Old Habits Die Hard

Kuro was interrupted from his boring day of paperwork by the sounds of a fight breaking out from the middle of the squad grounds. He'd been trying to catch up with all the work that had resulted out of him drafting so many new members into his squad. The Shihoin nobles he had obtained as part of his winnings from his duel to keep his captaincy numbered at about 20. On top of those, a student from the academy had filed for transfer to squad 2 as well. This brought forth a mountain of work for him to register ranging from transfer documents to barrack assignments. He was rather thankful for the distraction this fight was providing. He lazily picked himself up from his desk and strolled out of his office with a tired, bored look on his face. The bored look evaporated as he saw the cause of the commotion.

One of the new male noble members was locked in a heated fight with a girl Kuro had never seen before. A crowd of squad members was gathered around them watching the spectacle. Some looked like they wanted to rush in and stop the fight, but lacked the courage to get between the combatants. The majority of the crowd however was divided into two obvious camps rooting for either the noble or the new girl. Kuro sighed as he made his way closer. He had expected this kind of difficulty when he drafted the nobles, but it didn't make it any more pleasant.

As the fighters backed away from each other and charged for another clash, Kuro flash stepped between them. He caught their outstretched fists and spun on the spot to throw them both to the ground. The squad gasped as the two stood up again. A few members made moves like they wanted to leave, but shouted out an order for everyone to remain where they were. He turned back to the troublemakers and began to pace back and forth in front of them. He was trying to piece together what he should say when the noble boldly stepped forward and began to speak.

"Captain! I'm sorry you had to take your time to deal with this. This girl here refused to bow when me and the others passed. She won't even address us prop-..."

The girl he'd been fighting had made a motion like she wanted to hit him, but Kuro had quickly placed himself between them and done the honors himself. His blow knocked the noble off his feet again, leaving him shocked on the ground looking up at a surprisingly stern face on Kuro. Kuro took a deep breath and launched into a speech for the squad that could be heard by all members present.

"There is no nobility in this squad. We are a force of the gotei that works to honor the noble family we serve, but we recognize no nobility in our ranks. Every member in this squad is a person of equal worth that shall only know recognition through hard work and loyalty. I myself am only a lowly thief from the Rukongai who climbed up through the ranks to become the proud captain of this squad. This shows you that your blood means nothing. We will shed such notions as nobility and work together in order to make this squad into the best force in the Soul Society!"

Kuro's speech was answered by cheers from the members around them. His words seemed to stir up something in them that made them forget the tension they'd held between them earlier. Kuro helped the downed noble to his feet and walked back to his office, leaving his squad to their own devices again.