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]

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[wearyofscreams.livejournal.com]

Normally Jack would have been surprised to hear that Halloween had gone on without him, but he'd just celebrated it yesterday - or a day or so before really - when he'd arrived here. What a splendid Halloween it had been, too! Not a single hitch - other than the fact that Jack had been bored most of it. "Yes, yes! That's Halloween! Although, not all of us are in costumes, mind you - some of those ghouls you saw may have been real." He grinned like a rogue and held up a long, thin finger like he was about to lecture - which he was. "Center stage, my dear man. Without the orchestrator, without the main event, there would be no Halloween. All the scares and frights are put together by myself and the Mayor and everyone in town works together to make each Halloween particularly gruesome. We strive to outdo ourselves every year, each more horrible than the last. As King of Halloween, it's my job to be the absolute best scarer, the most frightening ghoul, and the organizer of every fright, shriek and scream!"

He completely missed poor Obi-Wan's reactions and puffed up at the Jedi's question. To him it seemed as if Obi-Wan was finally realizing how important his role was and how much responsibility he had. It was a burdensome job, always being more horrid than anyone else, always looking on the dark side of life to find what terrified the humans, but someone had to do it. "Engineer? Oh no, sir, that's Dr. Finklestein's job. I merely rouse the crowd, flip the switch, sing the songs, draw up the plans - scare the living daylights out of any unlucky soul to come by me in the night. It's my job, after all. Why? Is it strange?"

Obi-Wan's attention went elsewhere and Jack's eyes followed. So that was the source of all the ruckus that had been building around them? Much to the skeleton's horror, he saw that more and more people were joining in the fight and that the violence against the staff was escalating. This was something he couldn't stand for! Why couldn't people just get along? Sitting forward, Jack peered at the growing mob and frowned. "Now that's a fine mess. I wonder what started it all."

[braidless.livejournal.com]

"You're....the King of Halloween," Obi-Wan said slowly, albeit a bit skeptically. He'd met so many different kinds of people during his life, had come across people from different worlds and universes within Landel's itself, hearing this sort of thing really shouldn't have surprised him. The Jedi hadn't really had a problem believing the things other people said, so he didn't see why this ought to be any different. Still...

Maybe Earthians had a different orchestrator for each holiday? (Again, another reminder on just how little he knew about Earth culture.) It was certainly something to keep in mind, at least. And right now he didn't have any reason to distrust Jack, despite his eccentric nature. So he was going to have to take his word on this. At least, for now.

"It is a bit...unusual, yes," Obi-Wan answered him. "Not many people can say they frighten others for a living. But why would you do it? The monsters here are dangerous and capable of hurting us, you know." It was honestly very puzzling. He didn't get the feeling that Jack was a wicked or malicious person -- more like someone who just genuinely enjoyed getting a reaction from people. A performer, like Jack himself had said.

Not at all like the man pulling the string behind the intercom.

Frowning to himself, the Jedi realized the ruckus was starting to grow worse. In fact, it was turning into a bit of a mob. Anger pulsed through the air, thick and heavy like the way moisture clung to the air on a hot, humid day. He didn't need to have his full connection to the Force to sense that.

"They're angry," he said suddenly. "As much as I'd like to continue talking about Halloween, it looks like we ought to get to a safer part of the room." The riot could spill over into their area at any moment, especially with the way people around them were starting to join in. He rose from his seat, though he wasn't going to leave until he knew Jack was following.

[wearyofscreams.livejournal.com]

As strange as his profession seemed to Obi-Wan, it was even harder for Jack to believe that someone didn't get it. Why would he do it? Jack blinked and scratched his head, still a little weirded out by the feel of hair not bone, and frowned. "Why wouldn't I? It's my calling in life, my passion - I was made for the role. We all are." He paused a moment and then added, "All of us in Halloween Town, where I'm from."

How strange to think that someone didn't understand the basic fundamentals of Holidays! This poor man needed to be taught about it, at length, preferrably in song. However, now was not the time. Jack looked off at the crowd again, the surge in energy and the feelings of anger and revolution were almost palpable in the air. The skeleton made a face and turned away from the seething mob to focus on Obi-Wan. The nurses would take care of it and no one he directly recognized (that he could see) was involved. Besides, the Jedi was far more pleasant and level-headed, and not as violent. Jack appreciated that. "Oh, yes, that would be best." He stood up, slipping his journal back into his waistband and cleared his throat, looking down at Obi-Wan. "It appears as if people are heading toward the main doors. Shall we follow?"

[braidless.livejournal.com]

When Jack stood up, Obi-Wan had to look up just to properly meet his gaze. He'd been able to tell the man was tall, but it wasn't until he'd drawn himself up to his full height that the Jedi realized Jack practically towered over him. Why, he was even taller than Qui-Gon!

Not that Obi-Wan hadn't encountered taller creatures before. It was just odd, considering the size of most Earthians he'd met here. Perhaps his height had played a part in gaining the crowd's attention before coming to Landel's. It was something to consider, at least.

Either way, now wasn't the time to be thinking about things like that. They needed to get to a safer place. Now.

Obi-Wan glanced towards the doors and nodded. "Yes, I think that might be best." They wouldn't be able to get out, but at least they'd be out of any immediate danger. "This way." And without another word, he began weaving his way through the chaos, glancing over to Jack every few moments to make sure he was still with him.

At one point, they came close to having a nasty encounter with a chair someone had thrown, but otherwise they managed to make it through without getting sucked into the violence. It seemed to take forever for them to make their way over, but Obi-Wan knew that, logically, it hadn't taken any longer than a few moments.

He'd barely had enough time to get a good look at the full extent of this riot when the intercom sounded and practically started wailing. It sounded like their security system was in full swing. Obi-Wan knew it was only a matter of time before the riot was squelched.

Too bad it hadn't been better organized.