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!]

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There was going to be a puddle of water on the floor by the time she finished brushing her hair. Ugh, great. She'd normally have dried it some more before attempting to brush it, but things just couldn't be easy here apparently.

She managed a few more strokes of the brush before someone approached her. Rangiku paused what she was doing and looked the girl over for a few moments. She looked young but mature, an interesting combination. Rangiku smiled warmly at her and shook her head. "Go ahead. Hope you don't mind me finishing brushing my hair though."

"Of course not. Thank you," She smiled and took a seat next to the woman. "I'm Mitsuru Kirijo."

She glanced around again for a brief moment while the woman continued to comb her hair, then looked back. "How long have you been here?"

"Matsumoto Rangiku," she replied, glad that she sounded more cheerful than she felt. She didn't want to make anyone feel bad for her, not when they were people that she didn't know anyway.

She finished combing her hair, getting rid of the tangles finally, and gave it one last quick brush before setting it aside on the arm of the couch. Straight to business with this one, hm? That was interesting. "Two weeks, almost exactly," she replied. "And I'm guessed that you're one of the people who arrives today or last night."

"A pleasure to meet you." Normally, Mitsuru would have extended a hand, but Rangiku was still brushing through her hair. She may have had etiquette drilled into her since she was young, but something told her that it might be more polite to let the woman continue what she was doing.

"Yes, I arrived last night," she continued, folding her arms carefully, trying not to irritate the burns. "It's going to take some getting used to." She thought for a moment, then realized that for being here two weeks, Rangiku might know more about the language issue she saw earlier. There had been an explanation, but it never hurt to hear things twice, so that she could be certain she had it straight.

"...Out of curiosity, Rangiku-san, do you understand the language matter that's been discussed on the bulletin board today?"

Not here it wasn't particularly, Rangiku thought dryly, although she refrained from saying it out loud. That would just be too cruel, no matter what kind of mood she was in. This girl had done nothing wrong after all. "You too," she replied instead, a wry smile on her lips. "Shame it's in this place." Although there were people whom she'd met here, who she'd never have met otherwise, which was one of the few good things.

"It takes a while," Rangiku agreed. "It's worse for some people; they don't all know how to fight and a lot of them have never faced anything like the monsters that you see at night." She wasn't about to make any assumptions about anyone though. Mitsuru could tell her if she wanted.

She blinked in surprise when the bulletin was mentioned, looking slightly baffled for a moment before shrugging. "I admit I haven't been following it today. Something happened last night which has been occupying more of my attentions. Not to mention another friend from my own world turned up. I had to fill him in." And now she probably had to think of a way to keep him from killing Gin.

Were it any other situation, then it really might have been a pleasure, but the other woman was right. "Yes, it's a shame." With everything that this place had to offer in the way of dangers, it wasn't the ideal place to be meeting new people.

From the way it sounded, Rangiku had been used to things like this before she arrived; then again, for all Mitsuru knew it was observation and experience accumulated over the time that she had been here.

"I see. It would be harder for those people, wouldn't it?" The circumstances were a bit different than home, but she was still more accustomed to it than the people that Rangiku had described. The only things that would really take getting used to, for her, were the lack of an Evoker and the location.

"I'm sorry. It was just a thought, since you've been here for several weeks." She offered the woman a smile, still slightly apologetic. "I hope things go well for your friend, at least."

"To go from a world where the most pressing problem was school work, to a place where monsters are trying to kill you is quite a big step. There are enough of those who are used to fighting that we can attempt to protect them though. There's not much that we can do if they don't want to be helped or we don't know about them though." And there were so many people here now, it was impossible to meet everyone and find out what they needed to learn.

"I hope so too," Rangiku replied, casting a worried glance over at where Kira and Hinamori were seated. She couldn't help but worry. Both for them and for Gin. Even if they saw him as an enemy, she didn't think that she could see him as an enemy while they were here. She couldn't help but feel worry for him.

"It's a big step no matter where it's made," she commented lightly. She knew all about that sort of change, and had witnessed it in everyone that she fought alongside. Some, like Akihiko, took to it with ease, while others, like Takeba, needed several weeks to become fully accustomed to it.

"But hopefully those who don't know how to fight will ask to learn, or else stick close to those who can." The decision to fight and kill, regardless of whether it was a human or something decidedly more supernatural wasn't one that was easy to make. However the people here decided to go about their night, survival was the most important thing, and teamwork was sometimes the best way.

Mitsuru followed her gaze and spotted a young man sitting with what looked like an even younger girl. "It looks like he's doing well, at least. And he does have you to help him."

Rangiku shrugged, not entirely convinced of that. "It depends on how you were raised. There are enough people here for whom it hasn't been much of a change at all, except for the confinement." Most of the monsters would barely have been a challenge if they'd appeared in her own world, or if they'd been at full power. The building wouldn't even have been standing. It was a much more bitter thought today than it normally was.

"Eh, better than when I last saw him at least," she agreed, looking Kira over. Of course, the last time that she'd seen him had been when he'd come to apologise for attacking her and they'd got rip roaringly drunk together. He seemed to have a new sense of purpose. "We just need to get him armed so that he can protect himself and others more effectively." She hated having to think so clinically about people whom she considered friends, but it couldn't be helped.

Mitsuru certainly knew that well enough. It was like that for her, as well, although it hadn't always been that way. "Mm, but I wonder if it was always like that for them back home. No one should have to fight from the day they're born 'til the day they die." Not that things had ever been much easier for her, but she at least wanted to see an end to it, and intended on bringing about the end of the Dark Hour one way or another. She wasn't the sort of idealist who would say something sounded good and not do anything about it.

"Even in a place like this, that can be considered good." Although she was right on getting him armed. More things would get done if everyone was able to pull their own weight. After the meeting, she needed to go find a decent pipe for herself until she could commission someone for a sword. Anything would be better than a simple flashlight. "I assume that you and he are used to fighting, from what you've said?"

Rangiku shrugged. "Sometimes there isn't a choice in the matter," she pointed out. Sometimes you had to fight just to survive and keep living. It should never have to be that way, but in so many places, it was. "It would be nice if no-one ever had to fight though." Of course, she didn't think that such a world would be possible, certainly not in her own world at least.

She nodded in agreement when Mitsuru asked her if she was used to fighting, a small smile on her lips. "We are. In my world, there are beings called shinigami - death gods. We guide spirits of the dead on to the next life, and we're trained to fight corrupted spirits called Hollows. We're divided into thirteen divisions. I'm a vice-captain of one of them, that man and woman are vice-captains of two others."

Mitsuru merely nodded in response. Maybe they had different reasons for what they were saying, for all she knew, but she agreed with what Rangiku was saying. Best to let that topic drop for now, before they began repeating each other.

There was a small smile on her own face at Rangiku's explanation, though. "I see. Then it looks like things are in good hands. There are similar beings in my world, called Shadows. They're not quite dead, but they do need to be quelled. More spawn as the previous ones corrupt humans. Very few people are able to fight them."

"We try our best," Rangiku replied with a small smile. "They do sound very similar to Hollows," she continued when Mitsuru began to explain. Shadows, Hollows, numerous other creatures that she'd heard about since arriving here; it seemed like every world had their own version of them. "Should I assume that you're one of the people who can fight them?"

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Day 37: Sun Room

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