TBTP: Core Memory Unlocked

Yamamoto Kishibe sat in his chair in his office in his Fifth Division Barracks of Doku Mazi's Gotei. Some days he pretended that bothered him, and the two had a friendly rivalry, but ultimately Yamamoto was glad it was Doku who had all the real problems. Anything that came across Yamamoto's desk was promptly dealt with, usually with his sword or fists, so he wasn't usually given much to do. Most days were free to spend as he saw fit, and were thusly spent training the Fifth Division so that he didn't have a bunch of cowards and sissies under his employ. He wanted an army, like the one at Thermopylae from the history books. They came from Sparda, or something, he didn't remember the details, but he knew they were raised from birth to be soldiers. Why was it that most of the people in the Fifth Division were such arrogant cowards? They were quick to boast about their strength but were even quicker to back down when presented with a challenge, instead of rising up towards it with all their might.

He sighed softly as took his feet off his desk and put them down, standing up and grabbing his Haori which had been draped across the back of the chair and throwing it on over his shihakushō. It was of the sleeveless variety much like Division Two, but he seemed to be the only person in Division Five who preferred that variant. Walking out the door, he saw his Lieutenant, Reno Kitsugi, a man who seemed to be even older than Yamamoto himself but he couldn't prove it, was training the other members of the Division. Or at least sparring with one of them. Either way that meant the corps was busy and Yamamoto himself could find something else to keep himself busy.

Walking out the front door to his Division and silently leaving Reno in charge, Yamamoto headed towards his favorite ramen place. His stomach was rumbling anyway, so why not? He walked briskly through the autumn breeze, the leaves already having begun to change from their usual green splendor to a vibrant yellow or red or any variation thereof. He didn't pay much attention, as he was never a stop-and-smell-the-flowers kind of person, so he simply continued on his way to the ramen vendor. He wondered if Aya and her daughter would be there again, and remembered their last encounter when Aya paid for all twelve of his bowls and just said to pay it off next time. He definitely had the money, at least, so he smiled and continued on his way.

Awaiting him was a single man serving a giant bowl of ramen that varied in flavor every day and could serve approximately 250 bowls a day. It was cheap and delicious, and the man and his son seemed to enjoy doing what they did. There would be approximately thirteen seats, which Yamamoto hoped were all empty save for maybe Aya and her daughter so he could treat them back, all including the ramen merchant under a giant black umbrella that provided much-needed shade to the area and was cleaned up each night. His mouth began to salivate and he stepped quicker, hoping to arrive just a bit sooner.

"Sit up straight. You're slouching again."

"I know kido isn't a focus for our clan but can you at least try to pass the damn exam for it?"

"You can't just brute force your way through everything. I thought I raised a daughter, not an ox."

It was times like these that lead Bashira to wish she'd been born into any other family, even one in the Rukongai. While not a noble clan, her family had a way of wearing down on the very fabric of her soul, with the expectations of carrying on some established status quo crushing any attempts at Bashira becoming the person she'd rather be. Whoever that was.

So here she sat, at the ramen place her mother often took her to. She had a lot of good memories of this place when she was a kid, when her mother wasn't as overbearing and focused on making her into a proper member of the Kinoshita family. A bowl of tonkotsu ramen, with extra egg, sat before her largely untouched. Despite it being lunch time, she just wasn't hungry. Knowing she should at least try to eat something, she'd come here hoping that the flavor and nostalgia would illicit at least some drive to eat, but no.

For the first time in a while, her hair was straight, falling down her back like a waterfall. Her mother had gotten tired of her wild hair and pinned her down and taken a brush to the mop in an attempt to make the girl look less... homeless. Despite Aya's insistence that Bashira "look like a person and not an animal," her hair hung in front of her eyes as she poked at an egg with her chopsticks. Whatever was going on around her went largely unnoticed for the moment, her mind already swirling with enough problems to keep her occupied.

Yamamoto finally arrived at the Ramen shop, immediately noticing that there were a small number of customers already eating their food; at first, he didn't think he recognized any of them, but just as he was about to sit down at the counter for his own food he realized who else was there. Normally, the girl had very wild hair and looked like she was fresh out of bed regardless of circumstance, but he was pretty sure that it was her. Aya must have pinned her down and brushed the mop atop her head, as Yamamoto was pretty sure he'd never seen Bashira this crisp and clean before.

He sat down silently next to her, watching as she didn't even look up from her ramen. While Aya and Yamamoto had never been particularly close, Yamamoto did feel a connection to Bashira; he had no children of his own, so Bashira was the closest thing to a Daughter he really had. For a few moments he was silent, staring at her as she stared at her bowl, seeming to not even notice Yamamoto's presence. He held up a finger to the man running the stand and a bowl of ramen began being made as Yamamoto turned his attention back to Bashira.

"For someone who looks so pretty, you sure look awfully sad." He patted her gently on the back as his ramen was placed in front of him, continuing. "Your Mother again?" It had been a few months since Yamamoto had a chance to talk to Bashira without Aya's being present, and every time he did so he seemed to talk to her more openly and honestly than when Aya was around.

With his full attention still on Bashira, Yamamoto placed his hands together and said a quick prayer of thanks for his food before beginning to eat, enjoying the ramen while it was still hot. He wasn't sure what he'd need to say to Bashira to knock her out of her funk, but he was sure he'd come up with something when he learned more. Guessing that Bashira was downtrodden because of Aya wasn't a very difficult guess, but to actually help her to any extent, Yamamoto was going to need to know what had been going on recently. Aya was a relatively private person who kept her work and personal lives separate, so Yamamoto didn't know all that much about either of them beyond what he'd been told.

If Bashira told him to go away, then he would, but he hoped that she'd at least talk to him and let him try to help.