damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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"Yeah, I know." Kurikara replied, completely unabashed. He flashed Hitsugaya a careless smirk. "You can get some more if you want."

Tatsumi had said almost exactly the same thing but he'd had the sense to move his plate away at the same time. Hitsugaya wasn't so lucky. Kurikara pinched off a small portion of the noodles in his hand and twisted them together. It wasn't too difficult with plain noodles, and the dragon had a lot of practice eating with his hands.

He ate listening to the shinigami describe Bankai. "Ah, it's more different than I thought. My swords... they're like yours in that I forged them from my own spirit but they're always fully aware of themselves, and always of the same power." He replied, uncommonly thoughtful. "The shikigami are more like your zanpakuto."

Hitsugaya really didn't care all that much what Kurikara took. If he really cared, he would have done something about it. He finished enough to keep him going, then set down the fork.

"You mentioned that term before," Hitsugaya replied. "Shikigami. What are they?" If they were anything like his Zanpakuto, maybe there was enough of a similarity that they could help one another to find them again.

Kurikara reached for more noodles. "I can't say exactly what we are. Dragons, gods, and many creatures that have become myth in the human world live in Gensoukai, the Imaginary World. We're called shikigami.

Our world is sealed but the shinigami are allowed to travel into it if they wish to obtain a shikigami. We choose our masters, and test their skills, and if they succeed they're allowed to call on us in battle. We're bonded to them. Our power is their power. Even a god shikigami can only be as strong as their master's heart," The dragon grinned humorlessly. "Because a shikigami will go insane if their power can't be controlled by the master they choose. The more power, the more destruction we will cause. I assume the same can be said of your Zanpakuto."

Hitsugaya pondered his words and ignored the hand that grabbed for his noodles. "It does sound similar," he agreed. "To a point. My reiatsu...spiritual power...is directly tied to the zanpakuto. But at the same time, we have to work together to attain greater power. Fighting on my own, I'm nothing compared to fighting with Hyorinmaru."

He paused for a moment, thinking about the words Kurikara used. "Our power." "We choose our masters."

Just like when Jean revealed she was a living weapon, Kurikara's words gave him hope. "I wonder...if they could pull you shikigami here, maybe they did something to our zanpakuto."

"It is possible. You may be able to get further if you speak to Byakko on this. His master is here. I'm not sure if their connection still holds." It was none of Kurikara's concern to ask, but if Hitsugaya wanted to pursue the topic in search of his zanpakuto, Tsuzuki and Byakko were more than friendly enough.

Another thought occurred to him though. The shinigami were different, but that didn't necessarily mean they were connecting to different worlds. "Also, shikigami are able to live and fight without their masters. Do you know if it's the same for your zanpakuto?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you."

His thought was a very valid point. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "It's never been seen, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Until recently, the concept of a hollow-shinigami combination was just a myth, so it's difficult to say what's possible."

Shinigami? That was interesting... although Hokuto wondered what exactly a hollow was. She didn't remember Subaru ever talking about them...

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," she said, giving a quick little bow for politeness' sake. "We talked on the board earlier and you said I should look for you--so, you're the Arts and Crafts leader?" Being able to speak at least somewhat freely was good; she needed to find a group and join up with it, and this seemed like the best way to find out about them. "I'm Sumeragi Hokuto. Nice to meet you."

Were there shinigami here? Well, she figured it made as much sense as anything (i.e., none)... but she could ask about that later, for now she needed to be filled in on a few things.

Hollow? What was a hollow? But one topic at a time seemed to be enough.

"There are parasitic-type shikigami as well. I wonder if..." Kurikara trailed off as they were approached. He cared very little for the usual manners, being the sort of person that almost never observed them, but he bristled obviously at the interruption. Humans.

He might have thrown a punch, but he needed to be alert when the time came to take care of Tsuzuki. Instead, he glared at her and growled much louder than a being of his size should have been able to. "DON'T BARGE IN ON CONVERSATION WITH GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!"

Hitsugaya wasn't one to mind interruptions, so long as they were polite. This new person, Hokuto, had approached with an apology and a bow. He was more than willing to respond to her, tell her maybe she should come back once they had finished....

But then Kurikara showed his fangs. Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly at his growl, arguably too massive for someone of the dragon's size. While he was amused by the dragon's reaction, it also wasn't befitting a captain to just let a potential recruit be scared off like that.

"That was excessive," Hitsugaya muttered, somewhat grumpily. He glanced at the newcomer. "Yes. I'm the captain of arts and crafts division. We were in the middle of something...you new here?" If someone was new and lost, that was more important than the luxury of pleasant conversation. A captain's duty was never done.

Hokuto raised her eyebrows at the person who'd yelled. Very softly, she asked, "Would it be better if I announced in front of the nurses that I'm joining in the plotting to eventually escape?" It was reasonably safe to say, for her--she wasn't escaping from Landels while it still functioned. Only after it was gone did she plan on leaving.

To Hitsugaya, "I can talk to you later, if that's better. I was the one who mentioned my brother's drawings--he's an onmyouji. I'm a martial artist and a little bit of a magician; I'm new enough here so I'm not sure where I'd be most useful." In short, she was asking for assignment somewhere--all she needed was a room number to report to. If the group didn't work out for her, she could always find another.

Kurikara's eyes flashed. He was holding his annoyance in check, but only barely. "I'll move over if you want to get up on the table and try that." He snapped. He folded his arms across his chest.

Kurikara's temper took a hair-trigger at the best of times. In the desert he'd had the tendency to kill the things that disturbed him, or at least maim them badly enough to caution any others from returning. He had no desire to do that here, so he let it smoulder.

"What do you expect? She injured my pride. I'm not used to people interrupting me."

Despite the lofty words, there only seemed to be weary annoyance in his voice. He looked off, willing to let them chat until time grew short. There were many people who would need Hitsugaya's help and he could be trusted to give it to them. Truthfully, Kurikara much preferred if the girl chose to stay. There were people here who were far less honourable.

Kurikara seemed annoyed, but otherwise didn't seem inclined to cause any more trouble. He was used to tempers flaring, and although Kurikara's was more extreme than that of most shinigami, the dragon seemed to be willing to give them a little time to sort things out.

Hitsugaya glanced back to the woman. "Now is fine," he said. A martial artist could be useful. "I can put you on the roster for tonight. Towards the end of next shift I'll put up assignments, including where you'll meet tonight. Was there anything you needed to know before I do so?"

"Mostly what we're doing," Hokuto said. "Not that I can prepare much..." she smiled, dryly. "But it's good to know at least a little in advance." If he didn't want to tell her yet, it was still okay; he seemed like he could be trusted, and all she needed was the room number.

"I'd like to be part of the self-defense lessons, too, if that's possible--I've helped out in classes before." And if there were any advanced classes--she'd only been in training for eight years, and there was always more to learn.

There was something to be said about making plans, and keeping busy; as long as she could do that, she might even be happy here.

"I haven't made the schedule for tonight yet," Hitsugaya answered, snatching up and eating the last of the noodles on his plate. "But once we do, I'll give a brief explanation on the board. I'll probably have you doing sumi-e...mapmaking. There's still a bit of this place that we haven't explored."

He nodded. "That could be useful. Abarai-fukutaicho's the main instructor right now, but we could use people to relieve him. I'll see what he thinks tomorrow." He wasn't about to talk to the vice captain today. He needed time away from his duties.

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Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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