damned_institute | Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

Hitsugaya left the chapel no less frustrated than before. The head doctor once again had chosen not to hide his face, yet promised he would be making an appearance at some time in the near future. He didn't like being patient, but there wasn't much choice. Either the head doctor would show his face, or he wouldn't. Renji had already seen him, and knew how to find him. That was enough.

The thought of eating made him slightly nauseous as usual, but he knew he needed to get his strength up. He could either be weak and try to force his way through brunch without eating anything, or he could be smart and actually give himself something to eat. And there was rice. Rice and fruit. He took a heaping pile of rice, and grabbed as much watermelon as he could fit on his plate, then proceeded to an empty table. He scanned the room, watching for Momo. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their conversation, knowing how she'd acted yesterday; however, he knew he had to speak to her, and there was a good chance that she would show more restraint now that the drugs were out of her system.

Thoughtfully he consumed his rice and waited.

[free at the moment, pester if you wish]

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"I don't," Signum reminded Momo. Who would be scared of Hitsugaya? Surely he was a capable warrior, but he didn't look intimidating... but there was a lot about this society of spirits she didn't understand.

Momo had the grace to look a bit sheepish as Signum reminded her that she didn't understand the world of the shinigami. "Sorry about that," she said. "I'll try to explain it without using the shinigami terms for things."

She took a sip of water before settling herself in to explain. "A soul is a lot like the human body, some are simply stronger than others due to variables not directly controlled by the soul itself. Just like you have a human athlete that is a natural that doesn't require a lot of training to be good, in Soul Society there are souls that naturally have a high level of spiritual energy - what we call reiatsu."

The shinigami put a hand to her chest. "This is what I am. And just like that kind of human athlete, I become even elevate my level through hard work."

"But that is only part of it," she said, pausing to take another sip of water. "In many ways, the soul is like the human mind. Some people are just born with amazing intelligence. Every once in a while a child genius is born. Such a child has a vast intellect that is already elevated well above the average person, and as they grow and learn, they learn at a phenomenal rate, quickly surpassing everyone around them, including adults."

"The same is true in Soul Society. Hitsugaya was a child prodigy, a spiritual genius per se. His reiatsu levels were extremely high and as he grew, they grew faster than his control did. He was a veritable powder-keg and when he got emotional, he lost the little control he did have. The results weren't... pretty. So everyone was scared of him, afraid to be around him in case he lost control."

She sighed. "Everyone... except me."

So not just a close friend, then, but his first and only for a long time... questions raised about their little afterlife aside, it was illuminating.

"Can you see then why he would think of you as a constant, and see a change in your behavior as just a change in behavior with an external source, and not a change in yourself?" She asked, usual seriousness returned. She wasn't above occasional teasing, but this wasn't the time.

Momo chewed on that thought for a bit. She supposed that had whatever was going on no between her and Hitsugaya had happened back in Soul Society and not while they were trapped in some place that suppressed their reiatsu, not to mention the various brainwashing and control of the patients these people happen to also do, he might be a little more accepting.

"I suppose," the shinigami said, blowing a strand of hair up off her forehead. "It's not like I'm exactly comfortable with the way I suddenly feel. Not only is he my best friend that I've known forever and treated like a little brother, but just a couple days ago I tried to kill him."

Momo sighed in frustration. "Things made so much more sense when all I wanted was Aizen-sama and not a block of ice." It wasn't really fair of her to say such things, but her frustration was winning over her reasoning.

Signum shook her head. "You won't get through to him if you're not sure yourself. Everything you do will appear that much more a momentary distress." She let the comment about Aizen go.

That, she had already learned, was a landmine of an issue, and both obvious responses- referring to it lightly because Momo had, or taking it seriously after a passing reference- seemed unwise.

Next to the whole best friend growing up thing, her biggest issue was that she was so... plain. Momo knew Hitsugaya didn't have any interest in Rangiku, he didn't have interest in anyone as far as she could tell, but he had spent the last couple decades around her. How could he not compare the way she looked to the way Rangiku looked? Ran was very pretty and had a developed figure. Momo had accepted a long time ago that she just wasn't ever going to have decent breasts or an exotic look that most of the other female shinigami had, but she couldn't help but think that she just wouldn't measure up in Hitsugaya's book as to what a woman was supposed to look like.

Silly thoughts, yes, and her more rational mind told her so, but she couldn't help but think about them. It was easier back in the academy when she was younger and there was the 'cute' factor involved. In a way, it was easier when she'd gotten plastered with Renji - he'd told her, in slurred speech, she was beautiful then. Renji liked diminutive dark-haired women, but even Rukia had a somewhat exotic look to her. Momo was simply...

"That's easier said than done," Momo muttered. She fell silent for a moment before turning to the knight. "Signum, am I pretty?"

This was not a question Signum was particularly well-equipped to answer. Even she could look at someone like Testarossa and know she was attractive, and she'd picked up on some of what tended to attract Hayate's eyes... but she'd always held herself aloof from Japanese and Midchildan culture to a degree and had only been exposed to each for so long, which limited the terms on which she could make judgments on appearance.

"I think so." She answered noncommittally. Momo was fit, had an appealing face and fair skin... there were marks in the 'pretty' column and none in the 'not', and as far as Signum was concerned that made the answer 'yes.'

But Signum was aware that it wasn't her rather uninformed opinion Momo was really after. She might consider herself a good judge of others' minds, but she could hardly guess Hitsugaya's preferences in women.

Momo looked at Signum for a bit, almost like she was trying to decide of the knight was being truthful or not. After a moment, she gave the knight a tiny smile.

"Thanks," she said, meaning it. "It's nice to hear it from someone as pretty as you."

The shinigami decided she didn't want to talk about her pathetic lack of a love life and her even more pathetic attempt to try and have one again. She took a sip of water and assessed the knight next to her.

"Do you have someone back home?" She asked, effectively changing the subject. "And don't give me a canned answer that you don't have time for such things being in the military with your responsibilities and all that."

"No." Signum answered, putting her fork down and crossing her arms. If Momo didn't want a simple answer, she was getting an even simpler one.

And besides, Signum had been thrown by that comment about her appearance. She just didn't think of herself as 'pretty.' She was well aware there were elements to her appearance that could be considered attractive, but the whole being that was Signum didn't have any business being pretty, and in some way she felt this should override the small matter of what she actually looked like.

"Oh," Momo said, a little put off by the knight's change in demeanor. It's not often that Signum actively closed herself off, via body posture, like that.

"That's a shame. Someone would be very lucky to have you." She gave the knight a smile indicating she meant what she said. She then giggled a little as a thought popped into her head.

"I think Hokuto has a bit of crush on you," the shinigami said, picking up her chopsticks again and waving them a little. "One of those teenager things. I think it's cute."

Signum did that thing, the slight shift in her body and slow closing and opening of the eyes that was her way of sighing without making the actual noise. "Who exactly would be lucky to have me, Hinamori? My culture is dead, my history is a state secret, and I will always put Hayate before anyone else."

An enigma might be fun to chase after, and a few had tried, but a relationship required give-and-take and she had very little to give.

Signum's face took on a disgruntled cast at Momo's little revelation about Hokuto. "She doesn't need that kind of distraction," she said stodgily.

"Crushes are healthy for young girls. You're acting like an old woman again. Just because you weren't ever a teenager and don't quite understand the benefit to such perfectly normal human behavior doesn't mean it's a distraction. I said she had one of those typical teenager crushes; it's not like she has a real interest in you."

Momo got a very stubborn look upon her face. "So don't you be squashing her perfectly healthy crush just because you're a three-thousand year old battle-worn curmudgeon that finds such things silly and unnecessary." She smirked a little. "Or course, don't go encouraging it either, though the result would be quite amusing to watch until you knocked her out."

She chuckled. "And then I'd have to be cranky." Momo chose not to even touch Signum's question on who would the knight possibly have a relationship. Some things were better left to fate.

"It might be healthy for a normal girl in a normal environment," Signum responded curtly, perfectly willing to prove Momo right on that 'curmudgeon' comment. "The last thing I want is for her to try to impress me during the night."

Signum didn't respond to Momo's little joke, but her face made it perfectly clear what she thought of the idea of having to fend off an amorous Hokuto.

Momo giggled a bit more but then sobered up. "She is a normal girl and in a place like this, sometimes a bit of normalcy is the only thing that will keep someone like her sane."

The shinigami paused and blinked her eyes a little. "I think those painkillers might be kicking in." She dug into her rice. "Anyways, I doubt she'd try and impress you at night. She does have an intelligent head on her shoulders, and I think she's of the opinion that she can't actually impress you, so why bother trying."

The silent sight again. "Perhaps." It didn't make her much happier about being object of that piece of normalcy. She had her fans on Midchilda but there she had her rank as a shield; she was an officer first. Here she and Hokuto were directly responsible to each other, but with no professional relationship to codify their interaction.

In other words, there wasn't a lot Signum could do about it.

"She can't amaze me. She can earn my respect." Hokuto could impress Signum in a sense, chiefly by listening to her and proving she could deal with their current situation in a disciplined manner.

"The best we can all hope for," Momo replied. "I think someday she might surprise you, but certainly not anytime soon."

"Oh, one thing - her brother, Subaru, is here now. They're twins, so its not like it'll be hard to pick him out of the crowd. He is to her as Hayate is to you." As Hitsugaya was to Momo. "I gather he's the lone wolf kind and I have a meeting with him today so he can 'make sure the people taking care of Hokuto' are good enough, or something like that."

Momo took a sip of water. "I've already asked Hokuto if she was staying with us or going with him and she's said she's with us." Momo shrugged her good shoulder. "I believe her since she followed orders and went to you last night even though her brother was injured, but its best you are informed about him."

Signum nodded. She certainly didn't think Hokuto couldn't become a good soldier; the girl wasn't any worse than the young Pvt Nakajima, another Subaru, and she new Nanoha had high hopes for her. But it would take time.

And nodded again. A division of loyalties, even where it was understandable, was something they needed to be aware of. "Would it help if I joined you?" she asked. She was looking after Hokuto too, and she was more physically intimidating- or in this case, reassuring- than Momo.

Momo shook her head. "Not for this meeting. Sumeragi Subaru is an onmyouji and knows of shinigami from before being here. I believe a one-on-one meeting with him would be best because of this."

"If he is not satisfied with what I can provide, I'll send him your way as Hokuto directly reports to you now." The shinigami didn't really think there was going to be too much of a problem; if she can instill confidence in a newly graduated shinigami that they could handle the hollow around the corner and reassure him all the same that he wasn't alone and would not fall, she could handle a case of over protective little brother. She'd been dealing with that for years, thanks to Hitsugaya.

"She does?" Signum asked, confused. Last time she'd checked she was only acting as Hokuto's adjutant; she was still at the bottom of the chain of command. Apparently her position had changed and nobody had told her. Not exactly professional, but communications weren't what they should be here.

She waited expectantly for an explanation.

"Yes," Momo said and then furrowed her brow. "I gather she did not convey everything to you last night."

The shinigami set her sticks down and set her hand in her lap. "I made the command decision last night to divide our team into two, field promoting you as it was clear upon the encounter with Gilgamesh that I would be unable to carry out my mission. And neither would Saber-san."

"I placed Hokuto as your direct subordinate and sent her to meet up with you and carry on as your own unit. As much as I wanted you by my side facing that pompous asshole, it would be a self request that we cannot afford to have here, especially as I was not expecting this body to survive that battle."

She paused for a moment. "Arts & Crafts is growing and to keep the teams efficient, we need to keep them small. We need strong leaders. I trust you with my life and, more importantly, I trust you with Hokuto's life. I want you to take up the mantle of a leader in this resistance."

"Unless you object, as it is your right, your field promotion will stand and there will be a third assigned to your team," she finished.

"I don't. I am honored to be granted a greater role," Signum responded when Momo had finished. You could call it good organizational awareness or just arrogance concerning her own prospects, but Signum wasn't particularly surprised by the news, just the way it had come to her. Even with the large number of people from his world he had to draw upon, Hitsugaya's organization had expanded rapidly and she had noted on the bulletin postings teams sent out without an officer; Momo's explanation didn't come as news. She had the requisite skills and experience in small-unit command, and Momo's respect. She hadn't counted on such a promotion- the group was, after all, dominated by the shinigami- but it made good sense.

She couldn't say she was displeased by the idea, either. She liked working directly with Momo but she also had pride in her abilities and felt she could do the most good in some sort of leadership role. Though Momo's schwerpunkt was now unfortunately dispersed...

"Will others?" she asked. She wasn't a shinigami and she had, after all, struck that man Kuchiki, a noble and officer both. Neither to her; but Signum knew exactly how far that reasoning would get someone who took a swing at Hayate with her and wasn't counting on it. Though of course, her loyal mind hastened to amend, Hayate would never have done anything so deserving of the blow in the first place...

"To be honest, it doesn't matter what the others think; it is Hitsugaya that heads Arts & Crafts. Regardless or personal matters, when it comes to duty, he listens to me as well as the other vice-captains. He values our opinion as we are all experienced and strong shinigami. We wouldn't be vice captains if we hadn't earned it. So he takes our recommendations unless he sees something we've missed regarding them," Momo stated.

"This is why we have some of the people we do in Arts & Crafts. Sora was the first non-shinigami to be a team leader, because Renji supported him. This is why we work with Ichimaru, through the support of a telepath to keep us informed if he has more traitorous thoughts. You, Signum, are far better and more qualified than either of them."

The shinigami thought for a moment. "If you're worried about Kuchiki-taichou, please don't. Here, being noble means nothing and on a whole, the shinigami trapped here, don't really like the nobility. There is no love lost between Kuchiki-taichou and Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya is very... protective of me." Her face indicated her thoughts on how annoying that fact sometimes was. "Yesterday, I barely stopped him from going after Kuchiki-taichou himself." Her lips curled up. "He is very aware of how high in regard I hold you. Though that does have the side effect of you being held to a higher standard. But I doubt you'll disappoint."

That was good news. Her role as a supporter of Hayate's dream had taught Signum more about intra- (and inter-) service politics than she really cared to know, but this wasn't the time or place for those kinds of games. She nodded appreciatively.

"Who were you fighting last night?" she asked, satisfied on the subject of her apparent promotion. The way Momo had spoken before she assumed it was a person, not some monster, and therefore probably a brainwashed patient... but Momo's vitriol on the subject of her unnamed opponent suggested otherwise.

And it would probably do to know an opponent Momo and Saber had predicted defeat against.

Momo was going to miss working with Signum at night and the security of knowing the knight was fighting at her side. But her own selfishness would only cause problems later on and do more damage than good. Perhaps, when there was a need to send a very strong team against a specific target, she'll get to stand with the knight again.

The shinigami still hadn't processed all of what she'd learned from Saber about their adversary last night, but she wouldn't deny Signum the necessary details. And besides, Signum was her friend and just as privileged to information as any commander would. She wouldn't deny her the right to know.

"His true name is Gilgamesh, though using the title of Archer to address him is... safer," she started. "He is a tall man with short, spiky blonde hair, golden armor and the most pompous arrogant attitude I've ever seen. He's very strong and allied with our enemy. He is not a brainwashed patient."

"He's an enemy from Saber's past and he treats her like she's his property," Momo said with an unappreciative tone. "He is the same type of being as she is, though he directly serves the doctor through some kind of spiritual binding. I can see the threads that bind him thus."

"He tried to convince Saber to join with the doctor, to restore her to her former glory." Momo's voice changed to indicate her pride in Saber. "She refused."

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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