damned_institute | Day 27: Lunch

Renji was trying to keep an eye out for Rukia, but in the end he was more concerned at just keeping watch on whoever might be getting close to him. Which turned out to be Valyn's friend. That was alright; Valyn was a good kid, and he tended to think that his friends would be good kids too.

"I'd sure hope so," he said, and grinned. "Not the worst I've had in this place by any stretch, but it wasn't much fun either." For a moment he thought about asking if Valyn was doing any better, but it seemed like a dumb question. However, there was something that needed to be taken care of.

"At the risk of ruining your lunch, you were with Valyn last night. You said that the whole thing felt off. But can you tell me what else the thing did, before it went after him? Every thing you can remember, even if it sounds dumb to you." They still needed to figure out a way to combat these things, and he didn't have a clear picture of the events in his mind. He stirred his soup, giving Keman a rather crooked smile. "Sorry. I'm shit at the polite conversation thing."

Rukia was feeling a bit frazzled, after thinking she would have to confront Ichimaru, then seeing Orihime and Asano. It was a lot to absorb, and she still couldn't quite believe that Orihime was okay.

Rukia quickly filed through the line, choosing a sandwich, soup, and orange juice, then went to look for Renji. As always, he was easy to spot, and Rukia vaguely recognized the young man with him... She had seen him last night... Valyn's friend?

Heading over, she smiled and sat down next to Reji without asking permission. "Afternoon," she said, glancing between th two of them. They seemed to be in the middle of something, so she added, "Don't mind me," and took a big drink of juice.

Keman grinned and was about to take a big bite out of the odd bread-and-melted-cheese thing (which smelled absolutely divine) when Renji got right to the most pressing matter at hand. The young dragon's face fell a little, and he put down the sandwich.

"I...hmm. I don't know. I'm quite good at noticing things, better than most, and I saw things that didn't quite mesh with how I remembered Shadow to be. It gave me a bad feeling. We were on the second floor, past the railed area, and the...thing that looked like Shadow just sort of...appeared out of nowhere. He was dressed like a prisoner, and he acted confused, just like I had when I first woke up. That much made sense. Then he went straight for Valyn and hugged him, and...I don't know. It just felt wrong. But I was second-guessing myself the whole time. I lived in pretty close quarters with Valyn and Shadow for about half a year, and I learned quite a bit about them, but Valyn lived in close quarters with his cousin for five years, so he knows him better than I. Valyn trusted him, so I thought that I was probably just nervous. Then...not-Shadow said he wanted to talk to Valyn in private, and they went off alone. That really worried me, but by then it was too late. I knew that something was wrong when I couldn't hear Valyn's magic anymore. I ran over, saw the monster in process of ripping out Valyn's throat, and I killed it."

He left out the fact that he wouldn't have been able to kill it had he not gone temporarily insane and tried to eat it. That wasn't important.

Keman recognized the girl who approached them as the one who had been with Renji last night and smiled. "Hello!" he said brightly. "I'm Keman."

Renji gave Rukia a brief smile. When she sat next to him, he didn't move his attention from Keman (or his lunch) but under the table, he eased his leg over so that it brushed against her.

He nodded at the explanation. "So it got him off by himself. I should have assumed that." He frowned. "I think perhaps the best defense now would be to not be separated from a group. Until we can think of something better. These monsters don't sound particularly hardy... they probably won't to get people alone before attacking." It was better than nothing; it was a piece of advice that could be passed along.

He smiled at Keman. "I'm glad that you were there," he said. Keman was probably the only reason that Valyn hadn't been killed.

He backtracked on the conversation; the impostor monster had hugged Valyn? Considering how much Valyn seemed to dislike contact, and how cautious the boy normally was... that just made it all the more unpleasant to think about. "Is Valyn doing alright?" he asked. "He's injured, of course, but I mean... is he okay?"

Rukia rocked in her seat, just enough to nudge Renji's leg back. Just the simple contact helped to make her feel a little more relaxed. Seeing Renji smile helped even more.

Setting down her glass, she listened to the rest of what the young man - Keman - had to say. The story sounded similar to the one she had heard about the River-double, making goosebumps prickle along her arms. It was one thing when your enemy looked like a Hollow, or some other kind of monster. But when it took on the form of someone you loved...

NO, she told herself firmly. Now was not the time to be thinking of Kaien. Pushing the gloomy thoughts away, she looked up at Keman when he introduced himself. "I'm Rukia," she said, smiling. "I remember seeing you last night, but I wasn't in any shape to be introducing myself." It made the situation sound a little less grim if she joked about it.

She frowned at Renji's question. "Valyn? What happened to him?"

Ed zoomed between the tables like an airplane, halting just in time to avoid crashing into her target. She saluted the tattooed, red-haired man before her and seemed right pleased with herself as she announced her intentions.

"Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV reporting for duty, Sir! Itchy Gin-Gin says you would be a very nice person for Ed to meet!" There were other people here, but she ignored them for now, putting her hands behind her and rocking back and forth, happily waiting for a response.

"That makes sense," Keman said, nodding. "I tried to get them to stay with the group, but...well..." He grinned lopsidedly. "Valyn is Valyn."

Valyn and Shana took turns at being the single most stubborn person Keman knew.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, nursing his glass of juice. "I'm glad I was there, too. I just wish Valyn hadn't given me his magic. Fat lot of good it did me, and if he'd had it, he would've been able to cure himself...at least a little." Having to cauterize those wounds had been the scariest thing he'd ever done in his short life. By far.

Ah, well. Keman turned to Rukia and grinned. "I don't blame you! Nice to meet you, Rukia. And..." he frowned. He knew that Renji was just concerned, but it was a difficult question to answer.

"I don't know," the dragon replied honestly. "He keeps telling me that he's fine, but that creature looked like his cousin. He loves Mero more than he loves anything else in the world. If...if that thing had looked like my sister instead of Shadow, I wouldn't be fine. I'd--"

But no one would ever hear what he would do. At that moment, a small, red-haired...person came up to Renji and started to act very strangely.

"Uh...hello..."

"Valyn was attacked by one of the monsters that mimics things," Renji said quickly to Rukia. "It almost ripped out his throat."

...and then the weird... girl? boy? thingy? showed up.

"Hi... Ed," Renji said. It took him a moment to figure out that he (she?) must mean Ichimaru. Which just confirmed again that the man was an ass. "I guess I might be," Renji said. "You must be new here."

He looked at Keman. "I understand," he said. In other words, Valyn was not doing okay. However, forcing him to admit that wouldn't be a great idea either. He'd have to think about how to handle it. Most importantly, Valyn did have people there for him.

Rukia's brow creased in concern as she listened to Keman. She didn't know Valyn well, and he had acted rather snobbish when they had met, but she still felt bad for the boy. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she were attacked by one of those creatures... Unconsciously, she put a hand to her throat; how had he even survived that??

When the child came bouncing over, Rukia looked at him... or her? "Hi there," she said, then leaned toward the kid a little, whispering, "But Renji isn't very nice, you know. He never learned how to smile."

Why was it so much fun to bother Renji?

Ed giggled. These people seemed pretty nice. And Renji-person reminded her of someone. She addressed the person she now had a name for after bowing exaggeratedly to the others.

"Ed is new, yes yes, and not sick like the crazy-head nurse said. Ed wants to find people to fight the spoooky monsters with!" She cackled at the thought. Maybe some of these people had powers... magical powers? Like what the Itchy-one had said.

Keman blinked. This child had to be mad. That was the only explanation for his/her...strangeness. And now Rukia was using him/her to tease Renji...that was interesting. She and Renji must have been close.

One thing was for certain, though. This "Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the Fourth" looked like he/she would blow away in a strong wind. Probably best not to let him/her fight.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea..."

Renji snorted. Trust Rukia to say something like that. Even if it was mostly true. He gave Rukia a thoroughly hairy look, just because she no doubt expected it, then turned his attention back to the... girl? boy? Whatever.

"There are several groups. Mine calls itself Arts and Crafts." He shrugged. "Can you fight?" Not that it meant anything, but it didn't hurt to know. "What are you good at?"

He glanced at Rukia again, then back at the Ed person. "By the way, this is Rukia," he said. "She also fights the monsters at night. And likes drawing."

He nodded at Keman's comment. "Not everyone can fight," he said. "But everyone can work toward escape in some way."

Rukia was certainly amused by the child. 'Fight the spoooky monsters' sounded like something she would have said when she was a kid. She grinned at Renji, not bothered by his attempts to pawn the kid off on her, but elbowed him gently in the ribs all the same. While she wasn't a huge fan of kids, she certainly liked drawing. And children were so appreciative of good art!

While Renji explained things to the kid, though, Rukia thought back to something Keman had said that didn't quite make sense. "Keman," she said, her expression serious, "What did you mean when you said that Valyn gave you his magic?"

Magic! Ed had been right! That or there really were people here with insane brains. She smiled big at Rukie-Rukie. "Ed is very pleased to meet you! Ed loves to draw."

But she refocused her scattered attention on Tattoos. How much to tell? They didn't seem to know her at all, but then she hadn't mentioned her hacker name. And pretty much nobody recognized her without that. Well, friends are made when trust is paid!

"Ed is a computer hacker from Earth!" she beamed and then wondered for a moment which planet this was. Not like it really mattered with a bunch of nasty nurses holding them all prisoner. "Perhaps you have heard of Radical Edward?" She cackled gleefully at having shared her big secret. "Ed used to be a bounty hunter," she continued, then her voice and facial expression dropped suddenly into what seemed like dramatized melancholy, "but it was time to say goodbye."

Her mood brightened again as she thought over her many accomplishments with pride. "Ed caught a bounty head once all by herself and got some yummy yummy mushrooms for a prize!" Then she sounded like someone quickly and methodically reciting a personal ad. "Ed likes chess, technology, good food, and Ein!" Where was Ein? She looked around for a moment, realizing the dog had been missing since she'd arrived. No pets allowed?

"It's hard to explain," Keman admitted with a shrug. "I didn't even know that he could do that until last night. I'm not elvish, so I don't know how it works, but he gave me the energy he normally uses for his magic, strengthening mine. It made sense, even if I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I've got a little skill with a knife, but Valyn is much better than I am at actual hand-to-hand combat. I mostly rely on my offensive magics to get me through a fight."

He turned to the child. "I'm sorry...I haven't heard of Radical Edward. I don't even know what a 'computer hacker' is."

Maybe it was a colloquialism in his/her world for "complete psychosis"?

At any rate, he/she didn't seem to be anything more than a regular human, as far as he could tell. Renji and Rukia on the other hand...well, he was withholding judgment. They looked young, and human, but...

Renji responded to Rukia's elbow in the ribs by very gently stepping on her foot. While they were playing that game, he might as well...

And then he was just even more confused. He shot Rukia a look, hoping she had understood what the kid said, since she'd been in the modern human world far more than him. "Sorry, I haven't heard of you," he said. "But I don't get out much." He rubbed his forehead. "What's a computer? And hacking? Does that mean... you destroy things with an axe?" He kind of doubted that, though, considering those skinny arms that Ed had.

But the other activities Ed listed, bounty hunter or no, made him (her?) sound more like the brainy sort. "Maybe you would be better at helping the alchemists," he said. "Or if you know first aide, Tamaki's people need a lot of help as well. We get a lot of injuries at night."

Sometimes, as much as he liked them, kids gave him a headache.

And that thing about sharing magic was interesting. Renji wondered if it was possible to share reiatsu like that, but he kind of doubted it. He probably would have heard of it before now. "That sounds useful," he said.

"Nice to meet you, too, Ed," Rukia said, amused by the strange boy. Catching Renji's look, she attempted to explain. "I don't know what a hacker is, but a computer is a machine that can do lots of things, like... you can send messages using them, or find information. They're hard to use, though." At least, Rukia had found the computers at Ichigo's school to be confusing sometimes .

She wiggled her toes under Renji's foot and took a few bites of her sandwich while Keman spoke, then asked, "What sort of offensive magic can you use?" She wondered if it was anything like kidou.

So Ed was a bounty hunter? That sounded a bit far-fetched... "So how did you catch someone all by yourself?" she asked, grinning.

Ed stared at them, agape. Don't know what a computer is? At least the girl did, somewhat, but... but... wow. Well, the things they were talking about sounded like so many fairy tales. This place was really, really strange. Blinking, she caught her wild train of thought up and answered the Renji-man.

"Ooooh alchemists? This sounds very interesting to Ed! Who would Ed talk to for information and being of the helpful kind?" She was meeting so many new friends in this place, it was okay for it to be really, really strange.

Then to answer the Rukia-person quickly she added, "I landed on him!" That was the short version. Long stories could come later, Ed wanted to know about these nifty new people trying to turn lead into gold. Although, she wasn't sure how that would help anyone... maybe the term was a secret code. And she ever-so-much loved secrets and codes.

Why was Ed looking at them like that? "I'm-I'm sorry. Was I supposed to know what a computer hacker was?" Keman was genuinely concerned. He didn't want to offend anyone!

After a few minutes of experimentation, he decided that he liked the bread and cheese best when it was dipped in the soup. It was AMAZING that way. "Mry murftik?" he asked a round a bit of sandwich. Keman swallowed. "...Sorry. My magic? Well, it's all elementally-based. I can call fire and lighting, and I can melt and reform stone and metal. I used to be able to do a lot more, but this place..." he trailed off. No further explanation was needed. "As for usefulness? I suppose. It was useful up until the point when Valyn got hurt, then it was a nuisance. I couldn't give it back to him. My magic doesn't work that way. I can't heal, either. It was frustrating." To have so much more power than normal, and to not be able to even use it. Sometimes, Keman wished he really was a halfblood. Then he'd at least be able to cure people.

Ed started going on about how he (Keman was just going to go with "he" for now; it was too confusing otherwise) had caught the bounty, and the dragon's eyes widened. "...Landed on him...?"

Renji was used to the disbelieving looks. He got them a lot when it came to the matter of technology. "If you want to help the alchemists, you should talk to Colonel Mustang," he said. He pointed Roy out, because he was helpful like that. And because, just a bit, he thought it would be hilarious to see Roy and Hitsugaya deal with Ed.

...from a distance.

...a safe distance.

"All of us work together," he said. "We just have different specialties."

What Rukia and Keman were talking about, he mostly spaced out. He wasn't much for talking about magic. It barely made any sense to him. Which probably explained why he was just so bad at it.

Rukia noticed the way that Keman was eating his sandwich and soup, and decided to try it. "Hey, that's good," she muttered happily, taking a few bites while she listened to what the others were saying.

"Hm," she said to Keman, "Your magic sounds really different from kidou - what we use. Do you have to use incantation, or gestures, or anything?" It was nice to talk to someone else who was interested in this sort of thing; usually Renji just zoned out when she got on the topic.

She was also curious as to how Ed had caught someone by landing on him. Since Keman had already asked, though, she decided to address what Renji had just told the kid. "You know, Ed, I don't think there are any computers here. You might be able to ask one of the nurses, but maybe you can think of some other things you're good at." Rukia offered an encouraging smile.

Ed giggled at the funny one who's name must be Keman. She'd caught it only because she'd been paying attention to the magic references. With the emphasis on hacking she also now remembered the Renji-person's question... and Rukie-Rukie brought up computers again as well. Ed addressed the table at large. "No no, no hacking with axes, computers are fun but not for everyone!" She looked suddenly thoughtful as she added, "The bounty head was a very silly man. Easy come, easy go."

Then she saluted Tattoos again and grinned very big. "Thank you kind sir! Ed shall commence with the pleasantries immediately!" She zoomed off like an airplane again, this time making noises to match.

Incantations? Gestures? "Not that I know of," Keman admitted. "I can't really explain it. It's pretty unconscious. You learn the magic, and you practice it, but once you master it, you can just call on it at any time."

That was how his magic worked, anyway. Shana's and Mero's and Valyn's all seemed a little different.

Then Edward babbled something so rapidly it didn't sound like the standard tongue at all and traipsed away, leaving a very confused dragon in his wake.

"...You know, I'm not entirely sure that was the wisest course of action. Neither of those fellows look..." Like they had senses of humor. "Like they like children very much. I mean, the white-haired one...he looks like a child himself, but he's actually much older, isn't he? It's the same with you and Rukia, come to think of it."

Renji grinned as Ed went zooming off, and nudged Rukia with his elbow. "Well, yeah," he said. "I'm pretty sure taichou kind of loathes kids, actually. That's what makes it funnier." Even if it got him yelled at later, it was worth it. He figured Hitsugaya and Roy would figure out how to pawn Ed off on another group pretty quick.

He cleared his throat, and shrugged. "Yeah, we are," he said. "I actually told Valyn what we are the first day he and I met. Guess he didn't tell you?"

Rukia watched, one eyebrow raised, as Ed scampered off to bother Captain Hitsugaya and Colonel Mustang. Somehow, she didn't think they would appreciate the interruption...

Nodding slowly at Keman's explanation, Rukia said, "It certainly sounds different from the way we do things, but some people are so good at kidou that they don't need incantations or gestures, either." Like my brother, she thought, wondering what he was doing now.

Rukia couldn't quite hide her snicker, or the smirk on her face, as Renji elbowed her. Captain Hitsugaya wasn't going to enjoy the interruption. It wasn't that Rukia didn't like the captain; it was just that he needed to loosen up a little sometimes. Maybe the white hair caused him to act like an old man prematurely.

She was surprised at how fast Keman figured out that the shinigami were older than they appeared. Most humans didn't catch on to that very well, in her experience. She smiled at the young man approvingly. "You catch on quickly; all of the shinigami are a lot older than we look. I'm afraid a lady can't divulge her age, though," she added, winking. "You're obviously no ordinary human, either..."

Day 27: Lunch

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