Under the night sky, Koga stared silently at the full moon beyond the window bars.
Three months had passed since his meeting with Kyoya.
These three months were undoubtedly the most difficult for Koga.
Due to the shift in Ginrei's attitude toward him, not only the Kuchiki Clan but even other noble families no longer regarded him as the future head of the Kuchiki Clan. Instead, they scornfully referred to him as the 'Kuchiki Clan's live-in son-in-law'.
The attitudes of the 6th Division's Shinigami were slightly better than the nobles'.
After all, Shinigami were a profession where strength spoke for itself.
Even if Koga was no longer the future head of the Kuchiki Clan, his combat prowess within the 6th Division was still on par with the Captain, Ginrei, himself. Of course, there were still gaps.
In the past, Koga had been the 6th Division's Captain Candidate, personally chosen by Ginrei Kuchiki.
To ensure Koga's legitimacy, Ginrei had even sent his own grandson, Byakuya Kuchiki, to the 11th Division.
As the noble division, the 6th Division's Shinigami viewed the 11th Division, the combat division, as nothing more than a 'barbarian division'.
For the eldest grandson of the Kuchiki Clan to join the 'barbarian division' was, in their eyes, a breach of noble etiquette.
An imperfect head of the Kuchiki Clan would never gain the recognition of the other noble families.
The 'Model Noble' was the ultimate aspiration of all nobles. Every action and gesture would be imitated and studied by others, meaning there could be not a single blemish.
But as Ginrei's attitude changed, so too did the 6th Division's treatment of Koga.
After all, there was a difference between being the third seat and being the Captain's successor.
In the past, Koga might not have cared much about these thoughts.
But now, with limited life experience, even after realizing Kyoya's intentions, Koga hadn't sensed any malice from him.
Yet, it had to be admitted that the current Koga was extremely sensitive to shifts in people's emotions and attitudes toward him.
Under these circumstances, after being deliberately provoked by schemers who insulted his wife, Haruko, Koga flew into a rage and attacked, ultimately landing himself in prison for violating the Soul Society's laws.
Even his Zanpakuto had been confiscated.
For a Shinigami, a Zanpakuto was as vital as a second life.
Koga was naturally no exception.
However, unlike others, no matter where Muramasa was, as long as Koga called out, Muramasa, upon hearing his voice, would instantly appear by his side.
Of course, Koga had never mentioned this ability to anyone else.
He never thought his Zanpakuto could be taken from him.
At the same time, he didn't see this ability as anything worth boasting about. If anything, revealing it might even invite ridicule.
Only after being imprisoned and having his Zanpakuto confiscated did Koga realize just how much of an advantage this ability gave him. At the very least, even locked in a cell, he wasn't completely powerless.
Expanding his Reikaku and confirming no other Shinigami were nearby, Koga whispered, "Borsalino-sama, are you there?"
"Ara ara, Koga-dono~ I've been faithfully honoring Kyoya's agreement and haven't left your side for even a moment~"
In a lazy drawl, a dazzling light shimmered, and Borsalino's figure materialized before Koga.
This was Bakudo #26, Kyokko!
This Bakudo enveloped an object in a transparent curtain of light, rendering it invisible.
As a master of Light, Borsalino had a natural affinity for light-based Kido.
The invisibility barrier he created by manipulating light based on Kyokko's principles didn't just conceal his form… it also masked sound.
In fact, the primary reason Borsalino had remained undetected while following Koga for so long was this very Kido.
Seeing Borsalino appear, Koga inwardly sighed in relief.
This meant he didn't need to hastily summon his Zanpakuto and risk alerting the enemy.
"Hmm~? Does Koga-dono need me to break you out~?"
Borsalino asked, a golden glow already flickering at his fingertips.
If Koga agreed, he would immediately shatter the prison bars and escort him out.
As the strongest light-type Zanpakuto, even without Kyoya supplying him with Reiatsu, Borsalino's own strength rivaled that of an average Captain-level fighter.
Moreover, as a light human, even if he couldn't defeat an opponent, he couldn't be killed either.
If he went all out, even against a powerhouse of Kyoraku's caliber, he could still hold his own by leveraging his light-based abilities.
At the very least, until his Reiatsu ran dry, Borsalino wouldn't be in mortal danger no matter who he faced.
"No."
Koga shook his head, "If I escape, it would bring shame upon my father-in-law."
"I believe once he learns the truth of the matter, he will surely grant me justice."
Even though Kyoya had warned him that Ginrei and Yamamoto harbored suspicions about his Zanpakuto's abilities, Koga still refused to believe his father-in-law would abandon him.
"Very well~ Call for me when you need me, then~"
With that, Borsalino's figure faded away.
Inside the cell, Koga waited for Ginrei to deliver justice.
After all, the root of this conflict was a noble slandering Haruko's reputation.
Yet, to his dismay, three days passed without Ginrei visiting him even once. No one came to investigate the details of the incident either.
It was as if he had been forgotten.
In fact, both Ginrei and Yamamoto were paying attention to this incident.
Had they wished, they could have cleared Koga's name immediately, explained the circumstances, and released him from prison.
However, for both Ginrei and Yamamoto, this incident served as a test… one that would reveal Koga's true character.
Because his Zanpakuto's ability was so lethal against Shinigami, they needed absolute certainty that Koga posed no threat to the Seireitei before they could trust him fully.
In their eyes, only if Koga endured injustice, false accusations, and humiliation while still adhering to the Seireitei's laws would he pass their trial.
Or rather, the first of many trials.
Perhaps even Ginrei and Yamamoto themselves didn't know how many tests, or how severe, would be enough for Koga to prove himself.
Or perhaps, the moment Koga revealed his Zanpakuto's true power, he had already lost their trust.
After all, neither Ginrei nor Yamamoto would ever truly place the stability of the Seireitei in someone else's hands. Without a doubt, Koga was someone with the potential to overthrow the entire Seireitei.
Thus, their expectations of him became far stricter.
Perhaps only if Koga became the captain of the 11th Division and earned the title of [Kenpachi] would he be accepted as a Captain of the Gotei 13.
At the very least, in Kyoya's opinion, Ginrei and Yamamoto would never allow Koga to become a Captain of any other division.
At the same time, because of Koga's abilities, they also couldn't afford to leave him unused.
So the best solution was to maintain the status quo.
However, they were only considering things from their own perspectives, never once standing in Koga's shoes to question whether their methods were appropriate.
For three days, Koga remained quietly in his cell, which slightly increased Ginrei and Yamamoto's approval of him.
But what they didn't know was that with every second spent in that cell, Koga's disappointment in Ginrei grew. Three days was more than enough for all of Koga's expectations toward Ginrei to completely shatter.
As the third seat of the 6th Division, Koga was well aware of the division's efficiency in handling affairs.
He refused to believe that, after three days, Ginrei still hadn't uncovered the truth of the incident.
Yet, since Ginrei hadn't visited him even once in those three days, Koga realized that he might have already been abandoned by Ginrei.
"Borsalino-sama."
In his cell, Koga opened his eyes and gazed at the moon outside the barred window, calmly calling out the name.
"Koga-dono, it seems you've made your decision."
"Ah, I leave it to you."
Koga stood and approached the iron door.
"With pleasure!"
Borsalino's figure reappeared beside Koga, clasping his hands together before pulling them apart.
In the space between his palms, a gleaming golden sword materialized.
[Ama no Murakumo]
Then, Borsalino raised the Ama no Murakumo high and swung it down at the prison door-
Boom!
Amid the dust and debris, Koga and Borsalino stepped out of the cell.
The commotion naturally alerted the prison guards.
Two Shinigami rushed into the area, their faces paling at the sight of the shattered door.
"Oh no, someone has escaped from prison!"
"A prisoner has broken out!"
"Hurry, everyone, search quickly!"
In an instant, over a dozen prison guards began scouring the area while simultaneously reporting the escape.
"Shall we kill them, Koga-dono?"
In the hallway, Borsalino turned to Koga with the question.
With his abilities, he could easily eliminate all these Shinigami before they could spread the news.
Though it wouldn't stop the information from leaking entirely, it would at least buy them some time.
"No."
Koga shook his head.
Though he held some resentment toward Ginrei, years of discipline still prevented him from casually killing fellow Shinigami who were merely doing their duty over such a trivial matter.
At this moment, a sliver of hope still lingered in Koga's heart for Ginrei.
He wanted to meet Ginrei face-to-face, to explain his situation and see whether Ginrei had truly abandoned him or if there had been some unavoidable reason for his neglect.
"Very well. Kyoya did instruct me to follow your orders, after all."
Borsalino shrugged.
He was merely Kyoya's Zanpakuto.
What happened to Koga didn't affect him.
The only reason he had even asked was because his desire to fight had been amplified.
Otherwise, given Borsalino's usual nature, if he could laze around, he'd never choose to act.
With that, Borsalino followed behind Koga as they slipped past the frantic Shinigami guards.
Not even Ginrei could see through Borsalino's Kyokko, so how could ordinary Shinigami, who weren't even seated officers, possibly detect them?
Thus, Koga walked out of the prison openly and made his way toward the Kuchiki Clan's estate.
However, as he passed by a certain izakaya, the laughter coming from inside made Koga freeze.
That voice… he recognized it immediately.
It belonged to the noble who had clashed with him three days ago.
When Koga had been imprisoned, this noble had been locked up alongside him.
Yet, while Koga had only just escaped on his own today, this man's laughter made it sound like he had been free for days.
Or perhaps… he had never truly been imprisoned at all.
At this thought, Koga nearly stormed inside to demand an explanation… asking who had released him?
But before he could move, the noble's next words made Koga's blood boil.
"Hahahaha! Matsuda-sama, if that bastard Kuchiki Koga knew we were here enjoying ourselves, he'd probably die of rage!"
"Well, obviously!"
"That country bumpkin just got lucky, marrying into the Kuchiki Clan. Does he really think he's a noble now?"
Matsuda laughed loudly, "A worthless peasant like him… I only needed a little scheme to ruin him."
"Matsuda-sama… if we go this far against Kuchiki Koga, won't that person take issue with us?"
The hesitant tone made it clear just how much the others feared 'that person'.
"Heh, relax, Ishii, Inoue…"
"Do you really think I'd dare touch that peasant if I hadn't already figured out Ginrei-sama's thoughts?"
"What?!"
The shocked gasps showed just how much impact Matsuda's words had on the other two.
"Kuchiki Koga is Ginrei-sama's son-in-law, groomed to be the next head of the Kuchiki Clan and Captain of the 6th Division…"
"How could Ginrei-sama possibly want to punish him?"
"Of course, Ginrei-sama would never say it outright."
"But haven't you noticed the way he's been treating that peasant lately?"