Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

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]

Comments

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

Kenshin smiled ruefully. "Unfortunately, lots of things about this place are strange. People being pulled from different times and places, for instance." Like Sano. Sano, who remembered things that Kenshin didn't, and who had seen Yukishiro Enishi murder Kaoru.

That just strengthened his resolve to get out of this place and prevent it. He wasn't going to let her die. He wanted to stay with her, for the rest of their natural lives.

"No," he said softly. "No one does. One minute, this one was falling asleep in the eleventh year of Meiji, and the next thing this one knew, this one was waking up in this place...in what is apparently the future."

[flashyaudacity]

Kaito almost choked on his muffin when Himura said when he'd come from. He reached for his water, taking a long drink to clear his throat before saying, "The Meiji era was over a hundred years ago for where... when I come from. It's Heisei now."

It was startling to meet so many people from the past, to say the least. Being from that time could account for Himura's old-fashioned way of speaking, but it was still a little hard to believe that people could really be pulled from different times and places. Sure, he'd met Okita Souji, and Hijikata Toshizo, and now this man... And perhaps even Homura (though he prefered not to think about Homura) was from a different time, but how could he be sure they weren't all crazy like the institute claimed?

Then again... he'd seen plenty of strange things before. If a jewel that could grant immortality could exist, then why not an institute that plucked people from different times? He knew he wasn't crazy, so he'd give everyone else the benefit of the doubt unless they proved otherwise.

The thought of Okita and Hijikata made it dawn on him why the name "Himura Kenshin" had sounded familiar...

"That actually reminds me; I believe we have some mutual acquaintances," Kaito said, "in the History Club. Okita-san mentioned your name."

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

[Sorry about the wait! I was waiting for Tad to post for Homura, but she's backthreading and will jump in when she can. :D]

"Heisei," Kenshin murmured. How many emperors had it been between Meiji and this one? Probably several, if it was over one hundred years in the future. He was tempted to ask what had come of kenjutsu, but he held his tongue. Instead, he asked, "And how is Japan in Heisei? What is it like?" Japan as he knew it was barely emerging from centuries of isolation. It would be interesting to hear what it was like, how it had changed.

...So Kaito knew Okita, did he? Kenshin forced a smile and looked up. "Indeed! This one hopes that what was said wasn't negative.

It seemed selfish, but maybe...if he could prove to the boy that he wasn't exactly the bloodthirsty assassin he had been during Bakumatsu...

[flashyaudacity]

[It's okay; no problem~! :D]

"It's a lot different than in your time," Kaito replied. "There's been a lot of Western influence. Tokyo's one of the largest cities in the world now, and Japan's a major economic power. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know about?"

Himura's smile struck Kaito somewhat off. Ah... Okita had said he'd been with the Choushuu, hadn't he? Perhaps mentioning the swordsman had been a poor move.

He thought for a moment, trying to remember what exactly had been said about Himura. The man's name had only come up a few times in passing. "He called you... a 'former Choushuu assassin'. He also mentioned something about a promise not to kill you."

The thought that Himura had been an assassin was somewhat unsettling now that he realized it, but he tried to hide his discomfort behind a small smile, eyeing the man cautiously. He'd met killers before, but this guy... Himura didn't seem anything like them...

[screwthegods]

[Yeah, Tad's late to the party. Typical.]

Homura hadn't wanted to get up that morning. A rare occurance, at least since he had come to earth for the final time. But the pain of fresh injuries mixed with a lack of rest made staying in bed especially tempting, particularly when the demi-god tried to sit up. At least he had been treated, as expected the night before. Still, it did little for the pain.

When the nurse came in to fetch "Ethan," Homura refused the wheelchair. He'd have refused the breakfast as well, but there were too many things to accomplish, and the demi-god knew he could ill-afford to spend his day in his room. Fighting through pain was something he had done often enough as the Toushin Taishi, and today would be no different.

Homura had little doubt that he'd have to find healing before the night came, however.

Because he was late coming to the meal, many of the seats were taken. Homura looked over the room for possibilities, then opted to join Kenshin and the puppy that likely hadn't been brought in, as Okita had put it on the bulletin. Still determined to at least make some repairs from last night, the demi-god made his way over to the duo, setting a filled tray beside Kenshin.

"It's good to see you both well this morning." And Homura meant his words. Kaitou was obviously injured, though Kenshin looked no worse for wear. Hopefully the damages that weren't physical would be quicker to mend. "I heard your fight, Kaito. Or at least the start of it."

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

Kenshin wanted to know about all of it, but he knew it wouldn't be very practical. If he had Kaito tell him everything that had happened since he fell asleep on that veranda in the eleventh year of Meiji, they'd be here all day and probably into the night. Probably not the best way to go.

A surreptitious look at the boy's hands proved what he had suspected--no callouses. Even Yahiko, who had never held a katana, had callouses from swinging a shinai every day. Kaito didn't practice kenjutsu, then. He probably didn't know what had become of the way of the sword.

"You mentioned a lot of Western influence," the rurouni said instead. Kaito had also mentioned something about the economy, but that had kind of gone over his head. "Is Japan very well known abroad, then?" What had been its role in the shaping of Kaito's world? "What about America? Great Britain? Germany?" Those had been the big ones, hadn't they?

He sighed, suddenly serious. "Yes, but 'former' is the important part of that title. Yes, this one was hitokiri for the Choushuu Ishin Shishi during the revolution, but that was a long time ago. This one has since repented of the crimes he committed and works to atone for them." No matter where he went, it seemed like the shadow of Battousai was not far behind. Had his name lived on, in this future that Kaito lived in? It was probably better not to ask. "Unfortunately, Okita-dono cannot see beyond those crimes, and as an officer of the Shinsengumi, it was his job to punish them. He is bound by his duty. His promise not to kill this one was a necessity, if we were to work together in this place."

Then Homura sat down next to him, definitely looking the worse for wear. Kenshin stopped talking and took in all the bandages, obviously concerned. "This one was lucky not to have to do that much fighting last night, but it looks like you did. Shouldn't you be resting?"

[flashyaudacity]

Kaito nodded. "Yeah, it's really well-known around the world, especially when it comes to technology. America's a superpower; Britain and Germany are still fairly major. Russia too, I think, and China."

He'd relaxed when Himura talked about his repentance, but he straightened, tense again, when Homura joined their table. "You heard?" he asked, eyeing the bandages that hadn't been present last night. Had the others run into more trouble after he and Hattori had left?

He looked at Himura again. The idea that he'd had been a hitokiri still bothered him a little, but... Kaito had his own share of crimes sitting on his shoulders; if he were in a similar position, he knew he'd want people to be able to see past Kid and believe in him. Unless Himura's actions contradicted his words, Kaito would believe him.

"Okita-san was on the other side of the war. As nice as it would be, it's not always that easy to forgive enemies," Kaito finally responded, smiling. If Himura was from the Meiji era, he surely knew about Okita's fate... "For Okita-san to be here, it means the war isn't over for him." It never would be.

The increase in clamour and movement past Himura and Homura caught Kaito's attention, and he looked past the men to see what was happening. It looked like... "Call me new, but do brawls usually start at breakfast here?"

[screwthegods]

"I was in the room. I'd have been more helpful to you, but obviously I got attacked as well." Only the edges of the bandages were visible under Homura's clothes, save for a few scrapes. But his pain was obvious in his movements, the broken ribs and the gapping stab in his back making it difficult to stay straight. "Though you both seemed to have done well enough on your own."

"I won't strain myself today." Homura raised an eyebrow at Kenshin, a bit amused by his concern. It wasn't something he was really used to, since the purpose of the Toushin Taishi was ultimately to fight and die in the name of heaven. "But I can't afford to spend it in bed, can I?"

The topic of their conversation was rather obvious, and Kaito's sympathetic views were more concerning than the boy might realize. Homura was having a hard enough time keeping Okita in check, and now with Hijikiata returned, it would become all the harder to do so. "The war is in their world." He met Kaito's gaze, both perfectly serious and comfortable with his words, as insane as they might sound. "This place has the ability to bring people back from the dead. Even killing Himura here would do Okita no good. It's why I try to discourage it."

The increased sounds of fighting were as hard for Homura to ignore as they were for Kaito, and the demi-god carefully turned to face it. There was no way he was joining in with his injury, though the thought remained tempting. But he needed to watch for members of his group, to see who would be joining in, and who would end up sedated for their trouble. "Not of this scale, no. I wonder what set it off?"

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

[Sorry for the short, late post, guys. My brain's fried. :\]

Anything that Kenshin might have asked about Japan's future or said about Okita's "war" or...anything else, because suddenly the riot happening all around them had his undivided attention. His eyes narrowed, hand instinctively going for a sword that wasn't there.

"No, this isn't common," he said, looking around for Sano (in case he had to drag his friend out of the path of a nurse with sedative). "It seems to have been caused by that young girl over there and her friends."