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Post by Beriadan on Jun 20, 2023 19:49:16 GMT
Captain Aizen had planted a plum tree in the division grounds.
It was a long time before Momo joined the division, but she always thought of it as her tree. Despite the fact she didn't like plums, it felt like Captain Aizen had thought of her especially when planting it, perhaps imaging that, one day, she would enter her life. Momo had always smiled when looking at the leaves change in the seasons, the blossom dancing in the spring winds.
Now, it made her chest ache.
Many people had physical scars from Captain Aizen and the other traitors. Many had mental scars, edgged into the fabric of their minds. Momo carried both. A scar in the centre of her chest where Captain Aizen had plunged his sword, right through and out the otherside. He had missed her heart, physically, but might as well have pierced that, too. It had its own scar tissue, now. Pain. Regret. She missed Captain Aizen, loved him, hated him for what he did, but also a part of her wondered if he was the leader of the traitors like everyone else claimed.
Momo closed her eyes, sat cross legged beneath Captain Aizen's plum tree. She tried to clear her mind. It was difficult, and she couldn't push the image of Captain Aizen's bloody sword sticking from her chest. She gave a deep sigh, clutching her fists together.
I wish you'd never saved us from that Hollow. Right now, I wish it had ended my life then and there. I wouldn't have had to have met you, loved you, felt your zanpaku-to through my body... Captain Aizen... why did you do all of this?
Not for the first time since his betrayal, Momo felt hot tears stinging her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. She wished she could push past this. She wished she could overcome everything he had put her through.
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Post by Bixir on Aug 7, 2023 19:54:17 GMT
Amid Momo's mourning, a pair of footsteps gingerly made their way up to the plum tree. Their owner paused, looking down at th girl, who could be said to have suffered the most out of everyone that had been wronged. A pained smile crossed their features. They sat down opposite Momo, also cross-legged, in a meditative position. They reached out to gently - oh, so gently - clasp their hands around Momo's fists.
When Momo next opened her eyes, she would see her Captain there, staring back at her with uncharacteristic warmth. She said nothing at first. In this moment, this silent companionship spoke volumes. Spending time by one's lonesome like this led one to dark places. Sharing grief, on the other hand, was special. Hara had personal experience with that. Hara herself was barely keeping her gleaming eyes from loosing tears.
"I'm here."
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Post by Beriadan on Aug 19, 2023 17:55:41 GMT
Momo wasn't in the moment, and the sudden feeling of hands on her own lurched her from her sad daydream. She looked up into the eyes of Captain Hara. Captain... it was a hard word to focus on. She felt suddenly foolish, wanting to wipe away the tears and give the woman a bright smile. Yet every time... Captain Aizen rose in her mind. She let out another sob.
"I-I'm sorry! I was... it was just... I..."
She broke off, pulling a hand gently away to wipe the wet sorrow from her cheeks, and giving a broken smile.
"Sorry, it's so silly... Cap- the traitor has been gone for a while now... but I can't stop thinking of him."
Momo sniffed, looking up at the plum tree. He had planted it for her, when she first became vice-captain. Did he know how much... how much she hated plums?
"Sorry... you came here as a Captain, just to find your vice-Captain in tears! What a pitiful squad member I am."
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Post by Bixir on Aug 27, 2023 1:00:40 GMT
Hara's smile remained. Pitiful?... "Do not shy from these feelings, Momo, but know this: you are stronger than your pity. More than you could ever know. I speak as someone who learned that lesson long ago."
The woman pauses, beginning to reflect on things in her own past. She reaches for Momo's shoulder, caressing it like an older sister would. "I came here as your friend. You know as well as I do that he was not." Hara's eyes linger on the tree looming over this conversation.
"Do you like this tree, Momo?"
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Post by Beriadan on Aug 29, 2023 8:17:00 GMT
Did she like this tree? Momo looked upwards to the branching leaves, adorned with pink blossom that filled the air with a sweet scent. She remembered the day Captain Aizen had revealed it. She had just entered the division, not long after graduation. Momo had been singled out, shown direct and pure attention from Captain Aizen. Here, Hinamori. This tree signifies the roots you will lay down in the Fifth Division. One day, you too will blossom into a fine Soul Reaper, and like this tree be a permanent fixture of this Division.
Momo sniffed, then her eyes flashed with something... anger? Regret? Pain? She turned herself to Hara, and there was something steel behind that fair face.
"I... Captain Aizen... he..." she clenched her fists, her brow knotting, "he knew I hated plums."
There. It was like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Momo screwed her eyes shut, tears forming again in the corner.
"I told him, one of the first things... he asked what I liked, and I told him peaches. I said to him, I can't stand plums! They're too sweet, too sickly, and upset my stomach! Then, then... Captain Aizen planted a plum tree in the division gardens! For me!"
Momo was showing anger that hadn't crossed her heart since she had attacked Hitsugaya, not long before. Yet this was a different kind. This felt like pent-up rage at a man she had loved and trusted, a man who had repayed that with a steel betrayal. Momo rose slowly to her feet, wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve.
"Captain Hara... I hate plums. I hate this tree. It reminds me of... him. How I can't ever trust my memory of him again. How... I still love what he pretended to be, and I can't ever... I won't ever forgive that!"
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Post by Bixir on Dec 10, 2023 7:38:20 GMT
Outwardly, Hara Murakami was stoic. Inside, she was in tears. Furious, hysterical. Swirling emotions that neither a Captain nor a woman ought to hold, so taught in Soul Society that ought to know better than base mortal instincts. What mattered more than any of that was that she willed herself calm for Momo's sake.
Hara rose to her feet at the same time as her Vice Captain. She considered her words, unsure what to make of them herself. She saw so much of herself in those eyes. To do so was dangerous, perhaps ruinous. Shinigami were not meant to attach themselves to their subordinates, and certainly not in a familial manner. Many in the Gotei 13 believed Hara Murakami to be a stern, hollow woman, who could not possibly understand the affairs of her agents.
Momo was one of the only ones who did not partake in that rumor. Hara turned, gesturing up at the tree in question. "Then let us be rid of it, Momo." A smile creeps onto Hara's face. "Would you care to do the honors?"
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Post by Beriadan on Dec 10, 2023 10:50:40 GMT
Slowly, Momo rose to her feet. She looked at her Captain, a face full of youthful questioning, concern, fear. Would she like to... she turned her gaze towards the tree. The tree planted by the man she loved - Momo froze. Didn't she? Wasn't that what she felt for Captain Aizen - Momo closed her eyes, squeezing them shut. What could this feeling be? This rush to her chest... she hadn't felt it before. Slowly she rose her hands to the tree. Momo was trembling, her whole body shaking with... something. Carefully, Momo opened her eyes.
"Hadō #31! Shakkahō!"
Fire leapt from her fingers, a ripple of power blasting out from Hinamori as she released her spell. It tore through the air, hit the tree and exploded into flame. It consumed the trunk, leaping up the branches and burning the plumbs that hung there to a crisp. Slowly, the whole thing fell sideways, cracking from the centre where Momo's spell had hit, which was now nothing more than a blackened point.
Momo was wide eyed as the crown struck the ground, her chest rising and falling. Slowly she lowered her arms, then turned to look at her Captain.
"S-sorry... I think I got carried away..."
Momo gave a small smile, then a wider one. It felt like relief was surging through her body, releasing all the hate, fear and anguish that had poisoned her for years. She felt more tears, but this time they were of pure happiness.
"I guess... I guess I had a lot more anger in me than I thought! Cap- the... traitor... he would never let me reveal my true feelings. I- at least- I don't think he did. Or maybe... I didn't want to."
Momo gave a shivering little sigh, clenching her hands tight into fists. They were scorched, blackened. She had put a lot of hate into that spell.
"It's... going to be hard. All I ever knew was... him. But... I'm glad you're my new Captain. I want to be stronger... for you. For the division!"
Momo blushed slightly, then laughed, it was a pure sound, ringing from the truth of her heart.
"Perhaps we should plant a new tree, and hope nobody wants to blow that one up!"
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Post by Bixir on Mar 8, 2024 14:53:24 GMT
Hara took another step back. Unlike many of their kind, she was mindful of the strength that Momo Hinamori possessed. She remained close by her side, her face stoic... no. Hara had a soft smile on her lips. Fate had a funny way of bringing like kinds together. The force of Momo's attack scattered the winds, to say nothing of the earth itself. Hara's haori flapped about wildly while the woman within remained resolute. Once the dust had settled, Hara was looking down at Momo, just as she was looking up at her.
"Too often we allow our fury to control us. It is alright, necessary, even, to show the world what we are capable of."
Hara placed a firm, guiding hand against the small of Momo's back. "Come. The saplings are kept inside. You should choose what brings you happiness."
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Post by Beriadan on Mar 14, 2024 12:21:24 GMT
"Ch-choose?"
Hinamori was guided gently yet firmly inside the division. When had she ever made a decision about anything? Even when Shiro-chan and her lived in their grandmother's house, she had never really had a choice. It had always been made by others. The only things that she ever felt control over had turned out to be part of a grander scheme. Even her friends, Renji and Kira... had they been manipulated into growing close? She felt overwhelmed all of a sudden, heart pounding. Yet Hara was so kind, a firm hand which was moving Hinamori in a new direction. She swallowed as she stood before the saplings. A choice? What was her choice?
"I want... a peach tree?"
She was staring at one of the saplings. Peaches were her favourite, not that many people had ever asked her. Hinamori swallowed again, curling her hands into fists. Determination flashed in her eyes, and she turned to the Captain, her expression one of forced strength and confidence.
"I want a peach tree! That would make me happy!"
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