damned_institute | Day 37: Sun Room

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Day 37: Sun Room

Joe had read some of the larger notes stuck up on the bulletin board when the announcement came on the intercom. All things considered, this Landel guy didn't even seem so bad. Even if these people were held here against their will, he was certainly nice about it.

Apparently, the new patients - including Joe - were to hang around in the Sun Room or go to Arts and Crafts with the kids. Well, there was plenty of information on the board, including maps and descriptions of monsters, for Joe to prepare for the nighttime, when he could seriously get going on fighting his way out. He could look for where the boss would probably be waiting, or where his V-watch might be, and figure out how to fight the monsters. In fact, he had plenty of time to work all that out... but this the first time he'd had to really relax since he got his powers. So it couldn't possibly hurt to enjoy the calm period, could it?

The red-head stepped back from the board, and hopped back onto a comfy-looking couch to digest in the sunlight. He reached up to pull his cap down, and sighed when he realized it wasn't there. "Oh well, nothing's perfect. I still wouldn't call this hell."

[free!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[from showers also~]

As fun as crashing other's conversations might be, he'd a feeling that it might be better to give Izuru a bit of space, even if it was just across the room. He shook the last of the water from his hair, leaving it to fall messily as it always did.

The choices for conversation weren't a lot better here, though there was a woman he'd been meaning to have a chat with. The last time he'd met her, she'd been shoving something sharp into his back.

"Mornin'," he said, expression at least a parody of a smile and voice friendly enough.

So, Ophelia was trying to play off that she could read. She knew the bitch had noticed her, so her lips turned up slightly. The bitch was at least observant.

The Bride glanced up when someone sat by her, noting he was the man she'd threatened when she'd retrieved Mion from the torturing the girl had been subjected to.

"Hello," she replied. "I'm surprised to see you approaching me." Her attention was still on the ones she'd been watching, but she wasn't about to completely disregard the one she was conversing with. Let Ophelia think she'd been distracted.

"Houu," he cooed, "why's that? Compared t'what you see 'round here at night, you're lookin' downright friendly. Thought we might exchange pleasantries, seein' as we didn' get to last time."

He was fairly aware he didn't have her full attention, but it didn't bother him. He'd sent out a few sideways glances over at the other shinigami. Watching Izuru play the knight in shining armor to Momo was probably just what the lieutenant had always wanted. Not in these exact circumstances, but all the same...

The Bride picked up that her conversation companion was also slightly distracted. Good.

"Very well," she replied. "Societal norms would indicate that I should apologize for threatening you and then thank you for rescuing my ward. Thankfully, I do not follow those, so we can move past all that."

She glanced over. "You can call me Arlene."

"Straight to the point aincha?" he smirked, reserving judgement on her for a bit longer. She seemed interesting, which would at least alleviate his boredom for a little while.

"Arlene-san, pleased t'meet ya. I'm Ichimaru Gin."

"Usually," the Bride replied, meeting his smirk with uncaring eyes for the moment. His fake smile certainly didn't phase her, though she was certain there were many who would have been disturbed by it.

Given the man's name and the honorific, Beatrix concluded the man was Japanese. To further test her theory, she switched from speaking English to Japanese, a small part of her finding the odd language paradox many have spoken of on the board intriguing.

"Which would you prefer I use - Ichimaru-san or Gin? I've encountered many with Japanese names and some with a preference for informality. The children usually."

It sounded strange when the woman switched from perfectly fluent Japanese to a slightly more obvious foreign accent. Still Japanese, but some of the little quirks and pronunciations made it obvious she wasn't native. However, since she hadn't made a big deal of his accent, he wouldn't tease her about hers.

"You c'n use whichever one y'like darlin'. Ain't really one t'stand on formalities m'self. M' a little surprised y'know enough t'know the difference."

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/510881.html?thread=41375649#t41375649)]

Having just suffered through a shower, SubZero had no intention of taking chances with sitting next to some annoying person. Arlene was already conversing with someone, and he was close enough to hear part of a conversation in Japanese.

That was... odd. He normally only heard english here. He took a seat next to the two of them, and decided to join in the conversation in Japanese. "Hello."

There really wasn't much for SubZero to say. He wasn't the type for small talk and he had no idea who this Gin person was.

Now that the Bride was hearing Gin in Japanese, his Kansai accent was obvious. She'd always found that particular accent somewhat amusing, almost as amusing as an Osaka accent. Her lips curled up just the slightest.

"Gin it is, then," she said. "I've spent many years in Japan and know the language quite well. There are some people that would be offended should I choose to use their given name without permission, so I'm of the opinion it's better to simply ask. I recognize your accent. Are you from Kyoto or one of the neighboring areas?"

She glanced over when she saw SubZero join them, noting the man's decision to join in with Japanese. She gave the assassin a small smile. "You look like someone forced you to eat nattou. I'm glad you're still around." She gestured to Gin. "SubZero, Gin. I threatened to kill him a week... maybe two weeks back."

"Maa, another surprise, y'know the language pretty well then," he said thoughtfully, running a hand though his still-damp silver hair. "Somewhere 'round there. Ain't been back t'see it for a while though." That was something of an understatement. He was just a child when he'd died and wound up in Soul Society and then the only times he'd been back to his old neighborhood was during short missions. Not much to reminisce on. He was much more familiar with Rukongai.

"Pleased t'meecha," he nodded at the newcomer, some friend of hers, apparently. "I was jus' exchangin' pleasantries with y'friend Arlene-san."

"I don't like being wet," SubZero commented, his displeasure very evident. "And I'm surprised you haven't killed him yet. Not getting soft, are you?" SubZero asked. It was his own version of friendly teasing to a fellow assassin.

When he thought about it, this was sort of an odd situation. Normally he was trying to kill any assassins he ran into that weren't part of his clan, but this place was an exception to a lot of rules SubZero normally followed.

He turned his attention to Gin, frowning at him. "I'm SubZero. Don't call me san."

Beatrix chuckled at SubZero. There was something about the way he was acting, the indignation of having to be forced into the showers, that she could almost call... cute. She was finding it hard to deny that had the situation been different, she would have considered SubZero as a prospect for something more than occasional camaraderie.

"He hasn't given me reason to follow through," she replied.

Another blunt reply, this time from the Zero guy. It was no wonder these two got along so well. He didn't feel the need to mention that they'd have a difficult time of things if they decided to kill him. That was no simple task, whether they believed it or not.

"Ara, Jus' Subzero then," he smirked. It might be cute for the girl to give orders like that, but from another guy, it was just a little... obnoxious. It didn't phase him though, and he smiled just like always.

"Friendly fella, ain't he?" he added a wave. "M' not gettin' between th' two of you, am I?" Not that he was about to leave even if he was. "Anyhoo, our meetin' before was jus' a little misunderstandin'. We cleared it all up jus' now actually."

The accent was a little irritating to put up with, and it actually made him stop and spend a moment to decipher what Gin was saying. The smirk was irritating, but SubZero planned to avoid getting in unnecessary fights during the day.

"No. I'm just making sure she's still in one piece," and trying to avoid unwanted social interaction. While to the untrained observer, this might look like SubZero was being more social than usual, it was simply safer to get into a conversation with someone he knew than to sit by himself.

Some well-meaning, cheerful person might decide that he needed company. That really wasn't something he wanted to put up with.

Beatrix raised an eyebrow at SubZero. It almost seemed like he was being... No, it was her imagination.

"As you can see, I am certainly in one piece," she replied to the other assassin. "Your concern is... touching." In an almost irritating yet oddly satisfying way. She wasn't sure how much to believe it was because he actually wanted to be around her or because he was hoping the aura of another dangerous person (two if she counted Gin) would be enough to drive some of the new prisoners that simply didn't know better away.

The Bride glanced over at Ophelia again. "So, Gin, you're with that Arts & Crafts group, yes?"

If their little interaction was supposed to pass for flirting, they were both in dire need of help. Not that he planned on giving any. It amused him plenty to watch. If he seemed put off by the way Subzero talked to him, there was no change in his expression or body language to indicate it. He appeared just as friendly and open as before.

"Been doin' a fair amount a' work with 'em," he nodded. This woman certainly paid attention. He supposed that was more than could be said for a good portion of the patients here. Gin had a feeling though, that with how many shinigami they'd lost recently, that alliance might be changing real fast. And if that was the case, things could certainly get messy. "What'sit that you do?"

The little comment about his supposed concern was enough to make SubZero shift slightly in his seat out of irritation and give Arlene an annoyed look. He did not want anything other than a professional relationship with his fellow assassins.

SubZero normally ignored the groups that posted on the bulletin board, though he did keep an eye on them. They really had nothing he needed, considering he could make his own weapons.

The question was probably aimed more at Arlene, and SubZero didn't feel like talking about what he did, so he remained silent, looking out over the other patients in the room to see how many faces he didn't recognize.

A small smirk rest in the corner of the Bride's mouth at SubZero's response, but she chose to ignore him for the moment.

"They've been seeming to accomplish a fair amount," she replied. "One of my wards used to work occasionally with them. As for myself, I take care of things as I see fit, usually preferring to work on my own or with those I know I can trust. There are a few teenagers I have decided to watch over for the time-being. Hence, how we crossed paths."

Since Subzero said nothing, Gin only gave him a passing glance, then set his attention upon Arlene.

"That so? Sounds like th' way to do things. Makin' much progress that way?" Progress, of course, depended on what one's goals were in this place. It tended to vary from person to person. Revenge and escape were usually high on the list, but not everyone was so desperate to leave.

While he did pay attention to the conversation, SubZero was clearly not as engrossed in it as he could have been. He ran a hand over his wet hair and pulled it away to examine the water on his hand.

Right now, his hands weren't cold enough to actually freeze the moisture, but the added cold of being wet was uncomfortable. The mention of progress added to his irritation. He certainly hadn't made any, but there was no point in dwelling on that right now.

The fact that Arlene was so interested in children was a bit odd. From speaking with her, he was positive that her interest in kids wasn't of the creepy, usually illegal sort. She just had a very strong maternal instinct. Weird thing for an assassin to have.

"Some. I have become adequately armed with proper weaponry," she replied. "Though the progress I'd prefer to make has not been in coming. The man is quite elusive."

She looked over at SubZero, feeling no need to hide this information from Gin since the Arts & Crafts club has been openly working with the Cooking club. He had to know about the alchemists. "SubZero, would you like to be better armed one of these nights? I may be able to arrange it."

"So I hear," he smiled his usual fox-like smile.

Gin had given up on relying on other people and their waiting lists to get a weapon after only a day or so. He was perfectly capable of getting his own, and had wasted no time in doing so. In fact, a trip to grab a few more smaller weapons might be in order for tonight. He couldn't be sure when he'd be meeting with that doctor again and if Izuru and Momo's hushed tones and sidelong glances meant anything, he had a feeling there could be trouble pretty soon.

"Sometimes it's jus' a matter of patience I s'pose," he shrugged lightly.

The question about weapons got SubZero's attention focused back on Arlene.

"If I need a weapon, I can just make one myself," Of course, he wasn't going to bother to say how, or what kind of weapons he could make. Especially not in front of Gin, SubZero did not trust him.

Given the Bride knew what SubZero was referring to, if his supposed ability to produce ice with his hands as he'd told her when they first met was true (she had no reason now to disbelieve it given everything else), she wasn't surprised.

"Very well - if that is your wish." Her knowing look shifted back to Gin. "Patience is something I have in quantity when I wish to have it. Tell me, Gin, how is that group of yours going to weather the loss of - what do you all call them - team leaders??

At least Subzero wasn't completely helpless if he could get his own weapons. The man seemed to have a fighter's physique anyway, and like so many others here could likely hold his own in a fight.

"Can't say I know exactly," he raised a curious eyebrow, wondering why it was so important for Arlene to know. Of course he could probably say a great deal more than he let on, but then, where was the fun in that? "Either they'll pull it t'gether or start t'crumble. Ain't sure which it'll be."

Day 37: Sun Room

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