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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 15:03:12 GMT -6
"Two Birds": (Continued) Haku had quickly ran to his room to change, grabbing a towel and wetting it to wipe off the sweat from his body before putting on a black yukata with white, gold, and red feathered cranes on the back, sleeves, and bottom. Tying it was a gold and red obi. He gave his hair a quick brush through before letting it settle neatly along his back. Once he looked presentable, he went to the living room to see who had arrived to see him. When he entered the living room he stopped in his tracks, seeing his childhood friend Makino Masanobu sitting with a cup of tea given to her by the servant Kaede. "Maki-chan?" Haku said as he walked further into the living room.
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 15:34:29 GMT -6
Makino looked up from her tea cup that rested in the palm of one hand as the other held on to it gently. Seeing Haku a wide bring smile crossed her lips. "Yes, and you don't seem happy to see me. Were you expecting someone else."
A wide mischievous grin was not spread cross her face. "A girlfriend maybe~." She looked back to her tea hearing Haku huff as she sat the cup to the table in front of her. "Though it has been awhile. I am sure you forgot all about me, so me being here is a bit of a shock"--she looked back to Haku--"right?"
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 15:39:42 GMT -6
Haku flushed bright pink and stomped over to sit with her. "I don't have a girlfriend! I'm too busy training to have a girlfriend." He plopped down and crossed his arms. "And I wasn't upset to see you, just surprised. We haven't seen each other in ages."
He shrugged and lowered his hands into his lap. "I was just excited to have a visitor at all. The past year has been... awful. Stressful. Boring. Lonely. You can literally pick an emotion out of a hat and it'd be valid." He turned to her with a curious gaze. "How have you been? I heard Suisenro-sama was finally able to go home."
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 15:43:24 GMT -6
Makino head bobbed, "Things have been crazy at your house to. With all the training I could never get away and when I could I was so tired all I wanted to do was relax and maybe read or paint." She looked down at her hands resting in her lap.
"I am sorry I did not stay in better touch, Haku."
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 15:48:53 GMT -6
Haku shook his head and pivoted to face her more on the couch. He placed a hand on hers. "Don't be. We both have a lot expected out of us. The grind to be who we're expected to be doesn't end for us. And we sure as hell don't get a break from it. Not since we were kids."
He smiled a big grin at her. "It's not like we can sneak away from our training to play 'house' and kemari together anymore." His smile slowly fell and he lowered his head, slouching down on the couch. "Besides... I didn't make any effort either. And I'm sure I wouldn't have been very good company either these past couple of decades."
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 15:55:37 GMT -6
Makino was smiling warmly at him as he spoke to her. "I am really sorry about what happen. He is missed dearly." A silence fell between them, but after a few second Makino spoke to keep Haku from thinking too much about his grandfather. She wanted to keep the conversation light and cheery.
"But look at you"--she reached behind Haku and pulled a few strands of his stormy colored hair over his shoulder--"your hair is as long as mine," she giggled softly. "And I hear your going to the Academy next year?!"
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 16:07:36 GMT -6
Haku laughed, bringing his hair over his shoulder. It was long enough to reach the tops of his thighs even draped over his shoulder. He ran his fingers through it. "Yeah, Kibe-ojisan keeps telling me to cut it. Which is funny because he was the one who convinced Ojiisan that it was fine to let it grow in the first place. I think he realized I wasn't going to keep it at a consistent length and was just going to let it grow however long it wanted to."
He nodded with a tense sigh. "And yeah. It's the academy for me next year. I want a more focused environment to learn and continue my training. Also I just get sick of training on my own or with the Gotei officers. I mean, it's incredibly beneficial for me to train with the best of the best in the Gotei... but I think I need to continue on my own now. I can't be treated like the special little prince that everyone seems to think I am forever. As much as I appreciate everyone comparing me to my ojiisan, the old man was well into his second millennia. I'm not even two hundred yet." He laughed, shaking his head. "I can't just burst out of the gate with bankai and level 90 Kido spells already pre-installed. I want to be treated like a student, not a prodigy. Because I'm not. I just happened to be raised by the greatest Soul Reaper that ever lived."
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 16:17:21 GMT -6
Makino giggled softly as her head bobbed slowly. "Sounds like we have the same issue, but opposite. You are known by everyone and want to hide and I am known by no one and want to be known. What a pitiful pair we are."
Haku smiled sweetly at her, tilting his head. "Well I know you. I know that you're incredibly strong for your age. I know that no one in the academy will be able to hold a candle to you. And I know that you could kill all of us in our sleep and we'd never know. I also know that you could probably put me on my ass without much effort. You're quick and light on your feet like a bird."
"Well thank you, I think," the two chuckled lightly. "That's why I talked to the family about joining the Academy next year as well." Haku gave her a wide eyed look, shaking her head she continued.
"I don't want to be that girl anymore. I want to be normal," she giggled sadly looking at her hands in her lap once more, "listen to me. Normal. Like that is something I will ever be with my training." She looked up at him quickly.
"You know, other then my family members. I don't know a single person that has killed--intentionally--by the age of eight." Her head shook. "That is not normal."
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 16:36:14 GMT -6
Haku gave a lopsided smile. "Well... I don't know about the age of eight but... The original captains of the Gotei were all coldblooded killers, so I don't think it's that farfetched. And then you have Ichimaru and Aizen. So I think as far as your heart goes, you're doing pretty well."
He placed a hand on her arm. "But you can always use those skills for good. I mean if you didn't want to do that, you wouldn't be joining the Academy. Maybe you could join the Onmitsukido! By the time you get through the Academy, you might even be able to land a position as Tsuki-nii's third seat!" He paused for a moment before grimacing. "Then again, that would put you in charge of the Maggot's Nest, so maybe not."
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 16:45:56 GMT -6
Makino giggled softly. "I could hear Urahara now. 'A woman? In the Maggot's Nest? Never!', plus, I would have to be Godly strong like Urahara." Her head shook. "I don't see that ever happening. Oh!"
She paused for a second as Haku placed his cup to the table, "did you know that he and Yoruichi had a son? What's his name? Hmm," she snapped her fingers a few times, "Kenji!" She bounced a couple of times on the couch next to him. "Kenji, that's his name. He is a few years older than us from what I heard."
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 16:55:33 GMT -6
Haku nodded. "I heard about him from Tsuki-nii recently. I would love to meet him. I bet he's quite the character." He hummed. "So, what division do you think you would fit in the best? Not taking your current abilities into account, just your general interest."
"I don't know, but I have this funny feeling my abilities are going to be kido based." She shrugged. "It's just a feeling, but if that feeling is true then Division 5."
Haku nodded. He looked at his hands. They were slightly pale compared to the skin of his arms and when he grazed his arm with his fingers his hands were cool to the touch. "Are you happy with that knowledge? If they do turn out to be Kido based, will you be happy with them?"
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 17:59:22 GMT -6
Makino nodded slowly, "yeah. Yeah, I think I would be. I mean what's cooler than having another part of you that lives in a different realm and attaches to a sword." She giggled. "To think that there is another part of me that is like me but not." She looked at Haku with a smile. "Why do you ask?"
Makino could see something was bothering him as he sat there silently, but she did not know what. They had been apart for so long, and Haku had changed so much, she could not read him like she use to when they were younger. Reaching over she took one of his hands in hers, smiling warmly when he looked over at her. His hands were ice cold, but she ignored it, not wanting to pull away from him and give him the wrong idea.
"What's wrong, Haku. You know you can tell me anything."
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 18:23:26 GMT -6
Haku gave her a troubled look then cast his eyes down. "I... Things aren't turning out how I wanted them to... How I envisioned them to. I'm afraid... I'm afraid that I'm not going to be who I always imagined I'd be. I worked so hard to make Ojiisan proud and then... then he got taken away from me. From all of us. Kibe-ojisan told me that if I wanted to make him proud that I should continue down the path he set me on, if that's what I wanted. And I have... at least I've tried to."
He squeezed her hands tightly, his hands shaking. "I'm afraid that I'm not who I thought I was. And there's nothing I can do to change that."
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Post by Makino Tori on Feb 14, 2023 19:53:24 GMT -6
"And who is that? Like your Ojiisan?" Makino's head shook as Haku nodded his head slowly. "Your Ojiisan would not want you to be like him. He would want you to be yourself, not something your not. He would want you to follow the same morals and beliefs, but not be him."
She returned a gentle squeez to his hand. "You're Haku Katsumi Yamamoto. Not Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto."
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Post by Haku "Katsumi" Yamamoto on Feb 14, 2023 20:01:57 GMT -6
"Still!" Haku pulled his hands away from her and stood up, stepping away from the couch, pacing the living room. "I had these grand expectations of myself ever since I could comprehend what a Soul Reaper even was in the first place. And now those expectations are being shattered."
He clenched his fists together tightly. "I wanted... I wanted something--anything--that could connect me to him now that he's gone. I don't have anything of him except for my last name and a few material things he left behind for me. I wanted something deeper than just memories and trinkets. And I can't have that. I don't have his blood. He never had children. I'm just some abandoned Rukongai soul he picked up in the brush. Even if I tried my absolute best to be like him, I would never be able to accomplish that. I have his name, the things he left behind, and the things he taught me. I thought I knew what I was supposed to do with all of that but... I don't know anymore. I don't know who I am anymore."
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