Kame had been right to assume Hioshimi hadn't been "born" in the Seireitei. She hadn't met anyone in these walls worth saving over even the scummiest of the Rukongai. The deep underbelly of Soul Society wasn't the sewers of the 72nd District nor its rat infested houses where the rats were the least malicious inhabitants. No, it was within these pristine white walls where the bloodiest sinners lived in luxury. The feeling she had towards Hioshimi was different, something Kame could explain now as a fellow inhabitant from the Rukongai. 12th District, 72nd District - it was all the same.
They had been chosen as inferior by the inhabitants of the Seireitei. Their lives were nothing but numbers to these people, nothing but a number on the scale they called the balance of souls. They didn't belong here. Kame simmered in the pool as she listened to her speak. It hurt a bit to be compared to the people she hated most but Kame couldn't fault her for it. It was true about her secrets. It was just hard to open to up when she'd locked herself up for five years.
Then Hioshimi began talking about her previous life in the Human World. Kame forgot her concerns for a moment as her companion talked of her friend's murder and subsequently her own death. Kame had never met anyone who actually remembered their previous life. She couldn't recollect it herself - there was only a haze. The nervousness of being handed her ticket indicating her designated district in the Rukongai. But not a blink of her human life, which was something she was grateful for upon hearing Hioshimi's story.
Had she looked like what she did now when she truly lived? If that were true, what of her own self? And her brother Eiji? They came here as children unlike Hioshimi - the implications that they'd died as children disturbed her. Kame couldn't find herself holding Hioshimi's gaze and she concentrated on the koi on her arm once again. This was a highly personal memory Hioshimi was sharing and all Kame could do was to mutter her apologies.
Kame was wrong - there wasn't anybody like Hioshimi not just in the Seireitei but in the Rukongai as well. In all her life she'd never met someone who could be so open about themselves. It was a refreshing break. However, all good things demanded a price - and in this case that price was her honesty. Kame wet her lips, dry despite the bubbling bath. "Hioshimi. I've never met anyone like you. I'm sorry for what you had to go through... and I appreciate your honesty."
Kame was stalling for time, time to think about her own morals and reluctance to open up. In the end she came up with a compromise, one that would help ease her mind and lighten her mental load. Small truths.
"Everyone is hiding things from us," she flicked at the foam before meeting her gaze, "that's true. I don't know if you'll appreciate my honesty but I guess one truth deserves another."
"You asked me earlier what I thought about Captain Kagiko and Nene Sanda, right? Well, here's what I think about them!" Kame spat over the rim of the bath, her saliva splattering onto the ground. "Here's what I think about the 12th Division!" She struck out suddenly against the surface of the water, sending the foamy liquid everywhere. She blinked as her eyes began to sting again but it was like a leak had sprung in the dam she'd kept maintained for five years. Kame didn't care.
"And the Captain Commander, the Gotei 13, the Seireitei! This place is more disgusting than the streets of the 72nd District. Just look at this place! I hate it!" Kame motioned towards the bath. "Instead of using money to help the Rukongai, they build what a bucket and a well could do. It's all a sham. They come down there to the Human Realm with their fancy Zanpakuto to perform Soul Burials. Name's fitting," Kame smiled, "since they're condemning them to their graves. They assure those souls that they'll never be hungry again. Never feel fear again. That the Soul Society is some sort of heaven! There's never been a more monstrous lie. And what do they do?"
Kame's face was flushed and her voice became a low, dangerous whisper. "They return to their cozy little homes behind these," she hit the wall behind the baths, "walls. While the Soul they 'saved' gets to live in the Rukongai. They get the privilege to fight over scraps of bread, sleep on the ground, fight with other souls." Kame laughed hollowly.
"You might've been a doctor in the Human World but once you're here you'll find a lowlife to be tucked away in the Seireitei while you waste away in the Rukongai. Oh sure, you might find a way to live. You'll be lucky if you're placed in the better districts. But none of that makes any difference, none at all! They can take your life away in an instant to preserve their precious soul balance. I should kno-" Kame cut herself off mid-sentence. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and her voice showed it.
"What makes us Shinigami so superior over anyone in the Rukongai? Answer me that Hioshimi. The Eleventh Division? Warmongers. What makes their lives worth more than a family who's been reunited in the Rukongai? You said your friends were in the Rukongai, right? Before I became a Shinigami I was a brat getting into every single brawl I could find. What makes my life worth more than theirs? It's funny, you kill a person in the human world and you get sent to Hell when you die. You kill a person here and you're praised for keeping the balance."
"Safe? Hollows attack the Rukongai every week. Have you seen the amount of graduates that come out of the academy? The Shinigami already in the Seireitei? You could post one up in every district and still have enough to fit two in every room. But no, they only come once they've received reports of the Hollow." Though her voice still held anger in it, it was much less pronounced from before.
"I despise those born in the Seireitei. While Rukongai citizens were liable for sacrifice they were busy bringing in another soul into the world. How's that for balance." Kame spat again over the bath before leaning back to see how well Hioshimi would take her rant. She felt a overlapping feeling of guilt and relief now that her anger had been locked up once more. Kame knew she'd made some personal remarks during her rant. She wasn't even sure if she'd made sense - her words had just sort of tumbled out of her mouth. She glanced once more at Hioshimi before speaking again - this time in her monotonous tone. "I'm sorry Hioshimi. I've overstepped my boundaries. Forgive me if you can."
Hioshimi recoiled in shock at Kame's sudden outburst of fury. She had seen angry people, granted, but it was ever-so-slightly more disconcerting when you're naked in a bath tub with them. She wasn't expecting it, but she made an effort to
listen. She hung onto every word, even went as far as trying to hinder her observation so she could focus on what Name was saying with her mouth, not her body language.
And Hioshimi saw a Rukongai girl who had been in too much strife for too long...how could someone explain imbalance? For Hioshimi, her rationality spoke out. She chose each word very carefully, her voice wobbling on the first syllable in a response to the fright; "W-we can't escape imbalance. Just because our concept of heaven was peaceful doesn't mean that the people within are peaceful too, I..."
Hioshimi faltered in an attempt to find the words...it was a bit like trying to gently tell Kame to wake up and see the truth. "The soul society, the hollows, hell, the living world...it's all connected. Shinigami kill hollows to add to the soul society and save humans, souls die and are reincarnated in the world of the living, humans who may cause a disturbance are sent to Hell; it's a machine, not a paradise. If the Rukongai are viewed as numbers then the shinigami are viewed as weapons, charged with keeping this 'soul balance' when in reality they just keep the machine running smoothly. Pick the best souls out of a million and charge them with the duty of 'protecting the soul society', not the people in it."
It was all kind of grim, coming out of Hioshimi's mouth. She continued, carefully, with a note of hope, "Problem is, people aren't meant to fit in machines. You're in squad 12, Kame! If anyone could improve the workings of the soul society, I'm certain it would be these guys. Instead of being angry at the injustice, look at the positives and find a solution."
Hioshimi stood up, her expression wearing the same excited and optimistic smile, her eyes full of life. "I'm glad we had this talk here; out of all the places in the barracks, the baths are the least likely to have cameras." She said, breaking off into a giggle at the end. "We're both very lucky to have made it this far. I have my own goals in the Seireitei, but that won't stop me from lending a hand to ensure that your own ideas are accomplished."
Hioshimi wandered to the changing rooms, but the moment the doors were shut, she mouthed a 'oh my goodness' and started to dry off. The anger in Kame's countenance...Hio was certain that if she didn't hear her views, blood would have spilt by the bucket. She had an inkling of a theory that Kame meant to infiltrate the soul society and kill it from within, and Hioshimi wouldn't let that happen. As she slipped into her uniform, Hioshimi prayed that she could talk sense into Kame before something drastic happens...until she would have to raise her blade against her friend.
Hioshimi blinked; she was surprised, she viewed Kame as a friend already. This fact unsettled her a little, for reasons she couldn't make out just yet. Her second surprise came from her Asauchi, which she could've sworn had trembled a little when she picked it up.
"A crazy sword and a new friend who wants to overthrow the seireitei..." Breathed Hioshimi silently into the folds of her robes as she pulled them on.
Something told her that she was going to have a lot of fun during her stay in squad 12.
