Visha interludes 1 version 6
After Tanya joined the division in chapter 17
10th Seat Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakova sighed as she ran her finger around the rim of her coffee cup. She was so close, so close to getting Tanya to move in. Then maybe they could talk like they used to. She wanted to hang out like they used to, be close as they used to. She still hadn't managed to get up the nerve to tell her about the cafe she owned, something she dreamed of owning and sharing with her back during the war. Something she accomplished here thanks to no one being as good at cards as she was for the first few years. But she still hadn't worked up the nerve to tell Tanya about it.
Frowning in frustration she leaned forward on the table ignoring the customers talking in the background. She had wanted things to go back to how they once were, but Tanya's death had led her down a path she was not sure Tanya would approve of if she knew.
"I doubt she's going to care about the revenge killing spree you went on," came the distorted voice of Musō-ka sounding rather annoyed at her behavior.
"Musō-ka not now." she chided, turning her head to look at the table.
The sounds of customers faded away, replaced by the slow rhythmic thuds of artillery hitting nearby surfaces. Turning her head she saw that the modern well-lit cafe she owned was gone, replaced by a gloomy lightbulb lit cement bunker, a wooden door leading to an unfortunately familiar set of trenches replacing the door that had been her shop's entrance.
The door opened and a tall black-haired man walked in carrying a shovel over his shoulder. He wore an imperial uniform greatcoat over an elegant suit, and his face was hidden by a gas mask. Walking with steady, measured steps he moved from the doorway to her table, pulling out the seat before carefully leaving his shovel to lean against the table and sitting down.
"If not now then you will continue to procrastinate and sulk about things that mean nothing in the long term, Tanya will not care that you killed communists while lost in your grief and rage." Musō-ka said in Akitsushimani accented germanian.
"She'll care that I got her battalion torn up like I did," She said remembering each casualty list she had to read and file after every engagement. She'd been a terrible commander, pushing for attacks, hoping to draw out the berzerker, so she could kill that monster herself. Though they never crossed paths again after Tanya died.
"That's true, she would probably make you dodge artillery fire for that, though since there is no artillery in this world and you are her superior officer, she will just have to settle for a stern talking to," Musō-ka joked, straightening his tie that had shifted due to the constant shaking, seemingly annoyed by its misplacement.
"I let my emotions get the better of me, in combat, she-"
"She will understand. She hated communists more than you, a russy driven out from her homeland by their blood-sucking nature. You made a mistake and paid for it by being gunned down by an Albionese, she will make that same point. But of course, that's not really the problem now, is it? You're worried about what happened after your death; about what happened when you were alone and had no one to talk to; about the reason you don't use the analgesic formula anymore," Musō-ka said, cutting through to the point.
"Dreamer, I don't want to talk about it," Viktoriya tried despite knowing Musō-ka would not take no for an answer.
"Yes, you don't want to talk about how you turned into a monster no better than the bandits you hunted, how you became addicted to mental spells in order to keep yourself alive and moving. How you didn't hold back when you felt someone sneaking up on you and killed a chil-"
"Stop it!" she yelled, slamming her fist on the table.
Musō-ka looked her over, a curious tilt to his head before he continued. "You were nearly killed by a child bandit whose age could be anywhere from twelve to a hundred and twelve, and survived. Feeling guilt for killing someone who was going to cut your throat is asinine."
"It was a kid, I was a teenager with magic powers, I could have restrained him."
"But you didn't, because you were too used to crushing the bandits that came after you. You were high on your power, something Tanya was familiar with, going by her prayers to god only being only under the influence of the high magic afforded to her by the type-95," Musō-ka commented.
"That's not true, Tanya had complete control when she used it." She commented.
"I doubt that greatly, more likely that is just your hero-worship complex giving you rose-colored glasses," Musō-ka stated plainly.
Visha looked at him confused before saying "I don't worship her."
Sighing, Musō-ka cleared his throat and said, "Tanya was not just your best friend, she was the person you looked up to as a role model, you deified her, and when she died you found yourself wanting by comparison. However the problem is not just that you were lacking, it was that you glazed over Tanya's faults. You need to talk to her. If you don't you will stagnate and stagnation will lead to you losing yourself bit by bit, as Tanya draws further and further away from you."
Sitting straight in her seat across from Musō-ka she let the silence hang for a moment, nothing but the unyielding constant thumping breaking her thoughts. "What should I do then?"
"You know what you should do but you're letting cowardice prevent that, so for now, at least be there for Tanya. She made a mistake by winning that three-on-one, she'll face challengers every day for it and someday she will be looking for a way out. Be there for her then, and you will have your chances to rekindle your friendship," he responded matter of factly.
"You think that will really happen?" Visha asked.
"Am I certain of the future? No. But from what I know about the two of you it seems rather likely. Your chasing dreams of the future is what lead you to Kenpachi, to the 11th, to ownership of this dainty little cafe, to finding Tanya again. Believing in dreams seems to work for you, you just need to be ready to work for those dreams and seize the opportunity when the moment strikes." Musō-ka stated with his usual odd fervor before the world around her darkened and she awoke to reality once more.
A year before chapter 18
Visha stepped down the stairs leading from her apartment to the back area of the shop and started readying for the weekend crowds soon being joined by her most trusted employee Hiriuchi Josa, the weekday manager who usually ran the café in her absence.
However, her weekend morning routine was soon interrupted as she heard a familiar voice. Stopping in surprise she looked over and saw a familiar mop of blonde hair facing the other direction and speaking to lieutenant Rangiku of the 10th division.
Victoriya panicked a little, she had yet to finally tell Tanya that she owned the little shop so her appearance there was unexpected. Listening in, she could hear Rangiku raving about how good the coffee was—odd, since she was sure she'd never seen the Lieutenant in the shop in her afterlife. The whole situation became even more confusing when Rangiku looked directly at her and winked.
Slightly confused Visha fell back onto old routine, quickly moved behind the counter past Hiriuchi and started brewing a pot of coffee she knew from experience Tanya would like. Then, once it was ready, she took a breath to calm herself and moved over to their table and put the cup in front of Tanya.
The blonde-haired girl looked at the cup, then followed her eyes upward and saw who had delivered it.
Blinking, Tanya asked, "Visha, what are you doing here?" sounding rather confused.
"Well..." Her voice came out a little weak before she cleared it and started again. "I own this cafe actually and have been looking for an opportunity to tell you about that." Victoriya's usual smile making its way to her face.
Tanya reached down and took the cup taking a sip of the coffee before remarking, "As excellent as always," smiling one of her rare content smiles before continuing, "it is good that you have obtained an opportunity for an extra revenue stream besides working for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and I must say that if your coffee is always as amazing as it is the locals of this area must be spoiled."
Visha smiled at the compliments, her heart quickening a bit. "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel." The old title accidentally slipping out.
Tanya simply nodded and corrected her with a curt "11th seat" before she motioned to the other blonde at the table. "Visha, this is Rangiku Matsumoto, the woman who helped me get to the Sereitei."
Rangiku held out her hand allowing Visha to shake it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, 10th seat Serebryakova."
Smiling, she took the hand. "Nice to meet you too, so what are you two doing here?"
"Oh I just wanted to have a small chat with Tanya and I told her I knew a good coffee house and she was all for it." The 10th lieutenant winked at her again which was confusing until she looked over at Tanya and realized she had been too engrossed in her coffee to notice the exchange.
She wondered why the 10th lieutenant was lying and being weird until it finally clicked. She was trying to help her and Tanya be friends again, Victoriya wasn't quite sure why but she couldn't ask right in front of Tanya since that seemed to be something the Lieutenant was hiding from the girl so she would have to try and figure out what the Rangiku's goals were another time.
"A small chat?" Visha asked.
"Yes, nothing too serious—a little girl talk, I've been trying to get Tanya to go shopping with me but so far she seems rather apprehensive about it," Rangiku stated, giving Tanya an odd look as she did.
"More like I have a feeling I'd just end up paying for a night on the town if we went shopping just the two of us." Tanya said, looking at Matsumoto with a calculating eye.
"Oh don't be such a spoilsport. Didn't you say your sword wants you to dress more femininely?"
The question caught Tanya mid-gulp causing her to cough up her coffee and start pounding her chest to clear her airway. "I told you that I feared my sword was screwing with me and making statements to lead me in that direction. Just because it does that does not mean I should in fact give in to its influence."
"Well swords tend to do the opposite of what their wielders want", Visha mentioned before continuing. "Perhaps experimenting with more feminine clothing, maybe a nice ribbon in your hair or something of that nature will get the blade to be more cooperative in your conversations?"
"I doubt that," Tanya said before sipping her coffee. "Tasha is inscrutable and I doubt getting a simple ribbon will improve her disposition or communication skills."
"Yeah but there's nothing wrong with trying," Rangiku Chimed in. "Just because the sword appears to be screwing with you doesn't mean it actually is, maybe it really just wants you to evolve from the person you were and try something different." She moved over a spot and signaled to Visha allowing her to take a seat next to Tanya.
"Visha, you've known Tanya the longest. Has she ever worn anything feminine?" Rangiku asked.
"Only at a propaganda photoshoot, but she did look like a lovely doll and was having fun," Visha commented
Tanya seemed to scrunch her face a bit at her last addition before responding. "Yes, well that was different. That was for the empire, that's not for me. Besides, I'm not interested in going out with Lieutenant Matsumoto for a shopping trip for stuff I may not need and end up paying for a night on the town."
"Then what if I take both of you," Visha said with a smile, "I have more than enough money in case it turns out you don't need a couple of ribbons and makeup and if Miss Matsumoto does think about going out on the down I'll be there to make sure you're okay getting home."
Tanya thought about it for a moment before she nodded in agreement. "I can agree to those terms."
A few weeks after Tanya asked to move in, in chapter 20
Visha was in a very good mood as she helped Tanya move a bag of clothing and other possessions up the stairs to the second floor of the building that was her cafe and apartment.
Thankfully it seemed that Tanya did not have many items to move from her barracks room in division 11 so this one bag was the main item to get up the stairs. Carefully she guided Tanya to her guest room down the hall from the main living area and across the hall from her own bedroom.
With a heavy sigh, they laid the bag down on the floor, recovering from the long hike from division 11.
"Well that was thoroughly tiring," Tanya said before she sat down on her bed. "I'll have to look into getting some sort of wheeled luggage or cart for when I get my own apartment."
Visha's heart skipped a beat. "Well there's no rush for that, for now though just make yourself at home and I'll go make us something to eat." She said, stepping towards the door.
"Nonsense," Tanya's firm reply came standing back up and walking after her. "I'm not a guest in this house. I am paying rent and I will do my fair share in other chores as well. Let me help you cook."
Smiling at the opportunity for the two of them to hang out and cook, Visha led the way to the kitchen area where she could get to work on a meal for the two of them.
While they worked Tanya asked a question she hadn't thought to ask just yet. "So Visha, why did you buy a cafe?"
Humming as she worked she explained, "Well, you always said my coffee was so good and complimented it. I thought opening up a shop that specializes in coffee would be a good way to honor our friendship. This was of course before I knew you would actually show up here."
"At the time, I was just trying to find ways to be human again after spending too much time out in the wilderness like a bandit." She stopped a moment, composed herself and continued. "Anyways, I got a little money from some card games with members of the 11th division who were honestly terrible gamblers and bought the property. It was only meant to be a coffee house at first but things were just so busy I had to hire some people to help me expand and install an oven so I could produce bread and other treats to go with the drinks. I don't get too spend as much time as I'd like here with my reaper duties and honestly speaking Hiriuchi runs the place more than i do but all the same I love it here, interacting with people like that."
Tanya nodded along sagely. "Good investments in the long run really. Not only have you secured a backup job if you ever retire from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads but with a little work you could turn this into a franchise business and have coffee shops throughout the central districts."
Visha shook her head. "I don't know anything about that, I've never really thought about expanding this little side business."
"Well, I happen to know a little something about business management," Tanya said, tapping her chin with her thumb, it's not too different from running a few battalions, if you don't mind I would be willing to buy a stake in your company and help you expand it."
"I couldn't take money from you to do that," Visha said. "What if it didn't work out…"
Tanya interrupted her without a second thought. "If it doesn't work out I made a bad bet, but I know you, I know me and I think the two of us working together would result in a very financially stable operation."
Tanya seemed very set on the idea and though Visha was not sure about it she trusted Tanya when she came up with plans, so she just smiled. "Sounds like a plan." In truth, Visha was just happy that Tanya was now working with her, whatever the project. It meant they would spend more time together and Tanya would be less likely to drift away from her.
With a happy sway in her step, Visha finished cooking the stirfry and walked over to a small table they could eat at.
"I see you sprung for the European style of decoration," Tanya mused as she took a seat across from her.
"European style?" Visha asked, slightly confused as to why Tanya referred to the table and chairs in such a way.
"Yes, over the Akenese style where we would sit on our knees or the ground. You sprung for a whole chair and table setup"
"Well yes, I prefer to have a proper seat over the local fashion," Visha said, sending a curious look Tanya's way.
Tanya for her part seemed to have misunderstood her confusion and simply stated, "Yes, I also prefer a proper seat, all's well and good integrating into the local culture but sometimes I just prefer the European style over the stuff we have here."
Tanya had always had slightly odd behaviors but maybe Visha was overthinking it, on the other end of that spectrum, perhaps there was something odd about Tanya other than the obvious effects a war could have on a child. Victoriya blinked away the thoughts and refocused on the conversation at hand, idle thoughts had their own time and place, maybe now that they were away from the war and living together again she would discover something about Tanya she had never known.
Smiling at the prospect of learning more about her best friend, Visha simply nodded her agreement to Tanya's statement. "It took a longer time than I'd like to get this furniture. In fact, I had to commission it from local artisans."
"I would expect no less from this society. Ignoring the odd skyscrapers in the Seireitei, they seem quite stuck in Japan's feudal era when it comes to their architecture and style. Well, as soon as they realize the benefits of modern technology I'm sure some of that will change for the better."
Visha nodded. "I do hope the 12th focus on some district modernization. I've been to the world of the living a few times and the improvements from just when we were alive are amazing. I imagine most people here have never even heard of a steam engine and that's antiquated technology by the world of the living's standard."
Tanya simply nodded and said, "Too true, back when I was in the outer district I was considering setting up an area to improve the technology of the region, unfortunately, that plan fell through due to being living hollow bait but if I can help push things in the right direction here I will. I'm not sure how to deal with the 12th division, though. I've heard some terrible things that remind me of our resident mad scientist."
"Oh yes Dr Schugel," Vista said nodding before she shook her head "I'm afraid you haven't heard the worst of it. From what I understand, the commander of the 12th is frankly worse than Dr Schugel."
"Worse than Schugel, now that would be a surprise, what have you heard?"
"This is just a rumor but supposedly he's been involved in some rather underhanded dealings that have resulted in deaths in the world of the living. No proof has ever been found, but I for one believe it, there's something wrong with that man. You can tell it just by the way he dresses."
Tanya nodded. "I'll have to keep that in mind."
Writers note,
So this is the first of, an interlude that was designed to build up the world from other perspectives, while also being shorter than the chapters so, my editors can get something out when there too busy to work on chapters. My hope is that this way some chapters may get 2 weeks of editing instead of one but will see what happens.
Please comment, review, and generally enjoy yourselves…
Editors, starstuck, Lord Feunoyr, FinalFan, Emberwing, Tisaku
Jctherebel: thank you
skrapsynneh: next week you get to chapter 21 which should be good
Kisame Hoshigaki: yes yes he is, people over on space battles have demanded an interlude on how they met, so look forward to that one day.
Scarlet Anne: well here hoping this helps somewhat, I know this one got some clunky writing issues but it was the first time writing from visha perspective so that to be expected, have to learn to get into her head.
Grocamol: I have considered it...
arthurpendragon1940: yep starting to shake up canon with different things, there is another big one coming in chapter 22
Skywolf99: Will do!