet dog.
"If you are already here, then you might as well help me out with the paperwork. Consider it as payment for hiding you from Tetsuzaemon."
Kurui did a cute pout, but unlike Ginrei and Byakuya, Sajin is resistant to this action of hers.
Seeing that it is no use in avoiding what is to come, Kurui reluctantly received the stack of papers but sorted them out diligently and meticulously upon his orders. Kurui is a hard worker when it comes to anything that catches her interest but tends to slack off in those that didn't. You just have to direct her energy to areas which she is interested in.
"How did your training go?" Sajin made idle conversation with their division's chatterbox as he went through his paperwork that was sorted for him by Kurui. At least it won't be boring with her around.
"Same old, same old." Kurui said in a bored tone as she rested her chin on her palm. "Other than you, only Tetsuzaemon-senpai gives me a hard-enough time in a spar."
"You do realise that your growth rate is extremely fast, right?" Sajin asked curiously. He has a feeling that Kurui just doesn't realise that she puts in a lot more effort and time in honing her skills as compared to others. Naturally, that translates into her improving a lot faster than her peers.
"All I do is train! The same thing that the others do!" Kurui whined as she threw a small tantrum.
Sajin shook his head in exasperation. His suspicion seems to be spot on. He took a brief look at Kurui's Zanpakuto, whose appearance had changed into a nodachi after Kurui had learnt its name. The long, two-handed sword has a simple cross guard with an open frame like a four-pane window, similar to the one Byakuya's Zanpakuto has. Her nodachi has a dark purple wrapping around the hilt and a sheath as dark as the night. Her nodachi is a stark contrast to Kurui's small built as its length is too long for her to carry it around by attaching it to the rope belt on her waist. In the end, the only way she can carry her Zanpakuto around is by slinging it across her back.
It is the form that her Zanpakuto took that made Sajin suspect that Honsoku Kowasu's real ability is not what Kurui had told him. From his personal experience, the physical form a Zanpakuto took when its Shikai is activated will suit its true abilities perfectly. Honsoku Kowasu's Shikai form is still the same form of a nodachi it uses even in its sealed state. If Honsoku Kowasu's ability is really to allow Kurui to temporarily surpass her own physical limits, there are many other suitable forms that her Zanpakuto can take. Taking the form of a nodachi isn't the best suited form given Honsoku Kowasu's supposed ability.
In a surprising show of speed, Kurui finished sorting through the paperwork he gave her in record time. Unsurprisingly, the reason for it is so that she can go back to playing with Goro. At least they have a shared love for dogs.
"Oh! Before I forget!" Kurui exclaimed before looking up at the huge Captain. "Captain! I will be taking a day off next Tuesday! I have some family matters to attend to."
"Just remember to file the necessary paperwork and get Tetsuzaemon to sign it." Sajin grunted out. There's no point denying Kurui in her request since she will go on her day off with or without his approval. She is pretty much fearless against anything. She respects him enough but is definitely not afraid of him or any punishment that he deals out.
"Is this because of your brother being the newly appointed Head of your clan?" Sajin inquired further. Byakuya had just been made the 28th Head of the Kuchiki clan, and the change in leadership might have caused certain issues to surface. Sajin wouldn't be surprised if that were truly the case.
"Partly." Kurui said as she lay on her back and allowed Goro to lick her face as she giggled from the contact. "But Nii-sama is finally introducing me to his girlfriend! He is seeing a woman behind my back for years without me knowing about it until Sofu told me! AHH!" Kurui gripped the sides of her head in frustration at the thought. "How?! Being sneaky is supposed to be my thing! Not his!"
"Well, in that case, enjoy yourself." Sajin returned to doing his work, not interested in the gossip of which woman had caught the interest of the new Head of the Kuchiki clan.
"Say, Captain." Kurui shifted herself closer and peered up at him while hugging Goro close to her. "Do you have a girlfriend? When are you getting married? Can I meet her? Pleeeeeeeeeease?"
Sajin can feel his mouth twitching in irritation beneath his helmet at the sudden bombardment of questions, but at least she is not bugging him to take off his helmet this time round.
"Your grandfather is right; you are insufferable."
"Captaaaaaaaain!"
