Day 25: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

The concept of gardening in the greenhouse was not one that Hitsugaya was particularly fond of. It was likely exceptionally warm inside, whereas the young captain had a preference for cold climates. He also needed to make himself available for anyone who happened to want to speak with him. The sun room overall seemed the best choice.

As a warm and cheerful nurse led him into the sunroom, he glanced around. At the moment he was the first one there, which was good, as it meant he could keep an eye out for one of the many individuals who had expressed curiosity about the 'arts and crafts' division. It also meant he could watch out for Omi or this Hellsing woman. He excused himself from the nurse and proceeded to a seat that gave him a good view of the entrance. If not for the fact that he was being held here against his will, he might have felt happy. Real rice. He hadn't had time to eat as much as he had hoped, what with his meeting with Mustang, but he still ate a lot more than he'd had the opportunity previously. Even Momo seemed to be acting more like normal.

As unpleasant as the day had begun, it was turning out to be a good day.

Comments

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

"It's a shame no-one from the Fourth is here. Some of those drugs in the phramacy would be very useful I'm sure. I just don't know what most of them are." Not that she really wanted anyone from any of the other divisions here (except, possibly, the Eleventh. They'd probably enjoy it. Still, she'd bet on Unohana-taicho over just about anyone else, even with powers subdued.

Rangiku sighed at her captain's obstinate nature. Honestly. "Maybe she'd want to talk to her friend rather than the captain of the Tenth. And what she needs most now is to feel that she is supported and trusted to take care of herself." Without certain captains jumping at anyone who even looked at her funny, although she didn't say that of course.

She shrugged. "And sooner or later she's going to have to think about it. Otherwise she'll never come to terms with it."

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Hitsugaya glanced away. "I don't have time to be anything but Captain of the Tenth. Not here." Not anywhere, really. With every extra assignment that he volunteered himself for back in Soul Society, he rarely had free time. There was always something that needed to be done to make everything run smoothly, and in the Captain's mind, if he didn't do it, no one else would.

"In the Sereitei, Yamamoto-sotaicho made sure she didn't have to do anything while we prepared for war. She's not in a condition to work while she's thinking about Aizen, and he knew that. We don't have that luxury here. There's too few of us, and there's too much that needs to be done."

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

"War?" Rangiku said with surprise, looking at Hitsugaya sharply. She didn't know that things had got so bad. "The last thing I remember is driking with Kira and Shuuhei." She frowned pensively. "This timeline thing is bizarre." So her captain obviously came from much further along. Hinamori had still been in her coma with no signs of waking from what Rangiku remembered.

"Unfortunately," she continued dryly. "Lots of things don't wait until we have the luxury of time. This is probably one of them." Things like that had a habit of cropping up and paralysing you at the worst moment possible. What if she'd held onto him for just a second or two longer?

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

If he weren't so frustrated over Momo, he probably would have made a crack about Matsumoto remembering drinking as the last thing that happened. "Yeah," Hitsugaya said moodily. "Hinamori just woke up for her...for me she'd been awake a few days at least. And..." No, he wasn't going to mention that she blamed Gin over Aizen. He still didn't know what to do about that. "...we got a decent idea about what Aizen's planning. I was travelling back to Soul Society to prepare for the war when I wound up here."

Matsumoto's words were getting to him, even if he didn't want to admit it. "I guess I should talk to the brat," he admitted. "Sooner than later."

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

That he didn't grumble about her indulging in the occasional alcoholic beverage said something about his mood. She couldn't really blame him though, especially not when she heard what he said. "It does go so far then," she said solemnly, taking on a much more serious expression. "It seems odd. We were only just licking our wounds and coming to terms with things a few days ago for me." She just hoped that when this place was destroyed, they were returned to their own times. Maybe if she retained memories of what she was told, she could give some warning.

She stifled a smirk of amusement when Hitsugaya called Hinamori a brat though. He was one to talk considering what she'd heard about him from the other shinigami. And sometimes... just very occasionally, it was easy to remember his age. She nodded in agreement. "It's probably for a best otherwise it will doubtless come up at the most inoppertune time you can imagine."

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

"It does," he answered. "The arrancar attacked us and took the healer girl, Orihime. Aizen plans to take the spiritual power of Kurakara Town and pull all the spiritual energy out of it, vaporizing the town in the process. We don't entirely know all of his plans, but we knew we had a small period of time before the all-out war."

He smirked slightly at her heavy tone. "That's pretty ominous talk for you, Matsumoto." he teased. "But you're right."

A pause. Time to change the subject. "So what did Ichimaru want?"

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

So even the humans got dragged into it. Admittedly they were rather special humans, but still children. "I think knowing that much is enough," she said honestly. To destroy an area of that size and every single soul within it... it needed to be stopped.

"I can do ominous as well as any other seated officer, I'll have you know!" she replied mock disapprovingly. "It's a requirement."

Ah, and there was that question. She smiled wryly. It had to come sooner or later, she just wished she'd had a little more time to get her own feelings on the matter in order. He'd left her so unbalanced that she didn't know what to think. "To give me a long overdue explanation," she said honestly. She was proud to serve Hitsuagaya and lying would only damage the trust they'd built between them. "It's long and complicated and I'm still not sure what to think."

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Since when have you been able to do anything ominously?" he teased. "You're as ominous as a paper sack."

The fact that Matsumoto was always honest with him was part of the reason they worked so well together. As odd a couple as they were, they made the perfect team. "Explanation, eh?" he said with a dour expression. "I don't like it." It might have been a double standard, that he didn't tell her to stay away from Gin while he would have told Momo again and again that he was bad business, but Hitsugaya just couldn't see it that way.

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

Rangiku raised an eyebrow at that, a smile quirking her lips. "I do't know. Some paper can be pretty ominous." She knew that the stacks of paperwork which seemed to accumulate in the Tenth Division office were pretty damn ominous. They loomed. "Like requisitions reports. They're pretty ominous."

Yes yes, she knew he wouldn't approve, but he didn't fly off the handle either which was more than could be said for some other captains. "I didn't expect you to. I need to think a few things over. But I don't think we need to worry about him working against us here, not unless Aizen turns up." Something she fervently hoped wouldn't happen, although if his powers were as limited as theirs, then it might be the perfect opportunity.

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow in her direction. "It's not like you have to do them," he chided. While they loomed, it was often Hitsugaya who sat down to do them. There were certain advantages to not having a social life.

He looked quizzically at her as she talked about Ichimaru. "What makes you say that?"

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

"They still sit there ominously in the office, all tall and dark and threatening." Really, whoever invented paperwork, especially the kind which was required to be filled out in triplicate, needed to be introduced to the sharp edge of Haineko.

She shrugged. As well as what he'd told her, there was enough otherwise to make her think that. "We're in the stronger position for one. We're building up a network and there's enough people who trust us that he'd have a lot of trouble if we chose to cause it. We're also, in the end working for the same thing, getting out of here. And I'm sure there's enough people here who'd see working against us as siding with this place and I can't imagine that would be a safe image to have. Whatever else he may be, he isn't stupid." The enemy of my enemy is my friend could probably be used here, but she was fairly certain that they'd never anticipated a cross-dimensional hospital where the 'friend' was an enemy in their own universe. Made her head hurt just thinking about it.