damned_institute | Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

True, it was always a bit comforting to find a face from his own little corner of reality, but sadly, Ichigo felt his shoulders slump once he realized that it was really her, and not just some sleepy figment of his imagination. That meant she was stuck here, just like the rest of them. Still, he approached and tried his best to look as friendly as he usually could.

"Ohiyo." he added, after taking an extended amount of time to arrive with his injuries. His features soured sharply at her scolding, though, even seeming sickly at the mention of that psycho's name. "I didn't get into it with him. He's not here, thankfully..."

Ichigo blinked lightly with a certain realization, once he noticed he'd stepped into a conversation unwittingly. He stared at Reno for a moment, blankly, as if trying to remember him. They had never met, but in fact, they had come across each other a few nights earlier.

"Kurosaki Ichigo...are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Sorta. Been a total of about three fun-filled days for me. I've seen you around, though."

God. Only three days? Reno swore time crawled about ten times slower here than it should. Hell, for all he knew, maybe it actually did. This place gave whole new meaning to the phrase "anything's possible."

"Name's Reno, by the way," he said, extending his left hand to Ichigo first, before next offering it to Rangiku. He wasn't sure if either of them would take it - the guy he'd met yesterday hadn't seemed familiar with this custom.

He eyed Ichigo's injuries for a moment, suddenly curious. "So what friendly creature did you run into last night?"

The reaction she got from mentioning the Eleventh Division's leader was more than worth it. The story was still doing the rounds of Seireitei. Some human boy had managed to best Kenpachi in single combat and Kenpachi was desperate for revenge (which wasn't entirely true; he was more interested in having a good fight). But in all honesty, he did look like he'd done just that.

"If he's not here, then something like his twin is," she said dryly. "Wherever here is." 'Mental Hospital' didn't tell her that much after all.

She looked blankly at Reno's outstretched hand for a moment before recalling the custom and shaking it firmly. The minor noble houses shook hands when they greeted people; she'd seen Kira do it sometimes. It still felt awkward.

Speaking of the other shinigami, she still couldn't feel him or Hitsugaya. She frowned in concentration, forcing her senses outwards and grasping for any stray thread of reiatsu. She winced. It was just making her headache worse but wait... there... the flare of Ichigo's energy. Was it fainter than usual? It felt like she was sensing it through a barrier. Even the power limit in the human world didn't affect her like this.

"Why can't I sense anyone?" she muttered, half to herself.

"

Another sigh. This one, however, was the identical to ones Ichigo had already exhaled a number of times since he had been here. Time for the breakdown. Honestly, it was getting old, explaining this place to new arrivals, but it was even worse explaining it to someone he knew personally. It was almost like delivering the bad news that someone had died. The handshake with Reno came first, along with a light and courteous nod.

Lightly, Ichigo raised a hand to the back of his head and began to brush it across the scruffy, bristled edges of his hair while he stared dismally down at the floor. It was a sure sign of reluctance, but after drawing in a deep breath, he began to speak.

"Nobody knows how...or why...but people from all kinds of worlds have been kidnapped and brought to this weird-ass place. Our powers are mostly gone, so all the stuff we can normally do just doesn't work."

Ichigo, and Renji as well, had felt the same uncomfortable stillness, to be hindered from sensing reiatsu. He'd gotten over it somewhat himself, but the problem still existed.

"Even worse, it's all one giant lie. During the day, the people her act normal and tell us we're crazy, and make up all kinds of dumb stories about it. But at night...it becomes a nightmare. There are monsters everywhere."

Whew. Apparently, he was getting better at summarizing the situation, and he even looked a little proud of himself for being so succinct, nodding his head admiringly.

"I almost wish it was Kenpachi that did this. Most of the creatures around here aren't that tough, but there are a few that you just don't want to run into." He turned his view towards Reno then, trying to recall how to describe his assailant. "Tall, bulky, with a giant rusty helmet and a big sword. Nothing seemed to hurt it, no matter what I tried. I stood up to it as best as I could, though."

It was a little odd that Ichigo shook his hand without hesitation when Rangiku didn't, considering they seemed to come from the same world, but Reno didn't dwell on it.

"Your powers are only gone when they want them to be," he said, glancing at the woman and speaking around the thumbnail he was currently chewing on. "They give it back for a bit - weapons, magic, whatever - when it suits their fancy...but speaking from personal experience, you really don't want them back under those circumstances."

He'd been expecting the same Special Counselling thing to happen again last night, actually, but he hadn't seen anything and there was no buzz about it from the patients this morning.

He looked back at Ichigo. Giant rusty helmet? The description drew up a vague image. He'd seen something like that during his first night here, and if Ichigo was talking about that thing, well...

Reno winced in sympathy. "Sucks. I just met a little demon chick that melted into this kid, though I'll bet anything he's alive and well this morning. People get ripped to shreds around here, but no one's actually gone six feet under yet."

Though he should probably find time out when he could to check on Alfons...and Hughes, too.

Rangiku listened silently to what Ichigo had to say, folding her arms across her chest and absorbing the information. It seemed so far fetched, but the nurses and the state of the rooms and the blankness of not being able to sense things supported it. Ichigo had no reason to lie to her and Reno seemed to be in agreement. The truth then, for now at least.

Monsters? "Hollows?" She ventured at that, mind racing considering the sickening possibility that it was something to do with Aizen... with Gin. One long twisted deceit as had been used in Soul Society.

"What are those circumstances?" she asked Reno after a moment. The lack of her senses was uncomfortable to say the least and she felt near naked without Haineko at her side. She turned back to Ichigo. "Our Zanpakuto?" That was one of the things at the forefront of her mind. She hadn't been without Haineko since she became a full shinigami.

"Che, no Hollows." Ichigo huffed lightly, folding his arms across his chest as well. "Nothing like we're used to, just a lot of stupid nonsense. It takes some getting used to, really." Turning aside, Ichigo looked flawlessly pissed, his lips curling into a stubborn scowl without any real explanation; honestly, it just bothered him to be here, and every time he needed to explain just reminded him of what a pain in the ass it all was.

"No zanpakuto, either. The way I see it, all the reiatsu we've got stays locked up inside us while we're here." he explained, placing a hand to his chest. "No weapons, no kido, no nothing. I haven't been able to summon mine, and neither has Renji."

He paused, blinking sharply. "Oh, yeah, Renji's here too. So far, it's just the three of us."

Having no idea what the hell the two were talking about, Reno's naturally short attention span had reached its limits. There really didn't need to be two people to explain the situation, anyway, and he wasn't interested in hearing what he already knew...nor did he want his presence to prevent them from discussing whatever more private matters they might've had.

"He'll tell you all about it," he said to Rangiku, pointing at Ichigo. With a parting nod at the both of them, he got up and moved off.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/64358.html?thread=3232614#t3232614).]

Under normal circumstances, she'd probably have been insulted by Ichigo's casual dismissal and the look on his face. He was still a human, still a child no matter his power. But more than anything, he looked tired. And beaten up of course, but that was rather obvious. He sounded like he'd said these words many times before.

She tapped her lips for a moment with one finger, digesting that knowledge. No kido, sealed reiatsu and no zanpakuto. And it was more than difficult to seperate a shinigami from their zanpakuto. It wasn't as though they were just swords.

She brightened at the mention of her fellow vice-captain. "Renji is here too?" She glanced around the room, searching for him but not finding any sign. He must have gone to the other room they'd mentioned. That made things a little easier. Numbers were always better in an unknown situation.

Reno's comment startled Rangiku out of her thoughts for a moment and she cast him a grateful smile for his help before he left. She remained standing, leaving the seat for Ichigo if he wanted it. He looked like it would be less painful.

"If this place is so bad," she began musingly, "then I'm glad some of the others aren't here." The deceit was simply cruel, and she'd hate to see some of the younger shinigami here, or people like Ichigo's friend Orihime. Hinamori had been hurt badly by Aizen's deceit, as had Kira. At least Renji and Ichigo seemed the types to remain confident in this environment.

Glancing at Rangiku from the corner of his eye, Ichigo's countenance softened suddenly; he'd probably sounded incredibly insensitive there, turning away and snorting like that. It just wasn't right of him to take out a bad mood on her, especially when she would be getting used to the situation. Unfortunately, feeling upset with himself over it, Ichigo began to inexplicably frown even more deeply.

"Yeah, Renji's here...well, somewhere. He's been sort of a baby about this place, but he's fine otherwise." Ichigo added. Showing his stubborn side, he left the open seat alone, instead hobbling his way towards another chair, grabbing hold of it with his good hand, and pulling it back over to his colleague.

He sat down quickly, eager to get off his injured leg and the stinging sensation he felt from leaning on it too much. Once he was comfortable, Ichigo's expressions lightened again, making him look a bit more approachable. "More and more people show up here just about every day. I hate to say it, but there might be more of us coming...soon, even."

"A baby?" Rangiku asked, an amused smile curving her lips at that. She'd seen a little of his behaviour in the time he'd been a vice-captain and she could imagine that he might act a little childishly. "But at least he's fine."

She watched Ichigo drag another chair over, exhasperated by his stubborness. Couldn't he make things easy on himself? Always rushing around and making things difficult when he didn't have to. She settled into the other chair, folding her legs beneath her.

"There do seem to be many people here," she replied, glancing around the room again. "So many children too." Not just by her standards, but by human standards too. "I wonder what they gain by this pretence. If it's anything more than mind games."

"I know...it's terrible, all these poor kids running scared here at night." Ichigo nodded in agreement, then took a quick moment to glance around the Sun Room itself for undeniable evidence; there were far too many here in this room alone, without all the rest elsewhere in the building. It was just enough to get Ichigo a bit riled up again, his uninjured hand unconciously clentching the end of his armrest.

He couldn't help but shrug blankly, however, to the second prong of her question. It was an absolute mystery to everyone here. "Nobody really knows what the deal is. Maybe they're...studying us?"

All these children with no-one to protect them; disgusting. "I suppose that's our job then," she said more quietly. There was no way she'd let defenceless children get hurt if she could help it, be it against hollows or not.

She made a face at the idea of being studied, nose crinkling in disgust. "Hardly an unbiased test." She'd leanred a couple of things about science from Nemu in the women's meetings and filed it away for future use. "Or they're just sadistic bastards who like seeing children hurt."

"Well..." Ichigo began, his eyes suddenly darting aside as a disagreement in body language. "...some of these kids don't always need us."

The only reason why Ichigo had even come across the idea of being studied was the nature of most of the other patients. He was never the kind of person to immediately see a pattern, but in this case, it was fairly obvious: in the time he'd spent here, Ichigo had never met more than a select few who were 'ordinary'.

"See, just about everyone here normally has some sort of weird power, or the kind of skills that come in handy in a fight." he continued, leaning forward in his chair more engagingly. "'Cept for maybe a handful, we're all the sort who have to stand up for ourselves."

Not to say that the sadistic part didn't make sense, though. Still, could it be such a coincidence? "If we're all prime examples, where we're from...we'd be perfect to take notes on."

Ichigo scowled again, jutting out his chin distastefully. "But maybe I'm wrong. I almost hope so."

Well, admittedly he did have a point. Ichigo was perfectly capable of taking care of himself most of the time from what she'd heard. "True. Shame Yachiru isn't here. If there are monsters then I'm sure she'd have a wonderful time."If their powers were blocked, then this was one of the times Rangiku would wholeheartedly welcome Kenpachi and Yachiru (and most of the Eleventh; at least they were good fun, especially when drunk). She reckoned the place would last about five minutes. Possibly seven if they were having an off-day.

"But they're still children," she said firmly. No matter what powers they had, they were still kids.. "It's our duty to protect them. No-one should have to deal with this stuff, especially not them." She'd very much like to include Ichigo in that category too, despite his power.

"I hope you're wrong too," she replied, stretching her arms above her head and yawning hugely. At least her headache had subsided a little. "You'd think that they'd want to know the full extent of our powers though, if so many people have them." She sighed, resting her chin on her hand and thinking things through. It didn't make sense. If it was some big experiment... maybe she should have paid more attention to the twelth division when they rambled at her.

"Yachiru?" Thoughtlessly staring away, with a single outstretched finger tapping against the end of his chin. He couldn't quite place the name at first, but by Rangiku's comment, she had to be a quirky sort. After a moment, a face quickly popped into Ichigo's head of the strange little girl that tagged along the towering Kenpachi. "Oh, that weird little thing with the cotton-candy hair." he finally remarked, raising his orange-toned brows surprisedly.

Speaking of other Shinigami, Ichigo took a moment to glance around the Sun Room, his sunny head of hair swiveling lightly from side to side. Renji must've gone to...err... Ichigo paused and lightly scratched at the side of his head, as if pursuing an elusive thought. ...wherever that other place was. I wasn't paying attention.

"We'll have to get with Renji soon. He'll be happy to see you, I bet." Ichigo said with an appreciative nod. "Maybe we can work something out for tonight...when the lights go out at night, all us patients can roam the halls however we want. Most of us get together and explore."

Rangiku nodded at his surprise, smiling broadly at him. "She is Kenpachi's adopted daughter. And was brought up by the Eleventh." She'd heard a few stories about that too when she got them drunk. "It's definitely a sight to behold, watching her take down hollows." Rather messy on occasion though.

"I think he must have gone to the chapel place," she said in response to Ichigo looking around. "That thing," she said, pointing at the intercom on the wall, "said there was some kind of surprise." On second thoughts she was glad she hadn't gone there; surprised were rarely quiet. She rubbed her temples for a moment, trying to ease away the last of the headache.

"Surprised, if your reaction is anything to go by," she said wryly, glancing towards the door for a moment. This was frustrating. Normally she'd have been able to reach out and find exactly where he was just by looking. She still felt blinded.

Looking somewhat more relaxed, as the cascading warmth of the sun streamed in through the broad windows, Ichigo leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. The sunlight washed over him, casting a soft glow over his young, tender features and the vivid colors of his hair. It might have seemed strange that he could be so at ease, despite all the ominous warnings he had just handed out, but after being here for so long, he had learned not to sweat through the day shift and leave his worrying for the night.

"If that's where he is, we'll see him at breakfast." he added, letting his eyes softly close. One eye quickly peeked open again for a moment. "Are you alright?" he questioned, noting the soothing circles she rubbed against her head.

"Ah, breakfast?" She said, brightening at the thought. She was famished! Food was always good for curing a hangover and she sort of felt like she hadn't eaten in a week. "Do they have good food?" Although in all honesty, she wasn't picky. Food was food and she'd eat it.

She smiled and nodded at him, resting her hands in her lap. "Hangover. You should have come drinking with us." She sighed and tutted. "Shuuhei and Kira are such lightweights but it was fun."

It was hard to say whether the cafeteria food could really be considered 'good' or not. Personally, Ichigo never really had a problem with the meals. They were well-prepared, and probably somewhat nutritious; after all, this place was a hospital by day. Still, every meal made him feel a little homesick. If I get home, I'll never take Yuzu's cooking for granted again, he thought.

Ichigo's eyes shot back open again, a captive look of confusion and irritance. He didn't raise his head up, too comfortable to move otherwise, instead staring down the length of his nose towards Rangiku. "Drinking, with you guys? Don't you know I'm barely old enough for that?" he replied, adding a guilting tone to his voice. Shyly, but masking it as gruff difference, he turned away and stared distantly off; hopefully, the angle of his features and the glow of the sun would be enough to hide the faint blushing tint across his cheeks.

Normally, she'd probably have gone and slapped Ichigo heartily on the back to ~~tease~~ encourage him, but she was too comfortable and entering the post-hangover floppiness which made her feel lethargic. Still, a grin curved her lips as she looked at the boy and his apparent embarrassment.

"It's all a state of mind," she said teasingly, grinning at him. "After the things you did, anyone should be allowed to drink."

Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

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