damned_institute | Day 29: Courtyard

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Day 29: Courtyard

Hiei easily grew sick of the same walls--not to mention the same idiots always within those walls--and while not perfect, the chance to go outside was better than lingering in the boundaries of that damned prison. So when the chance came, the demon was quick to leap on it, heading outside almost quick enough to make a nurse wonder if he was attempting escape.

Almost.

But there were things Hiei had to take care of before he left this place, and first came sorting through his thoughts. Kurama was gone; the demon was sure of it, even without the use of his Jagan. The fox was one of the people Hiei was closest to, one of the few Hiei would admit being close to, and his presence weighed heavily on the demon, nearly as heavy as his absence.

It made him angry, that Kurama had vanished. Be it by escape or some other circumstance (which Hiei barely considered possible, only by his own refusal), the fox should be there with him, fighting with him. That was how they worked, supposedly. As a team.

Now Hiei would have to do without. And he would be fine with that, eventually. For now it was annoying, but that would pass. Perhaps quicker with a nap, and the demon moved under one of the trees. He didn't care that it was colder in the shade; his contrasting origins mixed with his stubbornness kept the weather from bothering him too much. Closing his eyes, he relaxed against the bark, as much as he could given the circumstances, and hoped for a lack of bothering.

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Hitsugaya nodded slightly, listening to her report and trying not to focus on what they had just talked about. "I'll see to that in the future. For tonight she'll lead your team in your absence. As for Gilgamesh, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for him. I don't recall seeing mention of his name on the board, but I may have overlooked it. We should warn anyone who'll listen."

He paused slightly, doing his best to compose himself. "Is there anything else to report?"

Momo nodded. "Saber spoke of him on the board about last night's monsters. She called him 'Archer' in it. Gilgamesh is his real name, but it is my opinion that using his real name with him would make him take a personal interest in whomever used it." She sighed. "I saw his spirit threads. If he continues to hunt my knight, I am willing to track him with a strong assault team to try and destroy him. He needs to die and I cannot tell you more about it without betraying my knight's confidence."

As for anything else... "There was another man with Saber and I last night. His name is Sparda. He is armed and is a trained warrior. I need to speak with him tonight. I will see if he wishes to join us."

"Dinner's coming soon," he guessed. In truth it was nigh impossible to tell what time anything happened here. During the day it made more sense, but even now time seemed more fluid than back home. "Unless you plan on hunting him down during the night itself, it might be wise to seek him out now." A part of him didn't want her to go, but the rest of him had to focus on duty before anything else. His duty, her duty. That took priority.

Momo looked around the courtyard to find Sparda talking to an older woman. She nodded over at him. "He's over there. I don't want to interrupt, but you are right about the time."

She raised her hand up, hoping Hitsugaya would help her get to her feet. "Oh, and Hokuto's twin brother is here. I have to talk to him. He wants to make sure his sister is in good hands."

Hitsugaya took her extended hand to help her to her feet. Hokuto had a twin brother. Interesting. "Is he interested in joining Arts and Crafts as well?" he asked.

"No," Momo said as she got to her feet, swaying a little as she tried to find her center of balance. "He's the lone wolf sort, but there's someone else he knows here so he's not going around alone. He's an omyouji, so he's familiar with shinigami and spirits."

Instinctively Hitsugaya reached a hand out to support her as she swayed, but he dropped his hand after a couple of seconds. "I see," he said. "Good work, then."

And there it was. That awkward silence as Hitsugaya found he didn't know what to say to her. He didn't want to bring up Aizen again...he just wanted her to get better.

Momo shifted her weight on her feet a bit at the silence. She gave Hitsugaya a long look, her brow furrowing slightly. She started to turn away.

"Thank you, Shiro-chan," she said, pausing a moment before she continued on toward where Sparda and the older woman were talking.

[dropping down to Sparda's thread]

After Sai found more suitable company, Gin waited patiently to speak with Toushirou. Patience, after all, was one thing he had in spades. Well-laid plans didn't happen overnight.

It seemed Momo was having some trouble. While he couldn't hear their conversation, it was obvious as it had been before just what manner of relationship the two shared, whether they were keen on owning up to it or not.

Once Momo was engaged in conversation with another group, Gin took the opportunity to move. As tempting as it was, he had to remember not to tease the young captain. After a spectacle like that, a few wrong words could cost him.

"Taichou," he addressed the boy. His smile was muted, but never quite seemed to leave his lips. "A word?" The young captain was a stickler for rules and discipline in spite of Ran. Being concise and to-the-point, however, was not his strongest point. With any luck, they'd find some middle ground.

He was going to say something to Momo, but nothing seemed to work. Instead he just looked away for the time being, wishing that things with Momo didn't have to be so damned complicated.

"Ichimaru," Hitsugaya said, trying not to immediately snap as his once most hated enemy approached. Ichimaru was an ally again, and he had to treat the viper like an ally if they were to make this work. "I'm listening." Even if he really didn't want to and instead would have liked to go hide somewhere until dinner, where he could maybe get some sleep....

...except he had promised Renji he'd made some more maps for people. Fuck.

He took a few steps closer, though he was careful to avoid making things too uncomfortable. He had to remind himself once again that things would likely not go well if he said many of the things he wished to.

"I'd be inter'sted," he began. "In assistin' with th' more a' the strategy n' plannin' for Arts n' Crafts." He didn't have to tell the young captain that he was well-learned in those areas, he'd already seen that particular skill in action as had the rest of the Gotei 13. "Think I could help move thin's along jus' a little faster."

No doubt the boy still remembered his comments from the other day, but this time, he wagered they'd have more impact than a last minute jab. "'Course, I c'n always make sure t'run it by y'all first. In case havin' a mind reader set on me jus' ain't enough," the last was said with some humor, though he didn't expect Toushirou to so much as crack a smile.

As expected, Hitsugaya didn't crack a smile. Even if he had found it amusing, he was in too sour of a mood to be entertained by anything. He took a seat back down on the bench. "Alright," he said. For all of his treachery and deceit, Ichimaru did have similar talents to Hitsugaya in the ability to organize and plan, even if his talents were a little less dishonest. "You want to help assist. What ideas do you have that can help us get the hell out of here?"

He just wanted to go home, where things weren't as confusing. Funny, that. To think that dealing with the drama and confusion in soul society would be a welcome relief from this hell.

"Way I see it," he explained. "Y'all are plannin' stuff jus' t'get by each night. Maybe a lil' more. With all the people y'got, there must be a half-decent map, ne? So what's it t'be after the explorin's done?" It was an honest question, as honest as he was capable of at least. He wanted to know what the boy's strategy would be next, if he had one at all.

He wasn't finished yet though. He let the captain stew on it for a moment before moving on. "I just ain't sure y'all are usin' what y'got as best as it can be, ne? They got us on th' run all night, be nice t'return the favor."

True, he hadn't quite answered the question yet. He was always a little roundabout when it came to such things. "T'give you any worthwhile ' more detailed ideas, I'd have t'be privy to more inf'mation."

Hitsugaya sighed. What made Ichimaru think that they were wasting their manpower? "We have a few goals right now. First, to arm everyone so that when we do make our strike it will be worthwhile. Abarai-fukutaicho has seen Landel's spirit threads, but before we strike, we have to be ready. Second, we're working to hunt down the nurses. Nurses hold keys to the institute. Once we acquire a few keys, we'll look to the alchemists to make copies and then begin checking all of the locked doors and see where they lead. One might give us better clues about what's going on here or how we might take out Martin Landel, or even give us an easy shot at the man. Finally, I'm sending teams into the basement to find out what's down there and if there's anything else we can use against Martin Landel."

He glanced back up at Ichimaru. "So there you have it. That's our plan and our goals right now. Anything else you can offer?"

Ah, so there were a few things he wasn't aware of. No surprise though, that they were keeping secrets. More than that most likely, but he wasn't going to pry and he wasn't going to act surprised. Either one admitted weakness.

He rocked back on his heels, falling into a crouch that for him was more comfortable than the bench. "You'll wanna have a distraction, going places they ain't wantin' ya. Far as I c'n tell, they keep that sorta thing pretty close under guard, ne?"

"Be a good idea t'get a listin' of what all kinda powers everyone in y'group has. Might be somethin' we can't do with jus' kidou alone." He shrugged. Surely the captain would know that he was rolling most of these off the cuff since there was no way he could have known much about their plans.

"There's flammables in th' kitchens too. Figure that would draw some attention, ne? Long as y'know where t'place 'em." Not a bad idea against some of the creatures here either. Though it did have the potential to get messy.

"Anyone able t'get up t'kidou 58?" he asked. He hadn't tried it himself, but if they could get another form of communication besides the institution-controlled message board, then they'd have a lot more options.

"I c'n tell you right now it ain't never gonna be an easy shot at that one. If y'think you c'n just send in the cavalry after 'em once y'know the location..." He shook his head. "Ain't gonna end well."

"Not t'mention this ah... trackin' down th' ones at night that've been turned. Nice gesture it might be, but it ain't doin' much good compared t'the losses."

Hitsugaya listened to most of the suggestions Gin offered. "I make sure to ask new individuals what they're capable of, but it's difficult because you can never guarantee who will be available each night. Also I work to get reports on how the non-shinigami work each night. If you can offer more detailed information, it'd be in the best interests of our division."

The flammables was a decent idea, he had to agree. Unfortunately, it was not one of his areas of strength. "What do you know of explosives? I know of one person who claimed to have the ability to make things explode, but I haven't seen him in days now."

He shook his head. "Nothing past the early 10s seems to get through," he admitted. "Even weak kidou like that tears through the gigai and knocks you out of commission. It seems like fingercuffs...the more pressure you try to exert, the less effective it is...and the more you hurt yourself in the end. Skill doesn't seem to matter. Both Hinamori and I have tried everything we can, and it hurts us just as much, if not more, than it hurts the other shinigami." He wasn't trying to brag in including himself. He was very skilled at Kidou just like all other aspects of his shinigami training, and while he was proud of it, he didn't like to bring up his skills unless it was important.

"We're not expecting it to be easy, and we're not going to charge in unless we think we can take him down. For now we're just being careful, doing our best to learn anything and everything we can about this place. The more we know, the more we know how to combat it."

He nodded slightly at Ichimaru's last reference. He had been on the team charged with that last night. "Depending on the individual, they ~can~ be taken out. I've taken out one myself...so it was a trial to see if it would get anything accomplished. Their weaponry remains when they're defeated, so being able to take out someone like that could be a huge boon. It was worth the attempt, but I don't think we'll be trying that again."

"Ain't got much I c'n share," he admitted. Though whether the boy would believe him or not was another matter entirely. "But if I could get a list a that, it'd be a help. I could get started on somethin' a lil' more solid, y'know?" Not to mention a list like that could be invaluable as far as information was concerned. "An' any reports y'wanna pass along."

"I ain't much for explosives," he added, "we got kidou f'things like that most times. But I know what burns n' what doesn't n' where t'find it." He was certain, however, that with the diverse people here, there would be at least one or two with that kind of knowledge. "We'd need somewhere t'store that sorta thing though. Night b'fore kinda... ne?" It'd be fool-hardy to count on something like that if they couldn't even be certain they had the proper supplies.

Gin knew well enough the sort of toll kidou had on their bodies here. It was, in his opinion, worth the risk though. Unless they wanted to pass notes like school children, that was probably the best way to get a fast message out to everyone without alerting the staff. Which would be more helpful with the fires. The less Landel knew about them, the better. "Ara~," he commented, shrugging his shoulders, "just thought it might be worth lookin' into."

To Toushirou's last comment, he only raised a brow. Was he bragging? He must know by now of the defeat he and Ran had last night(personally, he thought the time would have been better on a different sort of recreation). Though it was interesting to note that they would be able to keep their weapons, it seemed ludicrous to try to take out one of the other shinigami should that ever happen again. "Mm... I see."

"It seems each person pulled has whatever talents they had before they were taken. Some of the people here are just skilled fighters, with no supernatural powers. The one I faced was like that and, from what I was informed, a very talented assassin. The fact that he was limited and could not actually kill us made it much easier to fight him." And he realized a point Hitsugaya hadn't brought up before. "I'm under the strong opinion that patients pulled away for these experiments are under specific orders not to kill the patients. I can't guarantee that to always be the case, but it seems likely. Landel wants us alive, after all."

He thought about the explosives issue a little longer. "Why don't you post a message looking for individuals who are skilled with explosives? Get to work on what you suggested there. Tomorrow night I'll send a team out to acquire whatever items you determine you need. I don't expect you'll be able to get a list before we have the time to organize tonight."

He didn't believe Gin for a second that he didn't have much to share, but it would have been rude to point that out now. This was business, and when engaged in your duties one cannot show weakness such as obvious distrust. "It'd be best if there were an easier way to communicate than the boards, but at the moment that's the best we have. Hopefully we'll find something behind one of the locked doors, a phone or something like it, that can help us communicate."

It seemed Toushirou had a talent for re-stating the obvious. Gin certainly knew what it was like to be one of the patients under the control of the institute, but no one had said a word to him about it since. Only Ran, and River this morning, but that was after he'd brought it up himself. "Coulda just asked," he commented, though he didn't meet the boy's gaze as he said it. It wasn't meant to be a challenge, though it might've been meant to show that it wasn't the first time that the captain had overlooked something that was right under his nose.

He didn't point out either that it would require a lot of discretion to find out something like that on the bulletin board. If they gave Landel that information in such an obvious place, it would ruin the element of surprise. "Mm. I'll see what I c'n do."

It was all well and good to hope, but there was always something else that could be done in the mean time. They seemed to stick with one idea until they'd beat it to death before moving on to the next. "Didja think 'bout askin' your alchemists t'see if they c'n re-create of them radio announcin' machines? Sure would be nice t'send out our own messages, ne? Can't be too hard if Landel an' that other one both have a way of doin' it."

Hitsugaya nodded slightly. As much as he hated to admit it, Gin was better at keeping things discreet, and he didn't feel it was worth it to remind Gin just how important it was to keep things quiet on the explosives side of things. Gin was once a captain. He knew what he was doing just as well as Hitsugaya did. "Don't bother letting me know the progress until you have something worthwhile and good to go. I..." he paused, saying the last bit through gritted teeth. "I'm going to trust you on this one."

The alchemist idea wasn't a bad one. "I'm not sure what they're capable of doing, but I will ask during my meeting with their leader tomorrow at lunch."

See? He wanted to say. That wasn't so bad. But he held back, childish teasing could wait for another time. It went without saying that he wouldn't report if there was nothing to report on, but once again, Toushirou had to re-state the obvious. But he said nothing. And if his smile was just a tiny bit wider, perhaps he really couldn't help it.

"Let m'know how it goes," he said as he stood, stretching a little in the sunshine. That about concluded things unless either one of them wanted to drag it out. "And I'll do th' same." The last part he hardly meant, but Toushirou had no way of knowing for sure if it was good faith or not. Gin had a feeling it would be difficult to dupe this one twice, no matter how fun it might be.

He really hated that grin, but now wasn't the time to point that out. "Sounds like a plan. Anything else?"

Just go away and let me take a nap, he thought. He really needed one, and being around that smiling serpent was starting to irritate him more than it ought.

"That's 'bout it for now," he said, dusting himself off to leave. It was amazing was just a little bit of restraint could do. He gave a wave and a smile that was much too friendly, "I'll jus' take m'leave then. Nice chattin', ne? Bye bye~"

[[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/269559.html?thread=20755959#t20755959)]]

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Day 29: Courtyard

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