Soon Enough [Murasaki, Hanako]

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

With some grimacing Hanako had arisen from her chair behind her desk and walked over to the small sink in the corner to fill her kettle. She intended to brew some tea and was still pondering which, black or green, when she looked into the mirror above the sink. There were some shadows under her eyes, a telltale-sign of too little sleep. It was because of the injury she had taken home from her fight against Elyss. of all places it had to be her back. Aside from that it was near impossible to not move her back in any way, she preferred to sleep on it. if she lay too long on her sides her shoulders began to hurt, if she lay on her stomach too long it was her breasts. It was mildly annoying, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

A ping from her workstation caught her attention. Hanako walked over, the kettle still in her hands and opened the message that had just arrived. Her eyebrows rose a few millimetres when she saw who the sender was.

A little while later Hanako arrived at the First Division. Although she only rarely found the time to come over here, she still remembered the layout quite well and had no problem navigating to her ultimate destination. She was dressed as usual in her sleeveless Shihakusho, with the Lieutenant’s badge fastened to her obi on one side and her Zanpakuto slid through it on the other. The bandages she wore under the uniform were mostly invisible, but an alert observer would notice her extremely stiff upper body posture.

Then she was finally standing before the door of the Captain Commander's office. Only that it wasn’t Abalia anymore. She had stepped down and the one that had followed was none other than Murasaki, the former Captain of the Seventh, who had sent her, Amon and Hayden to that mission in the world of the living. For a brief moment Hanako wondered what Abalia was doing. She had met the woman only once before face-to-face, but she had liked her. It was the same with Murasaki.

Following that thought, Hanako began to wonder why the new Captain Commander had summoned her. She certainly wasn’t used to that much attention from Command.

She knocked and after being let in she did her best to perform a respectful bow, visibly hindered by the fresh and still healing wound.

“Murasaki-sama, you sent for me.”

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

The welcome Hanako received was quite different from what she’d have received from Abalia or even Magnolia. It was a lot warmer, more cheerful. She also offered tea, just as Hanako herself would have done if anyone visited her. She accepted thankfully and tried not to look as if she was dying from thirst and being handed a bottle of water. When she saw that she was summoned by the new Captain Commander she had, of course, left immediately. You didn’t keep the leader of the Gotei waiting because you needed to brew some tea first. Actually, it wouldn’t matter who it was, it would be rude either way.

While Hanako sat down, the tea in hand, she wondered what the reason for her summoning was. And despite the tea calming her mind, as it always did, she couldn’t help but feel some concern.

It turned out to be about the Fourth Division. Well, Hanako could have expected that. There was a lot going on in and around the Division lately. Much to her surprise at first there was praise coming her way. She would have expected the conversation to immediately be about the recent events.

“Thank you, Murasaki-sama.” she said and bowed her head. Hanako sat pretty straight on her seat, so that her back did not touch the backrest.

“I have to thank Captain Kobayashi for a lot of all this. When he recruited me into the Fourth I found a stronger purpose for me than I ever thought possible. It…gave me quite a strong motivation to do the best I can.”

The next words from the Captain Commander were not as pleasant. It wasn’t so much that she said Hanako wasn’t ready to be captain yet. Hanako knew that she wasn’t, she didn’t feel ready. What was kind of a gut punch, was also one reason she had added to the list of reasons why she wasn’t ready for Captaincy: her fight against Elyss. Murasaki was right. A Captain, especially the captain of the Combat Division, should be ready to fight and win. And despite not losing to Elyss…she also didn’t win. Elyss just stopped to fight. Hanako had hit her hard, had hit her with all she had. She had done quite some damage. It wasn’t as if she had been without any chance. But she still hadn’t managed to defeat her.

“I understand. I have failed in that regard recently.”

There was some frustration audible in Hanako’s voice, maybe even anger, but she kept the emotions in check. These ones, at least. She wasn’t able to hide the surprise about the last question.

“Vice Captain Arkin?” she asked. She had to think about it for a second.

“Nothing. I mean not more than is common knowledge. I may have been in contact with him professionally, but I don’t know him personally.”

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

It was easy to say that it wasn’t one’s fault. To shake the feeling of inadequacy was a different story. The feeling that she wasn’t strong enough. Not strong enough to be Captain…well, it was one thing, but the position and title per se didn’t mean that much to Hanako. They were names, hollow words. The meaning behind them was far more important. Not being strong enough to protect her Division…that was what really ate away at Hanako. It was the most important duty as a leader she could imagine. That all the bottled up emotion between Elyss and her came to a head when the red head brazenly attacked a whole Division, and she, the Lieutenant, the allegedly strongest fighter of the lot, hadn’t been able to defeat the intruder, it didn't sit too well with Hanako. Would the outcome have been different if Elyss hadn’t walked away? They’d never know. Hanako hoped that one day she’d get a chance to settle the score.

“I am willing to do whatever is necessary.” Hanako said, when Murasaki outlined what she expected from Hanako after she had assigned Arkin as the new Captain.
There was some kind of reluctance to accept a stranger as the new Captain in her. She had basically rebuilt the Division from the ground up, when it was lying in ruins, together with Captain Kobayashi. It felt like another intrusion to have some outsider come and take the position. The whole Fighting Fourth had worked hard to overcome the loss, and they had managed fine on their own until now.
But then again, there was no reason at all to doubt Murasaki’s words that Arkin would be training Hanako as successor. It was a strange feeling to think about it. Captain? Her? Murasaki seemed to believe it was a good idea. Hanako did indeed think alike, in the way that she could do much for the Division. But actually seeing her as Captain?
Still, not even for one second did the thought of declining cross Hanako’s mind. She wouldn’t back down from a challenge. She didn’t back down from defending her Division, even when it could have cost it her life. And she wouldn’t back down from a Haori. Also, who was she to argue with the new Captain Commander?

In the end it came down to her getting better. Better at everything. If this truly was a chance to achieve this, she'd sure as hell would take it.

“What is most important to me is keeping the Fighting Fourth strong, maybe make it even stronger and better, to make the whole Gotei stronger.” she said, and her voice was firm and confident.
“I put much effort and time into helping the Captain to bring the Division to where it is now. I guess I have gotten a little bit attached along the way. If Arkin’s goals are the same, I will follow him without hesitation.”

Hanako paused and then realised how her words could be misinterpreted.

“Well…even if not, I would still follow him and do my duties, of course. Though….I might protest here and there.”

She smiled a small smile. Even though Arkin was a man completely unknown to her on a personal basis, she decided to trust Murasaki. Again: she had absolutely no reason not to.

Another realisation suddenly hit Hanako. Obviously Elyss either couldn’t use her duel with Kobayashi to claim the Captain’s seat, or she had no interest. Either way, it didn’t look as if the Fourth had to deal with the Captain’s killer as the new Captain. That was...acceptable.

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

"I can do rough, that'll be no problem." Hansko said and smiled her crooked smile.

Indeed if this would be the worst to come for the Division in the next time, everything would be perfectly fine. At least for a combat division. In Realm Enforcement or Stealth Force it may be different, but for the Fighting Fourth 'rough' was something like a second name to everyone. Sure, there were deployments where finesse was required and Hanako had people for that. But the Fourth was first and foremost the muscle of the Gotei, called upon when strength was needed, both individually and in numbers. Rough practically came with the job description, amongst other things.

And while it seemed outwardly that Hanako's style in leading was rather easygoing, there was in truth no member of the division so far that dared to put it to the test. They knew better.

"An issue I have to work on." Hanako said after Murasaki's last comment.
"I get my point across, mostly, but I'm not really…eloquent. I've been told I'm a bit curt sometimes "

At that point in the conversation Hanako couldn't help but become curious about Arkin. As a fellow Vice Captain she knew his name and face, of course, but she couldn't remember ever having talked to him privately. He kind of sounded like a warrior type. If he was, if he shared that spirit, she'd probably get along with him fine. If not…well she wasn't doing her job to make friends (although that had happened on occasion).

"So…when will this take place? When am I going to meet Arkin?"

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

With a solemn nod Hanako took Murasaki’s words in. The way she understood it Murasaki placed the strongest focus on getting the job done, and getting it well done. That was actually something Hanako could perfectly identify with. It was actually her own method of handling things. If the work was done when it needed to be done, she didn’t care about how it was done. Of course, the members of her Division were urged to keep up a certain appearance towards outsiders. But amongst themselves…chatting, goofing off, even smoking, listening to music or calling their Acting captain by her name instead of her title. As long as no one screwed up and the work was done at the end of the day, Hanako was fine with many things. She only disciplined and intervened where it was necessary and tried to leave the troops be, giving the individual unit commanders lots of latitude in leading their people. So far it had worked out well, Laskt’s Vanguard being a prime example, in keeping the Division running, earning respect and loyalty and along the way reducing her own workload to a more manageable level, since she needed to fill two spots at the moment.

In a way getting a new Captain was a relief. Usually, when she was immersed in the daily business, Hanako didn’t fully realise the strain she was under. But in moments like these, when she was talking about it, with the Captain Commander no less, she realised the weight on her not exactly weak shoulders. It had been smooth running, when she was ‘only’ a Lieutenant. After a long and exhausting adjustment period she came to terms with her job, found a rhythm with the Captain and the Division. Sure, events like the 3rd Seat’s hiatus were felt, but all in all it went smoothly. And then…since Kobayashi’s death the rhythm had been off. So in any case, whoever was going to be Captain in the end, spreading the leadership of the Division to more shoulders would be a huge relief, especially since a few more seats, formerly vacant, had been filled or filled again, in case of the 3rd.

Murasaki also addressed a topic that was indeed a bit more delicate than Hanako would have liked. The Captain-issue in general was somewhat of a sore spot for many of the Division. Elyss invading their grounds, even loudly advertising her killing of Kobayashi, didn’t exactly help things either. It was the first time when Hanako had actually feared that her troops would go against her orders and attack Elyss, instead of letting her deal with it. She saw it on their faces and practically felt the hate in the air, especially when at the end of it she ordered the medics to treat the red head as well. And Elyss might have bragged all she wanted, but Hanako had her doubts if even the two of them together would have been a match for at least two hundred trained and pissed off Shinigami.
In light of all that it indeed seemed like a good idea to give the Fourth a short adjustment period.

“Actually, I would appreciate a day or two. The whole topic is…somewhat touchy with the majority of the Fourth and recent events certainly didn’t help with that.”

She made a vague gesture with her hand. She could lead the people, even organise the Division, but she was definitely not a shrink to help with those issues. Hell, she probably needed one herself.

“However, if Arkin wishes, I am at his service and he can contact me any time.”