damned_institute | Day 31: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

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Day 31: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

Though perhaps not entirely as successful as he wanted it to be, Homura walked away from lunch feeling satisfied with his efforts. Roland and Fai both had shown interest in the goal, and that was enough for the moment. Homura could be patient, had already been for five hundred years, and felt no harm in waiting another five hundred if he had to. He would have his goals realized, no matter what obstacles he faced, be they from the prison or those trapped within.

But now was time for business of a different sort, and the demi-god made his way to the Sun Room, near the common board. He made sure he could be seen from the entrance to the cafeteria, knowing that one stranger and one member of his own group both wanted to meet with him. It worked out well enough, especially given that the stated purpose of the History Club was simple.

Revenge and escape.

For now, Homura had no intention of revealing that it'd grown more complicated than that.

[Waiting for L and Junior]

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After the explanation, Kurogane could not help but sigh as well only much harder, and with one hand gripping the couch arm hard. Just hearing about it all was exhausting and infuriating, and he'd not been there to deal with it. At least now he had the story behind things and could figure out exactly why Fai had reacted in that way.

That first night, those words of defeat he'd spoken, that mark on his neck, even his reaction in the Kitchen... all of it because some creature that had looked like an ally had tried to kill him, eat him by the sound of the explanation, and had ended up being killed before the magician's eyes. Kurogane hated it. He hated that this place had used something so simple to break the magician in such a short amount of time. That it had used Kurogane for that purpose!

He could taste some blood in his mouth seeping out from his gums. He was biting down too hard now, but he couldn't think to let up. The anger was too strong. He was still mad at Fai - he probably always would be - but that now paled in comparison to his rage against this place. Now he was fine to say that he was involved in this world, and whoever was in charge here was going to pay.

"You shouldn't have had to deal with him," he said after a while, restraining his angry tone as best he could.

Fai still held blame for something in this; injuring two others with his magic like that was something that should not have happened, and Kurogane would be confronting him about it right along with his Robin Cross issues. He couldn't just ignore that the magician had nearly gotten himself killed, and had lost control over his magic because of a fake! Even if it did have his voice and his memories, the last thing Kurogane would have ever done was outright attack Fai for no reason!

Rukia watched Kurogane, aware of the anger and tension he was radiating. She shook her head at his assertion, though. "No, it's... All of us here need to work together to defeat those who hold us and would toy with us like they did with Fai. It wasn't a matter of 'dealing' with him; I just want to help."

Leaning forward almost imperceptibly, Rukia added, "I'm glad that you're trying to help him. We all need our friends in this place."

He looked down at her again, expression hard, "I'm not used to working as a team." He had only been forced into dealing with it because of Tomoyo, so while he had gotten better in fighting alongside others, it still was not something he was very accustomed to. And considering how Fai was, the prospect of others helping, or more getting hurt for trying to help was something he would be afraid of. "Neither is he," he added.

His eyes turned away when she mentioned friends. "'Friends' isn't the word. He just needs someone to watch him," he grumbled out in denial. How could he be considered a friend to an idiot like that?

Rukia wondered why they were working together, if neither of them was accustomed to working in a team. She could understand the sentiment to a degree, but she had been working alongside others since long before she was even a shingami; as kids she, Renji, and the other boys had always worked together to get food and find shelter.

Rukia smiled gently. "It looks like it's something you'll both have to learn, then." But she couldn't help raising an eyebrow at his next statement. Considering how upset Fai had been when he thought Kurogane was dead, and how concerned Kurogane obviously was for the blonde, Rukia didn't know why he was denying that they were friends. "Forgive me for being presumptuous," she said, "but it seems to me that 'friends' is the word, and they are the most precious thing you will ever have."

"Che," he snorted again. It felt like she was chiding him.

"I don't have friends," he said without batting an eye. Maybe he'd had them as a kid, but not now. He had the people he traveled with, the manjuu (which didn't count as a person), and his master. That was all.

Rukia just tilted her head, the eyebrow creeping further up. She didn't know this man well, and had no strong, personal reason to get involved, but she couldn't let him squander his friendship. She had done it before, and regretted it more than anything.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Ah?" he looked back at her a moment, then chose to start off at a far wall, "Just don't." It was that simple. Friendship wasn't a thing he'd ever needed as a Shinobi. He wasn't the most trusting of persons when it came down to it.

Rukia had to bite her lip to prevent the smile that was threatening. The way Kurogane was acting reminded Rukia of a petulant child, insisting he could get dressed all by himself, thank you very much, while tangled in a knot of kimono and obi.

"Have you ever thought of trying it?" she asked.

"What?" he looked down at her again. What was she getting at?

He was either not very smart - which didn't seem likely, because then he would probably be fooled by Fai's lies - or just stubborn.

Rukia rolled her eyes slightly, sighing. "Have you ever thought of admitting that you have friends? They're not so bad, you know. Sure, sometimes they make fun of your art work, or how short you are, but mostly they're good to have around."

Kurogane being stubborn was an more than just a little understatement.

He blinked, confusion showing on his face. Make fun of... what? "I already told you..." he began, but ended up heaving another sigh. This person did not seem to be the type to listen even if he did repeat himself.

"I know you already told me you don't have friends," she said, still smiling. "But you're obviously concerned for Fai; you wouldn't be so angry otherwise, am I right?"

She shrugged, holding up her hands. "But you don't have to listen to me. I just know what I see." A direct assault didn't seem to be the way to go with Kurogane, so she would drop the topic for now.

He growled and looked away from her again. He was just angry because that idiot had been messed with and had let himself get messed with. They didn't have to be friends for him to get angry. Things got under Kurogane's skin all the time. Just because it was Fai didn't mean he cared like a friend would care; he only cared because Fai didn't care. He'd told Fai enough himself.

"Someone has to keep him from getting himself killed," he muttered, but didn't sound all that convincing. He ignored her additional comments.

Rukia continued smiling at him. "That's a very noble undertaking."

This guy was unreal. Rukia thought it was silly enough when Renji said that Madarame Ikkaku was an 'okay guy', when he was clearly friends with the Third Seat, but Kurogane seemed to have perfected a whole new level of denial.

"Shut up!" he roared in an instant, head snapping back to look at her once again. What was with this girl?!

Rukia jumped, knocking her notebook onto the floor, when Kurogan yelled at her. She really couldn't find it in her to be mad, though; after recovering she just laughed quietly, shaking her head ever so slightly.

"Now, no need to yell." she said, gently. "I didn't mean to pry into such a sensitive topic." Which couldn't have been further from the truth.

"What the hell are you laughing for?!" For some reason, she was becoming just as bothersome as Fai. He felt like she was teasing him like that magician would have, only in a silent way. "Don't call it sensitive either!" That word wasn't one he should ever be associated with!

"I'm sorry," Rukia chuckled, really trying to stop laughing. "I just... have a lot of experience dealing with people as surly as you." Her gaze drifted over to Renji, where he was sitting with Sora not too far away. After all the screaming matches and knock-down-drag-out fights she and Renji had had over the years, Kurogane couldn't begin to intimidate her.

"Please don't take offense, but I'm a good actress, so I can usually tell when someone isn't telling the whole truth."

He growled at her words, not liking them at all. It still felt like he was being treated like a kind. Not a feeling he enjoyed considering how Fai managed about the same thing. And why was she comparing him with someone else?!

"You saying I'm lying?" he demanded to know, but didn't shout this time. Still, his tone remained harsh. Fai was the one that lied, not him.

Rukia got her laughter under control, and reached down to pick up her notebook before answering him. "You might not be lying to me," she said softly.

"You're as bad as him," he huffed, not wanting to gave any real comment to her assumption.

"Oh, does Fai call your bluff a lot, too?" she asked, the picture of innocence.

"No, he just annoys me," he glared at her, "a lot."

Rukia grinned, relaxing against the couch again. This guy really seemed to enjoy hanging around with people who annoyed him. Maybe he secretly liked the attention.

She decided to let him make the next move, and remained silent.

She was too comfortable with bothering him. Just like someone else he knew. Just his luck.

Looking away again, he put his attention to the red-head pointed out earlier. That one would be easy to remember, looking as he did. Kurogane remembered what had been mentioned in Rukia's explanation and how Renji had needed to knock Fai out as well. If Rukia was Renji's friend, then he was probably used to dealing with the same things as Kurogane was.

"He's a Shinigami too, right?" he said, remembering that he'd intended to ask about Shinigami at some point. It was an odd way of bringing it up though.

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