Illuminated Star [Bambietta, Momo]

Momo's demeanor was one that was, for lack of a better word, nearly alien to Bambietta. She had always grown up in uncaring, rough environments. Her friends had been all too willing to push her aside if their own problems were worse, and she certainly wasn't used to someone pressing her about matters of her own self-worth. She had always been the only one she could rely on to think about how she was feeling, where she stood in the world.

If she hadn't been in the woman's home, already so deep in conversation, she might have blown off the question, pretended she hadn't heard it, even simply run away with some weak excuse or another. But that wasn't really much of an option in this environment, so she simply looked at her own hands for a long while, thinking about all the different ways to try and answer that question.

"I made a lot of mistakes, thinking way too much of myself. I hurt a lot of people. I don't want that to happen ever again, and I don't want people to think I'm still like that."

She'd never return to that misery if she could help it.

It stung to watch Bambietta struggle to find the words and Momo pondered if perhaps she’d gone too far in trying to inquire into the woman’s mental state. Yet, the Ex Lieutenant only had to imagine herself in Bambietta’s position for five seconds to realise that it was necessary. Momo couldn’t sit there and watch this promising young woman suffer in silence, not when she could at least try to help her.

Sighing and doing her best to push her own memories aside, she’d place a gentle hand on top of Bambietta’s own and answer. “The fact that you’ve already owned your mistakes and are attempting to make up for them shows more character than you think. There’s no reason to continue beating yourself up about them any more and I honestly believe that the work you’re doing is a great way to help not only others but yourself as well. Have confidence in the work you’re doing, Bambietta and don’t be afraid to have a little pride.”

Momo paused briefly, before adding, touching on her past just a little. “I know what it’s like to have the eyes of your peers on you. Judging you, creating rumours or simply pretending that you’re not even there. I understand that pain because I’ve been there and I honestly believe that stepping away was the best possible choice in my case. The Gotei is not the be all and end all, after all.”

Few people she'd known had been willing to quite be that understanding of her situation, and those who had weren't quite the sorts that she felt understood her. Not that Bambietta would ever have been embittered toward them for that, but it did lead to a certain degree of distance. By contrast, she could tell that Momo did understand her plight, and that this support came from a place of understanding rather than mere sympathy.

"I... I get that. The Gotei has done a lot for me, but I know it's...you know. Not perfect."

She was still quiet for a few moments longer, doing her best to genuinely internalize the advice she'd been given rather than simply responding to it and leaving it at that. If she was supposed to be proud of her work, if she wanted to help people, then she had to continue pushing herself.

"I have another project I brought. If, um...you're interested."

“Keep your chin up and keep doing what you love to do.” Momo would answer kindly, knowing full well how important it was to have something to occupy one's mind during the darker times. Kido had most definitely been a form of therapy for her and she mused that perhaps that was why she felt such a close knit bond with the art at that point. The Ex Lieutenant dearly hoped that Bambietta would one day feel the same sense of love towards it although judging by her previous enthusiasm, Momo could already see that she was well on her way.

The topic would eventually come back around to Bambietta’s projects and the brown eyed woman nodded in response, more than happy to return to their original business. She had all the time in the world for her guest that day and in truth, Momo couldn’t help but feel a certain kinship with this Shinigami. “Of course I’m interested. Let me see what else you have.” The enthusiasm was certainly back in her gaze.

Bambietta appreciated the emotional support in a way that she didn't think could really be suitably conveyed by just saying "thank you" or whatever. It'd be better, she imagined, to actually follow the advice Momo had given and keep focusing on what she was passionate about. Pulling the case she'd brought with her up into her lap, Bambietta briefly fumbled with the clasps before popping the lid open.

"I found some old notes when I was doing research in 2nd Division, and I thought it was a really neat idea. The notes called it the Kido-Firing Gun, but it was kind of rudimentary, I guess since guns aren't really too common up here. I'm more familiar with them from my old work before I joined the Gotei, so I figured I could improve on it..."

Lifting the Kido Gun Mk. II from its case, it was immediately visibly apparent from the etchings on the weapon's frame, as well as how immaculately polished it was, that Bambietta had put no small amount of time into the device.

"It uses the talismans I invented as ammunition sort of. You have to make specific ones so they fit in, but you can put 9 in there. Once you pull the trigger, it fires off the spell without needing an incantation or anything. Right now I can only manage up to a 63, anything else misfires. I think if I could shrink down the mechanisms it'd be possible to make something smaller that worked mostly for lower-level kido, though... Um, but I don't really think this is something I could make for a lot of people. Even this one took a lot of work and it's kinda finnicky. It's more a personal project than the talismans are."

It was an incredibly intricate piece of equipment and Momo whistled with approval as she looked it over. Clearly, Bambietta had focused a great deal of time and effort into creating such a weapon and Momo was more than impressed. She listened keenly to every word spoken and the imagination of the brown eyed woman began to whirl into life as she did so. The Ex Lieutenant could see the advantages of the gun being used although she tended to agree with Bambietta when it came to it being used by other people. It no doubt required a skilled hand to wield and she didn’t want to think about what could happen if it ended up in the wrong hands.

“You’ve outdone yourself with this.” Momo complimented, her gaze shifting from the gun to Bambietta, a smile again on her face. “It has a great amount of potential and I can certainly see the benefits of using this compared to a standard casting. You must have put your heart and soul into this. I can tell that from just a glance and I can see why you’d be reluctant to have this mass produced so to speak. I honestly agree with you that it’s probably best for it to remain a personal project of yours anyway rather than be offered as a tool for the R&D folks to try and replicate. It’s your masterpiece.”

Her curiosity piqued and desperately wanting to help bolster the woman’s confidence, she’d ask. “If you're comfortable with the idea, would you mind giving me a demonstration of your gun in action? I have a few targets set up outside that I use for my Kido practice that you could shoot it at.”

The praise given to her work certainly left a bit brighter of an expression on Bambietta's face, and her eyes moved between the Kido Gun Mk. II and Momo as she thought about the request that Momo had made. It wasn't that she was unwilling to show off, far from it, but...well, if it didn't quite work out, that would be embarrassing. But it would work, right? She'd worked hard on it.

"Definitely! I'd be glad to. It's nothing too different from normally casting kido, really, at least not for someone who really knows their stuff like you, but it's pretty efficient at least I think... Um, I'll follow you."

Bambietta might have been eager, but the general avoidance of stepping on any toes was still front and center in her mind. Still, even accepting the offer said a great deal about how comfortable she was for once.

Smiling softly, Momo would clamber to her feet and lead her guest through the house and out into the rather large garden that the Ex Lieutenant called her own. There was plenty of greenery and plant life, with the dark haired woman having worked rather hard to maintain it, a task that took a fair amount of time. Gardening hadn’t been something that she’d done much of growing up but over the years, it had become a relaxing pastime for her, something to take her mind off things when she needed some respite.

The other half of the garden would be more similar to what a Shinigami might see in the academy grounds, with various targets of different shapes and sizes decorating the place. The area was well used and there were numerous markings from where a misplaced spell had failed to find its target. Whereas most of the targets would be spherical, there were a few that were far more lifelike in appearance, a couple of which bore a striking resemblance to a pair of individuals that Momo had once called allies. Now they were just a source of stress relief for her.

Coming to a stop before the various targets, she’d turn to Bambietta and say with a chuckle. “This should be just fine for what we need. Fire her up and let’s see what you can do with that gun of yours.”

Stepping aside to give Bambietta plenty of space, Momo would watch, an intrigued look in her eyes.

The humanoid targets were ones that Bambietta wasn't exactly willing to aim at, though that came from a place of overfamiliarity with shooting at others, rather than unfamiliarity. Loading nine rolled-up scrolls for Hadō 4: Byakurai into the Kido Gun Mk. II, she knelt down and took an obviously well-trained stance, aiming down the sights toward one of the spherical targets. Her breathing steadied, and much of her nervous energy seemed to almost melt away in the moment.

It wasn't really that she was comfortable or anything. But when you drilled so much to focus in this kind of situation, it just became second nature. She breathed in, readied her aim, and exhaled, her finger slowly and methodically pulling back on the trigger. As she did so, three Byakurai burst forward from the barrel of the mechanism in fairly rapid succession, streaking through the air and landing perfectly on target. She repeated the process two more times, before removing her finger from the trigger and lowering the barrel toward the ground. Even so far removed from her time as a soldier, those habits hadn't gone anywhere.

"Like I said, I can do bigger kido, if you, er...think that would be safe. I have some scrolls ready with a few spells I came up with myself."

Obviously, Bambietta wanted to share, but she wasn't really the sort who would say something like that quite so directly.

It was impossible for Momo to miss just how professional was when it came to using her gun. A perfect stance, one that had obviously taken a great deal of time and practice to hone. The Ex Lieutenant couldn’t help but wonder just where Bambietta had learned such things. It was certainly not a usual Shinigami form of combat and it did leave the dark haired woman feeling rather curious. Yet, she didn’t wish to accidentally knock Bambietta’s confidence if the topic ended up being a sore one. So, she focused on her guests' words instead.

“After seeing how effective it is with Byakurai, I reckon it’s safe for you to try firing a more powerful spell and I’d love to see a spell or two that you’ve created yourself.” Momo answered in a comforting tone of voice. “I’ll be right here if something should go wrong. There’s nothing to worry about.” She had faith in her fellow Shinigami and was rather looking forward to seeing something a little more ambitious.

Glancing at the target that Bambietta had struck, she’d add after a moment, her curiosity breaking through at that point. “You’re a real pro when it comes to shooting. Where’d you learn that?”