Handling Duties(Bambietta/Hime)

Hime sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. It had now dawned on her after her tangent that perhaps she had revealed entirely too much information to consume within a short span of time. They had met only moments ago and she laid a mammoth on her without them fully getting to know the other. Perhaps, she thought, she viewed her as someone who had met a similar circumstance. Bambietta revealed her reasoning behind what led her to Abalia.

Indeed, as she said, she hadn't done nearly as much as Hime did and yet - she seemed to be on a tighter leash than she was. Even if she approached Abalia about the matter, Hime was sure she wouldn't gain any real conclusion as to why things were so different for Bambietta.

Hime praised the woman in her mind as she gazed at her. The fact that one mistake would spell her end couldn't have been easy but she didn't seem as particularly phased as one might expect she would.

"My apologies. It seems as though I ended up losing myself within a shamelessly passionate tangent just now. I am incredibly sorry for that. Still, it is interesting to know you have something of a past with her. I have heard about Vastime but I never bothered to look into their origins. Still, I find your loyalty to her to be quite admirable. I... sincerely doubt my will would be as steadfast knowing a single mistake would spell my end, although such compliments might not mean much from a woman who longed to be executed at one point."

Well, at least the lady knew when to put a lid on things. Not that Bambietta really cared one way or another how much she talked, but you know. Last thing she needed was to get caught up in someone else's drama, even if it might have been interesting.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm sure she'd be happy to hear you're so passionate about it, really. She loves that stuff. Me, I think I'll probably be in the legion for a while longer with how I keep looking at things. Unless you put in a good word for me, of course."

Now wasn't that a fun little proposition? Not that Bambietta actually expected her to, of course, and the cheeky grin on her face made that much clear. Still, it'd be nice to see if that went somewhere. She was getting a little tired of keeping up appearances.

Hime stroked her chin thoughtfully at the premise of putting in a good word for Bambietta. It was then, in this infinitesimal moment, that she chose her duty over her sentimentalism. She was fond of Bambietta so far, yes, but knew that Abalia never did things without forethought. Perhaps her judgments were not always fair, but they were never made without a profound insight on the matter. Hime still wondered about how she was even chosen for her own job.

There was a reason she was in the penal legion and Hime didn't particularly know if she held a significant bond to the woman to start approaching her on matters that seemed related to her and someone else. She held too much respect for the woman to go against her rules.

On the other hand, she supposed she could get to know the woman more to consider it.

"As this is our first time meeting, I couldn't promise you my good word would mean much. Right hand though I may be, I do not know if I possess enough weight to change her mind once her eyes are set on something. Nevertheless, I'd consider it. Your loyalty is admirable. In time, I feel it should be rewarded eventually."

Honestly, the fact that this woman had even started considering it seemed kind of weird to Bambietta. Not that she minded, of course, it just seemed surprising that someone who'd been put in charge of keeping an eye on her would actually even consider that.

That was sort of nice.

"Well, I'm just doing my best. Much as I like the sound of freedom, I'd rather just be confident I earned it than keep pestering her about it. The way I see it, if I have to keep asking her, I probably haven't earned my ticket out just yet."

And that was something that Bambietta knew all too well. If it hadn't even been mentioned to her, then the odds were pretty good it wasn't even on the table. And that, in turn, meant Abalia probably knew exactly how genuine she was being a lot of the time. How terrifying.

"Thanks, though. Really."

"There is no need to thank me. I simply feel loyalty and commitment should be rewarded properly, though perhaps that is but a remnant of my past self speaking more than anything else. Still, that is certainly a positive way of looking at it. Freedom earned rather than given might make the journey all the more worthwhile." Hime stretched her arms out as they continued to walk.

This was an engaging conversation and though there was only a short time of knowing Bambietta, she wouldn't be against handling duties again. Her schedule was open in most cases and Bambietta seemed amicable enough to indulge her in a conversation.

"So, you've had people who've observed and handled you before. Out of humorous curiosity, were any of them as talkative as me?"

Man, she sure was optimistic. Maybe that made sense, though. Honestly, if Bambietta had gotten free so fast, she'd probably feel the same way. But then again, like she'd said, if she had to ask why she wasn't free, she already knew the answer. But what was she supposed to do about that, just change her mind? As if.

"Ha. Not even close. The only other person I've ever spent any time around who talks this much is the Captain Commander's bodyguard from down in Vastime. She talks a good bit, real chipper girl. You ever meet her?"

Of course, Bambietta was actually fairly terrified of Kimitsuki Yamamoto, but she wasn't going to admit something like that. She was the Bambietta Basterbine, after all. She wasn't afraid of anything, as far as everyone else knew.

Hime chuckled as Bambietta shed some light on others who had handled and overlooked her daily life. Stroking her chin, Hime thoughtfully pondered on whether or not she knew who this woman was that Bambietta happened to be referring to. Insofar as she was concerned, Abalia never once mentioned anything regarding Vastime.

Hime was aware of Vastime but she had never really done her due diligence. She never questioned her, of course. She was the woman who restored her purpose in life, after all. She could inform her of whatever she so desired, whenever she desired.


"She sounds like a very pleasant woman but I do not think we have crossed paths quite yet nor has Abalia made any mention of her name. I usually only do research into the things she tells me and never anything outside of that. I am aware of Vastime's existence but nothing more than that."

Now that actually surprised Bambietta a bit, though she didn't express that openly. Given her own acceptance into the ranks of the substitute shinigami, she'd always assumed that Abalia generally kept all of her subordinates on the same general wavelength, so to speak. But now it seemed like Yamamoto had barely even been introduced to anyone around here. That was...well, weird.

"She takes care of the royal family. She's only a bit above me on paper, but I think pretty much anyone in Vastime would still take orders from her just because of her job. Honestly I'm not sure she does too much outside her work, but that makes sense to me. Captain Commander, Queen of Vastime, she's put herself into some dangerous places. Yamamoto is no slouch."

It was enough to baffle Bambietta, though. How could anyone live like that? It just sounded dreadful, a total nightmare that you probably couldn't ever escape. Well, other than dying, she guessed, but that's not really much of a way out of anything, is it?

Hime listened to Bambietta with undivided focus as she briefly described who Yamamoto was and the importance she held towards Abalia. Judging from the information, Yamamoto seemed to be held in high regard, if Abalia entrusted her with her life.

Her curiosity piqued, she wondered if a scenario would ever present itself wherein she would meet this esteemed woman. Without question, Bambietta was undeniably correct. Yamamoto was no slouch. She held no doubt in the women or men Abalia chose to serve under her. The royal family, huh? Hime could not help but grow curious about the way Vastime conducted its activities compared to the Gotei. Of course, she decided against any questions, for the time being, remaining focused on Bambietta.

"To be chosen by our commander, I would certainly imagine she has a significant set of skills and attributes worth their weight in gold. Perhaps, I'll meet her one day if she ever visits the Gotei. You've described how she is in the workplace. How do you view her as a person?" To keep the conversation from going cold, Hime decided to indulge her on the Yamamoto subject. She would remain a stranger even after today--but at the very least, she would know enough to form an opinion on the woman.