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Post by Lt. Nanao Ise on Oct 9, 2014 19:42:00 GMT -6
Nanao lowered her spoon. "Momo-chan," she murmured quietly, addressing the girl informally, "no one blames you for what has happened. Any of this," she stated. "You need to let go." She took one of her hands. "You're a wonderful person and a wonderful lieutenant. Aizen hasn't tainted you at all."
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Post by Momo Hinamori on Oct 9, 2014 21:08:20 GMT -6
Momo blushed and looked to the floor. She did not know how to respond to Nanao's sudden statement. It surprised her and caught her so off guard that she was speechless. All of a sudden she could feel a rush of emotion come over her as she recalled everything that had happened between Aizen and herself; how she (but not just she the whole of the Soul Society, really) had been used and lied to, how Aizen had hurt so many of the ones that she cared for; all of a sudden she felt like crying.
After a few minutes Momo felt she could speak again but the words that came were not something that she had expected to hear come from herself. Holding back tears of resentment and hatred that now ran so deep they were a part of her very being, she responded, "I hate Aizen for what he has done, Nanao, I can never forgive him! How could he turn his back and leave the Soul Society the way he did...?" A large, warm tear that had been lingering for a while now had escaped and was now rolling down her cheek. You could almost feel her pain as she continued to speak, "I wish Aizen would just die! When he left us the way he did, he crushed my heart and I felt as if I may never be able to pull myself from the ashes of despair. If it had not been for Toshiro...."
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Post by Lt. Nanao Ise on Oct 9, 2014 22:10:22 GMT -6
Nanao closed her eyes and then set a hand over one of Momo's. "You would have pulled yourself out. You're stronger than you see yourself, Momo. You could have stayed behind in the final battle in the last war, but you came. Yes, he used you again, but you chose to appear. You might say now you are staying behind, but you have not left your post at the Fifth Division. You have NOT run away. You have chosen to face your rage and despair every day by coming back to that office, by not shutting out what coming and going to that place must do to you." She brushed one of her tears away. "Take the next step, Hinamori, and put him behind you. Or if that is too much, lean on others. If it is too painful to lean on the captain you follow, then find someone else. Don't take all the burden on yourself."
She reached into her kimono and pulled out the cloth package she had been carrying, revealing the slim, elegant comb of lacquered black wood she had bought a few weeks ago. The green stone set in the top caught the light of the sun. "You're not alone, Momo. He may have meant to leave you broken and unable to survive without him, but you have grown stronger than that. You don't have to be tied down to him, even if he has resurfaced."
Saying her piece, Nanao set the comb in her hand, chuckling as Hinamori glanced up in question. "You need a new ornament for the tea ceremony class, dear. You know everyone else will be showing off something new. Why not us too?"
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Post by Momo Hinamori on Oct 9, 2014 23:33:09 GMT -6
Momo wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks as she lifted her gaze from the floor. She knew that Nanao was right and she had to let go of the past if she was to ever be freed from the pain and suffering she experienced on an almost daily basis. She had been trying to live her life as if nothing had happened and Aizen never existed. But the truth of the matter was; when ever anyone spoke of Aizen in her presence, even if they were not addressing her about it, she still felt the pain of the abandonment and the lies. They cut as deeply now as they did in the days following Aizen's betrayal.
She looked to Nanao with a sweet smile, "You are absolutely right Nanao, my heart will never heal so long as I let this trauma hang over my head like this. I have tried to keep it to my self just as you said, and it is only making it worse. I was afraid to talk about how badly it had all affected me due to the fear that I might be judged because of how closely I had bonded with Aizen. I know in my heart that nobody blames me, but I still have that sense of unease about having been so close to him and then all of that happening." She fought back another tear,"I am so glad I have such wonderful friends that care so dearly for me. I will try to let you in more often and not keep all of this bottled up inside of me. Thank you, Nanao." Momo placed the comb on the table and sat her now free hand on top of Nanao that was still holding Momo's other hand. "I am blessed to have all of you in my life and I should not let Aizen ruin the remainder of it. I will never forgive what he has done to all of us, but I can at least try to put it behind me."
Momo picked the comb back up from the table top, "Nanao, you did not have to do this for me, really. It is a beautiful comb and I am sure it was not cheap either," Momo sat turning the gift over in her hands and looking at it with pure delight, "It really is beautiful, isn't it? Now the question is, what am I going to wear with it to the tea ceremony? I am not sure I have anything fancy enough to be properly paired with such an elegant comb," Momo said with an air of playfulness in her still disheartened voice. Momo and Nanao chuckled together as the women looked up and smiled to one another from across the table.
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Post by Lt. Nanao Ise on Oct 10, 2014 0:02:39 GMT -6
Nanao smiled and a wicked light entered her dark eyes from behind her spectacles. "If you don't have anything to go with it, Hinamori-chan, then I guess I am going to have take you to a shop to find something. After all, you're not like Matsumoto, who is always overspending." She smiled. "You don't need to have someone to feel beautiful every once in a while, right?"
When Momo chuckled and finished her tea, Nanao waved over the owner of the stand and purchased a pear dessert and a slice of pound cake, one for each of them. "Oh, will you please package a chocolate mousse as well?" she asked, in an after thought, pushing her glasses up again.
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Post by Momo Hinamori on Oct 10, 2014 0:25:09 GMT -6
Momo looked at Nanao, surprised, "Oh no, that's not what I meant, Nanao! I was just hoping you might help me try and pick something out from my own collection that might go well with this beautiful comb you have given to me! Really, I don't think it is necessary to go all out and buy a new Kimono!" Momo objected as she blushed.
The server approached their table with the desserts they had just ordered and sat them down in their respective places, "I hope you enjoy it, ladies? If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask," the server said with a smile, "Oh, and by the way; I am sure you noticed you have an extra dish with each of your orders. Do not worry, it is on the house. We are showing customer appreciation today and everyone that orders a dessert also receives a free scoop of vanilla ice cream. It should go pleasantly with the desserts you each ordered as well," the women thanked the server and he left them to their business.
Momo looked over at Nanao, " WOW, it must be our lucky day! Free Ice Cream! Shall we start eating?" Momo picked up a spoon and sliced a piece of pear off and dipped it into the sauce it had been served it and quickly took a spoon full of ice cream to go along with it. She happily took the bite off the spoon. Her face lite up, "Nanao, you must try the ice cream! It is like they just made it today. It is so sweet and creamy, and soft too!"
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Post by Lt. Nanao Ise on Oct 10, 2014 0:33:18 GMT -6
Nanao chuckled, glad to see her fellow lieutenant back on her feet again and obliged her. She stopped then took another bite. "Wow," she whispered, blushing a little in delight, "that is tasty~" The two women shared another conspiratorial look and continued to savor their desserts.
And somehow by the end of their treat, Momo had managed to dissuade Nanao from taking her shopping.
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Post by Yoruichi Shihoin on Oct 24, 2014 20:38:52 GMT -6
"Grim Report":(continued)
Even at her top speed, it took Yoruichi an hour to get to the mountain range in the Northern Rukon District where she knew Tsukiro would be. When she was three quarters of the way up, she stopped to breathe and search out Tsukiro's reiatsu. Once she found it, her heart dropped.
It was calm, composed and content.
She grinded her teeth, cursing Aizen's name. The moment she told Tsukiro what was going on, that would go down the drain. She shook the hesitant feelings off and continued on, following the trail of reiatsu.
When she found him, he was sitting at the summit of the highest mountaintop, his legs crossed meditation style, his hands in his lap. His hair was a little longer, brushing his collarbones. He stared out across the horizon. She sighed and walked up to him.
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Post by Captain Tsukiro Ashimitsu on Oct 24, 2014 21:05:17 GMT -6
Tsukiro sighed as he felt his teacher walking up behind him. Actually, he had felt her the moment she started ascending the mountain.
"How is Kita?" He sensed her tense up, unsure of how to answer. "It's alright. I had a feeling earlier today. In fact, I still feel it. She may not remember me, but I'm still connected to her. I can feel it in my soul whenever something bad happens to her." He stood up and turned around, looking at Yoruichi's grim expression. "So what happened?"
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Post by Yoruichi Shihoin on Oct 24, 2014 21:22:08 GMT -6
Yourichi sighed and shook her head. "Aizen took her again."
Tsukiro didn't look the least bit surprised, but he clenched his fists and lowered his head. "How?"
"Tsukiro, there's nothing you could have done. Not even we could--"
"How?" He repeated without raising his voice.
Taking a breath, she explained everything to him; everything from Kisuke's plan to kill Kita to the failed exchange and Ichimaru fatally wounding Rangiku and Izuru. Tsukiro listened without a word.
"Don't beat yourself up about this, Tsukiro. I'm getting enough of that from Kisuke." She moved closer and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You can't let Aizen get inside your head again. You have to stay strong for Kita. We will work this out. You focus on bettering yourself like you have been doing."
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Post by Captain Tsukiro Ashimitsu on Oct 24, 2014 21:54:10 GMT -6
As Tsukiro listened, he forced back the anger and betrayal he felt at Kisuke making such a decision without consulting him, even if he was hidden in the Rukon district. But he had to admit that he had made a difficult decision that needed to be made for both Kita's and Soul Society's sake.
But what she told him about Ichimaru...
"I've had it with him," he said low in his chest. "He can't be trusted. He needs to be taken out of the picture. Otherwise we'll never get the upper hand."
He was still unclear as to whether he was saying that out of hate or point of fact, but he would worry and reflect upon that later. He looked up at Yoruichi.
"If Ichimaru isn't taken out of this, we'll never win. Kita trusts him with her life. She'll do anything for him. He's got her wrapped around his finger. Even worse, Aizen has Ichimaru wrapped around his. Whatever Aizen tells him to do, Ichimaru does it. Even if Kita is involved. He's proven that today. He has to be taken out or the cycle will keep repeating itself."
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Post by Yoruichi Shihoin on Oct 25, 2014 11:23:29 GMT -6
Yoruchi nodded. "I agree. Aizen has gotten to him more than anyone else. But for right now, you worry about yourself. We'll handle Aizen and Ichimaru. We'll come up with something to stop him. When we need you, I'll come for you. Okay?"
Tsukiro nodded, casting his head down. Yoruichi pulled him into a hug, holding his head against her chest. He hugged her back. "We'll get through this."
He nodded as he pulled back, smiling up at her. "Go. I'll be fine here."
She grinned at him. "I know you will."
She turned and opened the Senkaimon back to Karakura. Tsukiro watched as she disappeared, tuning back to the horizon.
He had to work harder so he could get back and help them the way he should have been from the start.
--END--
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Post by Lt. Rangiku Matsumoto on Mar 20, 2015 14:16:44 GMT -6
"Last Shot: Aftermath": (continued)With her pink scarf wet and wrapped around her head and face, shielding her blackened face and hair, Rangiku darted into one of the homes in the Rukongai. A child was trapped in his burning home and the flame were only growing higher and hotter. The child screamed, crying for help as she kept calling out to him to keep him vocal so she could find him in the blacken smoke that surrounded them in the house.
The fire ate away at the boards causing them to crackle and snap throwing red hot cinders to the floor and anywhere else they might find a place to land. The black smoke boiled from the roof, window and door openings. Her eyes squinted and her arm bend to cover her mouth better so she could breath, Rangiku pushed forward, listening to the child’s cries for their mother and father. Her eyes stung, her lungs ached and her body felt as if it were on fire from the inferno that burned around her. Too many had died, too many, and she was not going to let another be added to that list. Especially another child.
As a wall fell she jumped back covering her face better with her arm and coughed hoarsely into the bend of her arm. She had to hurry or both of them would be buried alive in the burning home. Once the debris settled from the falling wall, Rangiku saw the child laying on the floor covering their head and curled into a small ball. Quickly and cautiously she made her way to the child picking him up in her arm. Wrapping his tiny arms around her neck he clung to her for dear life. She held him close and stood just as another part of the house fell in around them. Rangiku narrowed her eyes and with a determined look in her eyes she made her way back to the front of the home. Just as she saw the light of the opened front door the boards from the roof creaked and snapped, giving way slightly causing her to stop in her path. She had to move, there was not time to freeze, if she wasted any more time they both were going to die. With another horse cough Rangiku nodded her head and pulled the child closer to her.
“Keep your head down and hold on.” She told him in a gritty tone.
The child clung tighter around her neck as Rangiku checked her footing for a stable take off, her eyes looking to the ceiling once more. It was now or never. Suddenly the roof started to cave as Rangiku took off in a flash of shunpo.Fade
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Post by Lt. Naomi Kato on Apr 29, 2015 13:56:10 GMT -6
"Rescuing a Damsel": Naomi ran around in circles, her arms full of paperwork from her new Captain. Captain Komamura. She did not want to disappoint him. Not with her newly appointed position as his lieutenant. Given she was still fairly new at all this and she knew she would not know everything she needed to know, but she did not think finding the places to drop off their needed paperwork would be so difficult to find. She knew the Rukongai fairly well. However, today was not one of those days she was able to recall things from memory.
People bustled around her doing their own thing as she stood there, lost, a look of dismay on her face. She felt she was never going to get this job completed in time before the Woman's Associations Party that would soon be taking place. She sighed dropping her head as she looked at her feet.
"Made I was not as ready for this as I thought." She sighed softly clutching the files to her chest.
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Post by Lt. Kairo Namori on Apr 29, 2015 14:23:06 GMT -6
“Well now, if you’re sighing, there’s no way I want to scare you,” a teasing voice called out above her head. Naomi looked up and Kairo, dressed in his stealth uniform and his favorite red kimono, saluted her before dropping to the ground next to her. He straightened and poked her arm. “Bubbleheads are supposed to smile, Naomi-chan," he continued, mock serious, as he continued to prod her, "not frown and definitely not sigh. Come on, cheer up."
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