One Woman's Freedom [Kanae, Murasaki]

Freedom.

That is what this day signified for Nagoshi Kanae, ex-Captain of the Gotei Thirteen and long-time prisoner of Soul Society. She had been released a few days prior but it was only now she would be granted audience with the Captain Commander. Despite her thousand year sentence ending however, no amount of excitement or vigor coursed through Kanae's veins. After all, the man she had spent a millennium dreaming about tearing apart limb from limb was long dead. That was hardly the only change in the world since she had last seen the sun too, it was now a foreign place with seemingly no room for a relic of the past like her.

But, Kanae thought, the world had never welcomed me anyway. The fingers of the man who returned Tosatsusha to her had trembled, the eyes of her former jailers burned with both fear and hatred, and everyone aware of her release was repelled by her very presence. There was a sickness to her spiritual presence, one so bloodcurdling and dangerous her forced smile could do little to alleviate it. To these rabbits and squirrels, no mask could hide this predator behind it.

By the time Kanae made her way through the First Division's halls and to Kagayaku no Murasaki's office, the whispers of those she passed no longer registered in her ears. All her attention was on the name plate in front of her, and for just a moment Kanae considered destroying it, the door, the entire Division barracks, and everything else unlucky enough to be within her sights. But she could not. She must not. Everything relied on this meeting go well, though she knew not what she was to walk into. Who was this Murasaki? How did she end up replacing the fearsome and loathsome Yamamoto? Only one way to find out.

Knock, knock, knock.

When she'd taken over as Captain Commander, Murasaki had naturally made sure to look into everything that she would need to know. That included reading about those prisoners who'd be seeing release any time in the foreseeable future, of course, and one of them was now that very same woman visiting her office. Murasaki knew it wasn't really a good way to look at things, but she couldn't help but have a few reservations about the situation.

"Come in!"

It was easy for Murasaki to stay ever-cheerful, a bright smile on her face even when dealing with someone like this. That was at least, in part, simply by merit of her naturally idealistic nature, her willingness to look at every situation through the lens that it would work out. But as she took a sip from the sakazuki of plum sake on her desk, the Captain Commander couldn't help but be a but introspective for a brief moment.

She'd put a lot trust into people in her time with the Gotei. With Elyss, at least, it had been for the best. She'd been a good person on the wrong path, and she'd never really done anything so concerning that Murasaki felt that trust had been broken. Then again, maybe that had just been because Murasaki herself had been so much more optimistic. After all, she'd been the same woman who asked Stefan Soan to be her vice captain, who told him that it didn't matter what he'd done. He could still improve, right?

She'd even trusted Tsubasa, right to the end.

That one was maybe the most bitter thought of all, but it was something that informed a great deal of her feelings about this situation. Did she really believe the woman coming into her office was a better person than she had been so long ago? Murasaki wanted to believe that. She wanted to have that faith in the woman. But that sort of optimism wasn't really who she was anymore. Whether or not that was better or worse, though... She didn't really want to think about all that. She was still in a meeting, after all.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Nagoshi. I'm Murasaki, the Captain Commander right now. Can I getcha something to drink? I have a new pot of tea that's just about ready."

Though she did not outwardly show it upon entering the office and being greeted by a woman far cheerier than she remembered Shinigami being, every fiber of Kanae's being was repulsed by what she saw. Happiness did not belong in the Gotei. Offers of tea did not belong in the Gotei. Though Kanae had passed by many Gotei members fruitier than the ones she served with a thousand years ago, she still figured the Captain Commander, of all people, would be different. On the surface this Murasaki clearly wasn't, at least to Kanae.

With her violet eyes trained directly on Murasaki's own, Kanae responded the way she figured anyone else, anyone normal, might and accepted the offer with a smile "Of course, Murasaki. As I'm sure you can imagine it's been a while since I've had a good drink." Kanae moved into the office and took a seat across from the Captain Commander, her every movement carefully planned to appear natural and normal. She had often mimicked what others deem "normal" behavior, though it burned her to her core.


"I can't help but notice how different everything is. And imagine my surprise after hearing the Gotei Thirteen has a new Captain Commander. I shudder to think what kind of enemy could have brought Yamamoto down."

It was difficult to place how Murasaki felt about this woman's demeanor, but even in the immediate, she didn't quite like it. Was that jaded of her, to expect more bitterness from someone who had been imprisoned for so long? Maybe. But the feeling was still in her gut anyway, and she couldn't entirely ignore it as she poured the ex-captain a cup of tea.

"I wasn't there myself, so I can't really say for sure what he was like. But based on what happened, and the stories I heard from my mom, it sounded like Yamamoto was probably the only person then who could have handled the situation."

Murasaki honestly thought a lot about the fallen Captain Commander. After all, she'd already sworn to surpass him, and to make a Gotei that was better than his. That was a tough oath to meet, knowing how strong the man had been.

"These days, we're the Gotei United, not the Gotei 13. There was a pretty brutal invasion 10 years ago, with a Captain Commander who was...well, he was terrible. He's gone now though, obviously. Personally, I think the Gotei right now is on track to be the best that it's ever been."

I'll have to look into whatever it was that managed to kill that bastard... Kanae thought to herself, hoping for an enjoyable read. Maybe she could even find someone with a first or second account of his final moments. That thought managed to bring some genuine cheer to the fake smile adorning her face.

Murasaki's responses made it clear to Kanae this woman was still a somewhat recent occupant of her position. Not only that but between herself and the geezer's tenure, there had been one or more others. She ruminated on this information for a moment. Perhaps only Yamamoto was capable of running a stable Gotei. After all he had managed it for over a thousand years while these children in comparison were failing to repel invasions. Another topic for later, she thought.

"Best ever, huh? That is a tall order, Murasaki. Granted I don't know much what happened, in the "old days" the Gotei had no problem defeating invaders. Ah, but who am I to judge. I wasn't even here. Plus, it sounds like your predecessor wasn't doing his job." With a gentle, if not robotic, wave of her hand Kanae gestured to move on with the conversation. "It won't do for me to bother or bore you with history lessons, Miss Captain Commander. I am far more interested in learning about the present anyway, and what other changes our little Gotei United has undergone. As well, I'm sure you have some things to say about my, we'll say situation. Am I wrong?" Her eyes squinted balefully even as her smile remained ever-present.

"Oh, the issue wasn't a lack of ability, I don't think. I'm proud of everyone still here from those days. Iriko was a coward who sold out the Gotei even when they could have won."

Taking another sip from the wide sakazuki, letting the flavor of plum sake rest in her mouth for a brief moment, she thought about the question being posed to her, and in the way it was being said. It had taken a moment for Murasaki to realize who this woman reminded her of. A pleasant face, asking such a pointed question in a way that couldn't be anything other than calculated to seem polite. It was like she was speaking with her own predecessor, the previous Captain Commander.

Maybe she should request a visit to the Kyoraku estate some time soon.

"I do, yeah. I read about what happened that put you into prison. But I've never been the kind of person that's worried about what someone's done in the past. If you've changed in those thousand years, then as far as I'm concerned, that's the only thing that matters."

Yamamoto was a coward too, sounds like they would have gotten along thought Kanae as she listened to the green-haired woman speak. She then mirrored Murasaki by taking a sip of her tea. It tasted good to her and was better than anything she'd ever had before going into prison, but her mind barely registered this fact. It was too busy clouded with a haze of hatred bubbling and screaming below the calm surface. Too much had happened during her time in prison. Far too much.

Murasaki's attitude about one's past sins reminded Kanae of the first Gotei and the Central 46, both of whom were willing to forgive almost anything if it meant adding a worthy soldier to their army. In Murasaki's case, she cared about the sinners changing for the better. After she finished speaking Kanae stared forward silently for far too long. One might be forgiven for thinking she had short-circuited. In her mind Kanae was thinking about all the ways she's changed, though she dared not list them aloud. No, it would only hurt her case. Prevent her from doing as she likes.

Then, as if nothing was strange about how long she had sat frozen like a sculpture, Kanae responded "Of course. The remorse I feel for what happened all those years ago is overwhelming at times, truthfully. Now, even with my sentence over, I still want to make up for my actions by serving Soul Society and the Gotei once again. I believe if you want to surpass your predecessors, I can be of great use to you."

A less composed woman than Murasaki might have been unsettled by the sudden silence from Kanae. But she'd dealt with stranger people, and in truth, she couldn't help but feel as though she understood that better than most probably would. She'd spent a long time with only her own thoughts.

"Well, you're more than welcome to join again. The Gotei can always use more people, after all. I imagine some people might not like the idea, but I've always been willing to bring in people who want to improve themselves, no matter what they did before. Even if it hasn't always worked out, I won't give up on that."

The fact that the Gotei was still standing perfectly well perhaps said something about whatever had occurred with others in similar situations before. After all, even before she'd taken over as Captain Commander, Murasaki had handled more than a few people she'd extended the olive branch to.

This woman is either hopelessly naive or just that confident in her abilities. I cannot rule the latter out as true. A thousand years is a long, long time to come up with a million different scenarios and develop machinations that were now moot. Kanae could not have imagined all her planning would be for naught with all the targets of her ire being long since dead, and so now she didn't really have any plans to speak of. All she could be certain of is becoming a Captain again was a must.

"I appreciate your support, Murasaki. Though even if they do not like it, I am sure my actions will speak loud enough to change their minds." Kanae took a pause to drink more from her cup. "Speaking of actions and rejoining the illustrious Gotei, as you are aware I was a Captain. From what I've been able to discern, there are no empty captaincies. Pardon my zealousness, but in my day you could challenge a Captain for their position if you believed yourself better suited for it, not that anyone ever managed to do so successfully. Is the same true in your Gotei?"

Murasaki was certainly confident in her own abilities, though by the same token, she also firmly believed that she had a long way to go. She was the Captain Commander, after all. Being able to handle the worst possible threats was something that she absolutely needed to be able to do, no questions asked. She wouldn't go down like Yamamoto did.

"No, most of the divisions don't recognize trial by combat anymore. It's not really considered a very useful metric, not to mention some captains would probably cause more damage defending the position than their challenger would even cause. But the 4th does still keep it for traditional reasons."

Far from being stupid, Murasaki couldn't exactly help but feel as though this was fairly transparent in its intentions. Whether it was the emphatic compliment toward the Gotei, or asking directly about trial by combat, it was hard to feel as though she had any particular reason to trust this woman. Even so, she was confident in Arkin, of all people. He was hardly a pushover.