damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

Hitsugaya woke with a start.

His entire body ached, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. His injuries had been tended two with clean gauze and bandages, and he found every movement wasn't agony. He wasn't in the best of shape, but thanks to the miracle of landel's strange time distortion, he had mostly recovered from the vile poison without having to waste anyone else's talents.

And in his hand, still...there was the key.

He dressed quickly, sliding the key onto the key ring from his desk drawer and stuck it into his pocket. Whether the key stood to gain them anything or not, it stood as a vital reminder that they could succeed in this place. There was hope, as insignificant as it often seemed. They could beat this place.

That small shred of hope made getting up worth it.

The nurse who escorted him to breakfast was cheerful, and commented idly about how wonderful it was to see young Tommy Winters up and about again after his unfortunate run-in with a bad case of food poisoning. He smirked slightly, knowing that any lies the institute forced into their heads were only that: lies. He wouldn't buy it for a second. And on top of that, the concept of muffins sounded almost appetizing. While he still preferred his authentic Japanese cuisine, the food here was slowly becoming more and more bearable. He would have preferred a warm bowl of sweet nattou over rice over the mufffins, but they would do. The plain yogurt and fruit, on the other hand, was excellent. He piled his plate high with fruit as usual, and got several small bowls of yogurt as well.

Finding the most convenient table to the end of the food line, he took a seat and scanned for the new arrivals. New arrivals meant people who would be lost and confused. Renji did a good job of making a bulliten post last time...he should recommend abarai-fukutaicho do the same again this time.

[Waiting for Angel]

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In a way, Subaru had been expecting Seishirou to show up for some time now. He was still a bit surprised that the older man hadn't put in an appearance during the debacle last night. It was just as well that he hadn't, mind, but it was unusual--Subaru had been leaking blood all over the place, after all, and that was usually when Seishirou showed up or intervened or otherwise made his presence felt. Well, maybe he didn't feel the need for the fiction of "rescuing" Subaru anymore.

"I had a bit of a difficult night." It wasn't as bad as it could have been--everyone made it out more or less in one piece--but he'd used a fair amount of energy on top of being injured. And then there had been all that tension between Kurogane and Fai... it had been awkward and unpleasant, and Subaru still wasn't sure what to make of it. He did want to check on Kurogane at some point today, though, and make sure the man was adjusting okay to life in this strange place.

With an arched brow, Seishirou reached for Subaru's forehead, cool fingers brushing over the feverish skin, taking strands of black hair with them. "They've given you something for the fever?" he asked softly.

He glanced at Subaru's tray, noting what he was eating and how much liquids there was. That was quite virtually all he could do for now.

"Tell me about the night," he suggested as he withdrew his hand, propping his elbow on the table and his chin to his palm, watching Subaru. He was still wearing the smile, even warmer one this time, full of hidden meanings.

"Mm. Acetaminophen, I think." It was so strange, to see Seishirou acting concerned just as he always had. It was hard to tell if he meant it or not, knowing what Subaru knew, but... he knew Subaru knew, so why bother with the charade? But if he did actually care, how could he have done the things he did? It was more than enough to make Subaru's feverish head spin.

Seeing Seishirou's glance at his tray, Subaru reddened slightly and made an effort to eat a little more. It was habit, as much as anything else.

And then came the question Subaru expected, but dreaded nonetheless. He wasn't looking forward to explaining what happened to Hokuto, either. But if he refused, Seishirou would just go drag the information out of someone else, so nothing for it, really. "I ran into a monster in the kitchen." No point mentioning that he had gone looking for people in need of aid, he'd just get scolded.

"Everyone got away eventually, but it was smart and fast, so it did a bit of damage first. It's not so bad, just my leg. But I used magic, and it wore me out." Minimal details were the best way to go--hopefully enough to satisfy Seishirou's curiosity, but not enough to get anyone in trouble.

Seishirou didn't really need to be told what Subaru had been doing out there. Despite his lack of empathy, he knew Subaru. He watched the younger man poke his food, arching a brow every now and then, listening. Subaru was saying already more by demeanor than he said aloud. Some things would probably never change.

"I'm glad you had company," he said slowly, smile curving a bit deeper. If this Subaru was, how it seemed quite possible, younger version of the one Seishirou had know, he didn't know everything. And there were things he didn't know to be wary of. His tone of voice was friendly and warm, however. No use giving Subaru clues when he didn't need them. "Must have been quite a monster if there were several of you and you still had to cast a spell."

"I've never seen anything like it before." Which was saying quite a lot--Subaru had seen more than his fair share of strange things in his short life. "It seemed like it must have been human at some point; it was quite smart and even spoke once, but it didn't look very human anymore. It was red, had two heads with no eyes, and it breathed fire." Among other things. It had also been dreadfully fast and strong, with sharp claws. Subaru would have been thoroughly overwhelmed if Kurogane and Fai hadn't arrived when they did.

"Sounds you had your hands full then." Seishirou smiled. He had gotten used to the oddities of this place already and didn't more than quirk a brow at Subaru's description. "I'm glad you got away with just minor injury."

"And the people who helped you?" he asked softly, but instead of hammering down any weight on the question, he looked away from Subaru, almost as if it didn't matter, which in truth it didn't. He let his gaze trail over the cafeteria, pausing on Hokuto, then on Fai, who seemed outright distressed. Quite the different picture than Seishirou had got from the young man.

Subaru was almost relieved that Seishirou asked, or rather, that he had to ask--it meant he hadn't already found out by arcane means, which was a plus. "They were very helpful during the fight. They knew each other from before, though, and afterwards things were a bit... awkward." Subaru sighed, feeling tired just remembering how strained and strange things had been between those two. But he wasn't muddle-headed enough to name names--no sense drawing Seishirou's attention to them if he could help it.

Seishirou chuckled, glancing Subaru from the corner of his good eye. He wondered how much this Subaru thought alike with the one he had countered in Tokyo just before he died. He seemed a bit younger, perhaps few years. How much those years would change the younger man?

"Awkward?" he coaxed gently, picking up his tea cup and sipping slowly.

Subaru sighed, giving up on his meal for a little while and resting his head on his arms. He was tired, and not feeling well, and maybe that was why he almost let himself believe that it was the old Seishirou he was talking to--the one who had never been real. But it felt so similar, just sitting there, having breakfast and telling Seishirou about his night.

"They were arguing, I guess. And I seem to have made it worse." Or the yelling only really started after Subaru put his foot in it and told Kurogane about the power reduction this place caused.

Snorting softly, Seishirou turned back to Subaru. This place would be hell for the boy. And for some odd reason, something Seishirou didn't know how to decipher, something completely strange and unfamiliar, he couldn't accept it. The mirth dying in his eyes, smile vanishing, he reached out to brush few strands of dark hair away from Subaru's eyes.

"It's their problem, Subaru-kun," he said softly, knowing Subaru would never do something to hurt others, not willingly at least.

For a rare gentle moment, it was perhaps all too fleeting. That seemed to be the way world rolled in their cases, however. Yells, sounds of fighting, violence was breaking out in the cafeteria. It wasn't unusual for a patient or two to get themselves sedated, but this seemed like something else.

"We better move," he said, smile back on his lips, hand fishing out a piece of paper from his pocket to warp around his fingers before he started to stand up, keeping himself between the ruckus and Subaru.

Through the haze of fever and confusion and misery, Subaru actually didn't notice that the sounds of fighting were especially loud this morning until Seishirou spoke up. And yet it was almost a relief when he did realise what was going on, because it meant that Seishirou stopped speaking to him and touching him in that strangely tender sort of way that was so confusing and heart-rending.

Subaru looked in the direction of the fighting--riot?--vaguely, but he couldn't see much around Seishirou's broad-shouldered figure. Standing up shakily he took half a step towards the fight, but eventually his head cleared enough for him to realise what a bad idea that was. Even at the best of times he wasn't much good with brawls, and the staff were swarming to it in numbers he could scarcely believe. "I... yes, we should stay out of the way... I suppose."

The touching didn't stop there. Seishirou had his free hand on Subaru's shoulder before he could step in closer to the fight and guiding him towards the end of the table, towards the wall, out of the danger zone.

"We should. You getting involved is not going to help any," he said sweetly. Eventually the nurses would probably take everyone to their rooms but for now they wouldn't be interested in them, getting out of the way and behaving themselves. Seishirou spared a moment to glance around. Maybe it was possible to... No, the exits were already heavily guarded. It was better just not get involved.

Subaru couldn't really see much of the fight as Seishirou hustled him away from it, which was probably for the best or he'd have noticed his twin sister jumping on a table and looking awfully like she was thinking about getting involved. But instead, all his attention was taken up by the man so conscientiously taking him to a safer area.

How could this still be so confusing? Seishirou had murdered Hokuto. Had tried to murder him, only to be stobbed by Subaru's grandmother and predecessor. He'd spent the last year and more training and searching, hoping for a chance to kill this man. And yet... and yet, his heart continued to betray him.

It had to be the fever talking, making the close contact so shiversome and confusing.

Seishirou let his hand slip down to Subaru's back as he guided him towards the wall. If he noticed Hokuto, he didn't say anything.

"How're you feeling?" he asked softly, ignoring the whole ruckus happening behind them. So much violence, so nearby, meaningless. The assassin had seen blood, struggle, the last intake of breath, last throb of heart, will, honor, last of everything, so many times it didn't taste anything anymore. He smiled, blocking Subaru's view to the fight.

Subaru wanted to close his eyes and just go to sleep right there, was how he was feeling. But that would be a really, really bad idea, so instead he just leaned against the wall a little, still clutching his cane in one hand. "I'm a bit tired." Though he suspected Seishirou still spoke enough Subaru-ese to realise that he was never going to admit to how rotten he really felt, anyway.

"...right," Seishirou said, a hint of amusement bleeding into his tone of voice. "I think you're not telling me the whole thing," he said, brows arching teasingly as he leaned in closer.

"I think you're exhausted," he all but purred, fingers reaching again for those insistent bangs that seemed fond of the act of veiling Subaru's eyes.

"And of course you're going to refuse the offer of leaning into me. I suggest you consider it it twice, however. If you wish to stay up the rest of the day, you should rest when you can. Not to mention tonight..." If there was any suggestion beyond stating that nights took a lot of energy, it was well hidden. Seishirou doubted Subaru would recognize it.

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

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