damned_institute | Day 27: Breakfast

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Day 27: Breakfast

Day came too soon.

Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn't going to hide from them, either. That would just be low, after all, and he was ready to face up to the consequences.

He didn't try to make excuses for himself. Even though there had been a Special Counseling patient, they had managed to take her down by sheer numbers. The fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Rena was what had him the most worried. He hoped he could find her today.

The boy laid in his bed for a good while that morning before his nurse finally came in to collect him. She clucked over the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and leg, and asked him if he was okay to walk.

Once Sora assured her he was fine (he didn't really want to use crutches, as that would just attract attention to himself, and he didn't need others worrying over him), they made their way to the cafeteria. Sora yawned and winced against the bright light of morning - it seemed even earlier than usual, and he realized why when they entered the cafeteria and found it empty.

The boy shuffled over to grab a chocolate chip pancake, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of milk (good for the bones, or so his mom had always told him) before settling at a table. He kept an eye on the door, hoping he would see Rena walking in soon.

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Apparently, neither of the men gave a damn about what Homura had said, which did not please the war god. Outside of Heaven, he wasn't used to being ignored, and it irritated him.

Especially when he was trying to help.

Obviously, these two were going to go about whatever they willed without regard for anything Homura might have to input. His expression darkened, and the demi-god found himself tempted to leave entirely.

He hated wasting his time.

Hitsugaya was about to answer Schuldig when he noticed Homura's face darkening. What the hell was he getting grumpy about? Maybe he was upset that Schuldig batted down both of their ideas. Maybe he just wanted to be the center of attention.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

Schuldig turned to Homura and grinned. "I wasn't ignoring you," he informed the god, going so far as to pat him on the shoulder. He'd never been good with religion; probably Farfarello's fault. "But Renji ducking his therapy during a fire alarm is no less temporary than his running away. And if it were a matter of trying to get to Muraki himself during the commotion..." He bit his bottom lip speculatively. "I'm not even sure that would work. For one thing, if this place has a sprinkler system, a fire alarm wouldn't even last very long; for another, I don't know how good our chances would be against him. Martin Landel actually had some sort of barrier around him; there's no way of knowing whether the other doctors in this place are extended the same sort of protection. Add to that he's probably still got his powers while we've all been weakened and the unknown quantity that would be the consequences to us assuming we succeeded, and I think we'd be better off with a more subtle plan."

Homura controlled the urge to brush the hand away as Schuldig patted him, almost like an older man to a child. It wasn't a matter of being the center of attention as Hitsugaya might have thought. It was a matter of being respected, something Homura didn't necessarily realize was such an issue, but likely would if he had thought about it. He'd long hated the treatment of the heresies by Heaven, and he was far too proud to be treated the same way here.

Even if they had no such intention.

"Sprinkler system?" Such a thing wasn't heard of in Homura's world. "I hadn't heard of the shielding. I only meant it as a distraction so the staff might be able to discover just what he's doing to his patients."

Shaking his head, he looked to Hitsugaya. "Regardless, I didn't make this appointment to discuss Abarai's situation. You said yourself that you're meeting with him this coming shift. We were talking about Ichimaru Gin beforehand."

And not getting anywhere, but hopefully that would change.

Hitsugaya nodded. Fair was fair. While he didn't like Homura, the man had tried to help. Even that deserved some modicum of respect.

Besides, his true grouchiness was reserved for those he liked.

"Understood," Hitsugaya said, glancing back to Schuldig. "We have some time. I will work with some of my team and see what we can come up with. You do the same, and let me know if something comes up."

Again Homura brought up Ichimaru. He really didn't want to talk about the ex-captain. He didn't like the ex-captain, and there were definitely other things to consider. Like the bastard who was making Momo uncomfortable in the table not far off. It didn't take a mind-reader to realize that whatever her friend had said was making her uncomfortable. For the moment, he resisted his urge to get up and yell at the man.

Hopefully he'd get smart and leave on his own.

In any case, Homura had brought up a query. "Sorry," he muttered regarding his brief distraction. "What more did you want to ask about?"

Gin Ichimaru... (Schuldig never had gotten into the more Japanese habit of ordering the names backwards. Too much time in Germany, and around Crawford and Farfarello. That, and he didn't give a damn about doing things properly, particularly if he could annoy people.) The telepath had been interested in the man for quite awhile, if only because he'd long suspected their personalities were highly compatible - or at least highly similar, as similarity didn't necessarily mean they'd get along at all. Quite possibly they were so much alike they wouldn't be able to tolerate each other, but Schuldig was more than intrigued enough to want to at least give it a try.

In any case, it looked like it was his turn to take a back seat in the conversation. Normally he would have gotten bored within a matter of instants being part of a conversation where he wasn't a focal point of the proceedings, but as the subject was something he was personally interested in, he was willing to tolerate it for the moment. And, in the downtime, he could always keep a mental eye on Farfarello.

Any day where Farfarello made a sex joke involving unicorns was a red letter day to say the very least.

Back on topic. Homura considered everything that had been discussed between himself and Ichimaru at lunch the day before, along with what little he had gotten from Hitsugaya. A traitor, though Homura wouldn't hold that against the man, and someone who inspired a great deal of rage in the tiny Captain.

The question the demi-god faced, of course, was how useful the man could be to him.

"Would you be willing to tell me more about his betrayal?" Homura didn't bother keeping what he knew a secret from Schuldig. The man was a telepath, and that meant he already knew. "You said you don't care about his reasons, but certainly you're familiar with his actions. What happened?"

Hopefully Hitsugaya would be more willing to talk. Homura didn't want to have to waste a question by asking Gin for details, or offer a favor to Schuldig for a peek into Hitsugaya's thoughts.

His betrayal. Because that was a topic he wanted to go into detail over. Still, if he didn't get the details from the captain, he'd get them elsewhere...possibly from Gin.

"Ichimaru wasn't the leader," Hitsugaya admitted. "He worked with another Captain...Captain Aizen, who I believe I mentioned. Ichimaru Gin worked with Aizen to murder the central government of my organization. Aizen then faked his death, tried to have me blamed, and meanwhile arranged for the execution of an innocent soldier. In the end she was rescued, but Aizen managed to procure a weapon that had been hidden inside her and escaped thanks to the aid of our greatest enemy, a race of spirits known as hollows. Ichimaru and several others escaped with him."

He didn't mention that Ichimaru attacked Momo, which was one of the major points of his own hate, but that didn't seem like a point that would interest Homura.

"Ichimaru is loyal to Aizen. Aizen almost killed..." he paused for a moment to catch the lump in his throat. "He almost killed his own vice captain because she wasn't of any more use to him. I wouldn't put it past Ichimaru to do the same."

Maybe that would be enough to get Homura off his case about Ichimaru. "Anything else?"

[Skipping with permission]

Homura listened with a great deal of interest, the scenario sounding quite similar to his own efforts indeed. Though not the same, as the demi-god never tried to throw the suspicion onto anyone else; doing that would have raised suspicion in his own case. And he had never considered killing someone simply because their usefulness ended.

But to remove a weapon from an innocent, that Homura had done. Twice in fact, though Sanzo had no memory of it. Nor did Goku, the power of the Earth in flesh.

Not even a week ago.

It made Homura all the more curious about Gin's reasons, and those of this Aizen, but Hitsugaya had already made it clear he didn't care. Likely for whatever reason made him pause as he spoke of the vice captain who had nearly died as well. Something very personal, given the hesitation where the Captain was normally very stubborn.

"One thing." Homura looked towards Gin, then back to Hitsugaya with a smirk. "What would you do if he asked to join your group here?"

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. If nothing else, Homura's comment confirmed his suspicions. "I think he's going to have to have a damn good reason why I should listen to him," he answered. Really, there was nothing else to say. His gut reaction was to outright deny Gin the chance to betray them again, but when both Renji and Matsumoto wanted the young captain to consider it, and when they sent someone whom he could only guess had some measure of telepathic skill like Schuldig who then reported he could be trusted, they deserved a chance to make their case known.

Still, he didn't like it.

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Day 27: Breakfast

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