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.
It was what she'd heard before, just rephrased and coming out of Hioshimi's mouth instead of her instructors. Hioshimi was right - this was a machine. A terrible machine put into place by some greater being out there that served as a mockery of Heaven. And those who were didn't fit in it were crushed until they would. Hioshimi hadn't denied the injustice of the system but nor had she agreed with her views. It was frustrating, like working without being given a reward. Pick the best souls out of a million and charge them with the duty of protecting the Soul Society, not the people in it? Kame bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from speaking out again. The salty taste of iron in her mouth reminded her of the murderers that laid within the Seireitei and still she could not see why they were considered the best.
In a world where prowess in an art that claimed other peoples' lives determined who was great and who was not, where would everyone else fit in? Families upon families, all fed lies in which they'd be allowed to reunite and live forever peacefully - where were they in the equation, the machine? Kame closed her eyes and smiled listlessly as Hioshimi went on. Unlike her, she didn't have the slightest bit of faith in the 12th Division. The people here seemed more concerned with coming up with a thousand ways to wash one's hair than come up with a solution for the Rukongai situation. Hioshimi had told her to look for a solution though, which was something Kame hadn't really thought of. She'd thought of revenge, sure. Justice, a way to give back everything she'd received from the Seireitei. Equal payment. But a solution? What positives were there? Kame thought it over as Hioshimi left the baths.
She wouldn't have put it past the 12th Division to install cameras in here but what Nene had said earlier about perverts buried that thought. Hioshimi had said she'd lend a hand for her ideas. If only Kame had told her just what those ideas were. She couldn't picture her companion having the capacity to stab Nene in the back, for an example. As soon as she heard the change-room doors slam shut however, Kame let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She hadn't garnered the response she'd been expecting - no, wanting. What had she said at the end? That they'd been lucky to make it this far?
"There's no such thing as luck." She murmured as she began draining the tub. Kame turned the water on to rinse off any last suds in her hair and on the floor of the bath. She spit a sticky stream of saliva and blood onto the floor, watching it mix with the water and go swirling down the drain.
"Just hard work and persistence." She was drained now, just like the bath.
Kame let the water pour over her body and unexpectedly, began to feel the beginning heaves of a incoming cry. She hiccuped slightly and scrunched up her eyes to stop even a single tear from coming up.
"No. No, no, no. Stop it." She shook her head wildly. Kame knew if she allowed one tear to escape her than she'd let the ones she'd been storing for five years come out as well. What was she even doing? Stuck in a strange place in the Seireitei, planning on killing members of an organization older than both her and her father combined. And on top of all that, she'd been isolated for her Academy years with no one to talk to. She missed the Rukongai, no matter how desolate it was. She missed her mother helping to wash her hair, splashing with her brother, getting into trouble for knocking over their only bucket of water - all of it, good and bad. Perhaps she could use a friend, a concept she hadn't thought of since leaving District 72 behind.
Especially in a place like the Seireitei, she'd need some good to help take the brunt of the bad.
"Okay. You can do it Kame, you can do it. Okay." She breathed out slowly and turned off the water. Rivulets dripped down from her hair and down her body, leaving behind a wet trail as she stalked off to retrieve her clothes. They were dirty she realized and so Kame looked around for a towel that would do the trick. She draped the fabric around her, revealing nothing more than her legs and shoulders.
"I'm going to go back Hioshimi." She sniffed. It was hard keeping her emotions at bay but she'd managed.
"Whenever you're ready."
