damned_institute | Day 22: Brunch

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Day 22: Brunch

Cid usually liked sleeping in, especially in a place as messed up and uninviting as this, but this happened to be one situation where he really wished he hadn't.

Right there, on the bulletin board. The Head Doctor and he'd fucking missed it? Some part of him wished he'd been there to take his eye out and another part of him knew he wouldn't have been able to. No man that powerful who hid for so long went to dangerous places without some kind of entourage.

Brunch sounded like it'd be filling, at least, though he nearly stopped in his tracks when the bastard announced TEA. TEA. It'd been a damn long while since he'd had some fucking tea, though with all the stress this place had found fit to rain down on his fucking head, it hadn't really been the first priority on his mind. Kinda nice, even if Cid was sure this was just some game the mother fucker was playing to get them all stuck neck-deep in Stockholm Syndrome.

He scanned the mostly-empty room for any sign of a familiar face once he'd piled waffles and sausages and syrup on his plate, though the person he really wanted to talk to was that Reynolds guy. "Spaceship" was the last word he remembered clearly before waking up in his bed, and dammit if he wasn't going to keep it stuck like glue in his mind.

He found a table where he could watch people come into the cafeteria and grabbed for his mug. The steam rising from his drink and the bag of herbs in it was nearly enough to make him grin despite it all, and it was with marked leisure and a little relief that he drank his goddamn tea.

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Renji really wasn't in the mood to eat a damn thing, but hey, there was tea. He still felt a little left-over nausea from the throwing up on the nurse thing. He headed into the cafeteria, intending to try out some dry toast, when he caught sight of someone familiar.

He didn't pause. He didn't think. He only reacted as cold rage swept through him.

Step, step... he had one pen left over from the night before, tucked into the back of his pants. He pulled it out, flicking the cap off with his thumb.

Step, step... he passed by a table. An almost-full tray sat in front of a patient there. He didn't notice who it was. He snatched up the tray.

And then he moved into a full-out sprint.

He flung the tray ahead of him, directly at that goddamn traitor's smile. He was maybe half a step behind it, already moving to strike.

He was going for the throat.

Gin caught only a flash of red from the corner of his eye before a tray of miscellaneous breakfast food came rushing for his head. He hadn't sensed any reiatsu, hadn't noted any particularly hostile auras; however, that didn't change the fact that a large plastic tray was on its way toward his face. It was almost laughably slow and yet, as he moved to dodge it, the corner still bounced off his shoulder, sending the food sloshing all over the table and floor.

It stung. And most dreams didn't sting. He had very little time to absorb that precious bit of information as a very familiar face raced toward him. Gin urged his feet to move, to dodge, to somehow counter, but his movements were as sluggish as Abarai's. Gin's pale blue eyes opened in surprise as the small pointed object Abarai carried went straight for his neck. His body tried to keep up, but he felt something graze his neck, and the not at all familiar feeling of pain crept through his body. Gin's fingers wrapped around Renji's arm in an attempt to stop a second strike.

Gin winced slightly as the smile returned to his lips, "Ara? Abarai-kun. I wasn' expecting a welcome party."

So much for that. Renji didn't let it stop him. He had a short amount of time, and he was going to fucking kill Gin if it was the last thing he did.

He let Gin grab him. Fine. They could play it like that. He lunged forward and slammed his forehead directly into Gin's nose, grabbing him by the shirt with his free hand and yanking him forward as he did.

"Welcome to Landel's."

He shoved Gin back while he was still off balance and kicked him in the knee to help him find the floor. With gravity on his side, he dove at the man, intending to put his fist through Gin's face.

It had been a long while since Gin had resorted to street brawling instead of his Zanpakutou. And understandably, it took a little jumpstart for his old reflexes to kick in. It was probably somewhere between the floor and Abarai going in to tackle him. There was a bit of blood running from his nose, but Gin paid it no mind. Zanpakutou or not, a fight was still a fight, and he didn't intend to lose, regardless of Abarai's surprisingly underhanded techniques.

He rolled to the side, narrowly missing the flying fist as he threw an elbow at the vice-captain's face. It connected, giving Gin the precious moments he needed to get back to his feet and wipe the blood from his nose.

"How kind," he returned, the smile never leaving his face. "I don't s'pose y'mind if I give ya some thanks of my own then?" Though the words were spoken sweetly, there was no mistaking the ill-intent behind them.

The elbow set the blood flowing from Renji's nose again; now he had one to match Gin. He'd forgotten how slippery the bastard was. But since Renji was still on the floor, and Gin had gotten to his feet...

Renji lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Gin's knees to knock him to the floor again. He wasn't going to give up the advantage this time. He planted one knee firmly on Gin's chest, putting his full weight on it, and punched him in the face.

"You fucking traitor!" he snarled. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

He aimed his second punch at Gin's throat.

Gin was certain the redhead meant what he said, but for a vice-captain of Abarai's caliber to beat him would be an awful blow to his pride, not to mention the fact that Aizen and the others would never let him live it down.

However, his current predicament... made it a little difficult to move much. Renji was larger, not to mention heavier, than Gin and the sudden blows to the head were not making him very happy. That and his position didn't leave much room for dodging. Gin struck out in one of the only ways he could manage and threaded his fingers together before swinging them as hard as he could at Abarai's torso. It probably wasn't enough to knock the man off, not with the small amount of leverage he had, but hopefully it was enough to get the little bastard to stop taking shots at his neck.

As tended to happen when fights broke out, nurses and orderlies were quick to move in.

"Kyle, Corwin!" The names were snapped by a large, older nurse who had the air of a woman in charge. Two male orderlies were on her heels, already moving to separate the two men.

"This sort of behavior is unacceptable! What is the meaning of this?" Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were narrowed, like a mother hen who has had enough shenanigans in the barnyard.

Renji managed to land one more punch before Gin's fists hit. On any other day, he could have ignored it and kept going. Because on any other day, he wasn't recoving from a traumatic chest injury.

The force of the blow translated into an agonized scream. For a long moment, Renji couldn't even manage to suck in a breathe. He clutched his hands against his chest, curling protectively to that side.

But he kept his weight on Gin. Even in intense pain, he wasn't stupid. He wasn't letting him get into a better position where he could do worse than that.

The nurses showed up then. Renji allowed himself to fall forward over Gin, like he'd just gone into a faint.

Then he sank his teeth into Gin's neck. Maybe the traitor would bleed to death before they could help him.

The scream was more than Gin had expected, he supposed the bandages up Abarai's arms were indication of some other injury he hadn't noticed. The faint seemed a little excessive and half a second later Gin realized why.

Pain shot up his neck as Abarai sunk his teeth in. Gin paid the orderlies no mind and balled his fist, hammering the side of Abarai's face. He could feel something begin to lighten the weight from his chest, but it only made the pain on his neck worse. The vice-captain was hanging on like a mutt with a bone.

With a quick flick of her wrists, the nurse instructed the burly orderlies. The two patients were seized bodily and pulled apart, and the nurse herself raised a hand with a very familiar needle.

"Kyle, I would have hoped you'd learned that trouble making is frowned upon here." She pursed her lips and advanced with the needle. "I'm going to have to have a few words with your doctor about your behavior."

Noticing the blood on Corwin's neck, the nurse frowned further, beckoning one the younger nurses to come see to him.

It was over. Either he'd gotten the job done, or he'd have to try again later.

Renji spit something on the floor - part of Gin's neck. He grinned at the nurse, exposing blood-stained teeth. "Give us a... kiss, sugar," he said. His ribs felt like they were on fire, and he wheezed with each breath.

But he wasn't going to go down easily. The orderly was bigger than him, but he'd squirm and kick and make their lives difficult. It wasn't like there was anything else he could do.

Gin struggled but the large male orderly held him quite firmly in place. Though he was no longer in any immediate danger from rabid, tattooed dogs, it didn't make him feel much better. It didn't take him long to grasp at least a small portion of what was going on.

"I ah... I'm not sure exactly what's goin' on nurse," he managed, despite his bruises and the blood running from his neck. "This ah... Kyle here just went berserk..." He gave up struggling, gambling that when they saw he was clearly the injured party, he would get a bit of sympathy. Afterall, the wounded deer or the mountain lion? It hardly required any theatrics at all.

The nurse narrowed her eyes as the second orderly moved to help restrain Kyle. Without a word she jabbed him - a bit roughly - with the sedative. Kyle was the one causing trouble, he was the one needing restraint.

"That should keep you out of trouble," she muttered. She turned to Corwin, who was now being seen to by a younger nurse with a bit of gauze and a bottle of peroxide.

"We'll get you fixed up," she said. "And you'd do well to stay away from patients like him." The poor man was new, and after all. She'd let him off with just a warning.

Renji struggled as much as he could, for as long as he could. It was futile, but on the principle of it, he couldn't go down easy. As long as he could didn't end up being that long. A strange, weightless feeling moved through him as the drugs started taking effect...

...and after that, things just stopped making sense.

(Renji is dragged off to here)

Seeing Abarai get dragged off in a drugged stupor was fairly satisfying, though he couldn't say it'd been completely worth it. He did, however, make a mental note to move the vice-captain up a few paces on his list. If he thought he was getting off with just that, he was sorely mistaken.

It felt a little better once he'd been bandaged, but his head was still foggy and he had not one single logical explanation for what had just happened. He didn't have much stomach for anything else, not after being nearly impaled by a writing utensil, then bruised, and bitten of all things. He sat quietly instead, trying to get a better hold on his bearings. It seemed Abarai wasn't alone. Gin easily recognized the ryoka with brilliant orange hair as well as...

Gin's smile faded. If he didn't already know what happened to a person when they died, he would swear he was in his own private Hell. First physical abuse from someone as pitiful as Abarai-kun and now this emotional baggage. Hadn't he said goodbye to her only hours ago? Moments even. This was turning out to be a very bad day.

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/65478.html?view=3386054#t3386054)]

Familiar silver hair and a face Rangiku knew almost as well as her own. She balled up her emotions, stuffing them down inside herself as far as they would go. Now wasn't the time. She needed a cool head to deal with him, even if she wasn't entirely sure what she would do yet.

She didn't ask for permission, instead just sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder. The closeness still sent a thrill through her, even though he'd betrayed Soul Society... betrayed her. That childish thought ran through her head; he left me again. Seemed like she was always watching his retrating form.

A heavy, slightly bitter sigh and then she spoke. "Gin..."

Gin forced a smile to his lips, though he was far from feeling it. He'd sent enough damned souls on to Hell to have a good idea of what it must be like, but this... this was on another level completely. He turned his head, but forced himself not to see her.

She was there. Right next to him. So close he could smell her hair and feel her soft skin against brush against his arm.

But she was also one of them. "Ara? Another familiar face. Well don't this just beat all?"

She thought she'd never felt further from him than she did now. Even when the Menos had taken him away, he'd felt closer. But that empty look, like he was trying to avoid recognising her beyond the obvious... It shouldn't have hurt, but it did.

Now she was here, it was like her resolve was crumbling. He'd always been able to do that to her; make her question her path, when one moment she had been firm.

"You left again," she said quietly, making her tone as blank as she possibly could.

He cursed inwardly when he saw her expression. She wasn't the one he wanted to lash out at right now. She didn't deserve it, but somehow his words had come anyway. Her words had an irritating way of stinging as well, though he kept that particular pain well hidden behind his ever-present smile.

So blunt. So like Ran. What could he say to that? The obvious 'yes,' just didn't seem to fit.

"What d'ya want me to say?" He was pretty sure 'sorry' would be a good start, but he didn't allow his mind to travel down that path. She just... wouldn't understand anyway. It'd been easy before, when there was no time to worry about explanations or reasons, just a simple goodbye.

Did she want answers? He was fresh out of those at the moment. And if she wanted to take a piece out of his hide, well, Abarai had already beaten her to the punch. Quite literally. His thin fingers brushed the new bandages around his neck.

And that was the question, wasn't it? There were so many things she'd wanted him to say, but not of them were ever quite right. She'd never give up trying to understand him, but she also didn't think she ever would.

She swallowed, forcing the words to her lips. "Why?" more hurt in her voice than she'd ever wanted to show.

"Does Aizen truly command so much loyalty from you?" That was the part she couldn't understand. They'd seemed as different as night and day; kind, gentle Captain Aizen and cool calculating Gin. And why hadn't she noticed sooner?!

He could see this wasn't a problem that was going to just go away. Without knowing why and for better or for worse, he was stuck in this place.

And here was Ran, making it so difficult only by trying to understand. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to face this right now. Hueco Mundo was supposed to have been an escape and instead he was here.

Aizen? Aizen didn't command him or his loyalty. Aizen was often too wrapped up in his agenda to realize Gin had one of his own. Unfortunately, this Landel's place had nothing to do with his agenda. "It's complicated." He wanted to leave, to get away. But this time there was no escape for him.

Rangiku snorted at his answer, turning her head aside in annoyance, even while her hands turned white due to her harsh grip on the table. Complicated? Things were always complicated, no matter what and it didn't do anything to excuse him.

She sighed again, turning back to him. "Then explain. Why did you go? Why did you side with him? Why didn't you..." She cut herself off, staring at the table top.

Why didn't he... What? Why didn't he stay? Why didn't he support the place they'd tried so hard to get into all that time ago? Neither of them were quite correct and all her mind could come back to was Why didn't you ask me to go with you?

It wasn't that she would have left, probably. She had her duties and her friends and her Captain, but if he'd asked...

Her questions spoke volumes, though the logical side of him still refused to answer. She was offering him a chance. Giving him the opportunity to explain his supposed betrayal.

"Why didn't you..." The unfinished question lingered in his mind, refusing to be ignored.

It was difficult to change how a person thought. How they perceived things. Most people saw Soul Society for everything that it was on the surface. It was Utopia, wasn't it? A glorious afterlife? Hardly. Many of the shinigami and various high-ranking officials were only there because of their bloodlines and not their abilities. Still living in their palace and giving out unquestionable orders while the rest of Soul Society lived in poverty, separated from anyone they might have called family. It was supposed to be better when you died, but he knew it wasn't. It was the same. And that was only part of it all. Was trying to change that so wrong?

Ran had to know that nearly as well as he did. They'd grown up together, shared many of the same hardships... didn't she realize it wasn't just himself that he'd done this for?

His mind was wandering, uncommon for him, and he forced it back to the present. "Does it matter? What's done is done. Knowin' why won't do much good now."

He didn't get it at all!! Either that of he was being deliberately evasive. Probably a bit of both from what she knew about him. He'd never been one to say things straight.

Underneath the table, she placed her hand on his arm, squeezing it gently for a moment. Her voice when she spoke was roughened, more Rukongai than the softened tone she'd acquired over time in Seireitei. It had a habit of reverting around him and some of the others who'd come from there. "It matters. Tell me you did it fer somethin' other than a power trip. Give me a reason to trust you."

She didn't believe that Gin would just follow someone like Aizen as he set himself up as a god. If he could just say that he had some reason, some purpose then she'd believe him, even if it was probably just her being a trusting fool.

She sighed, pulling away again slightly. "Or if not that, just a reason to keep those two from tearin' you apart come nightfall." She gestured over her shoulder to Renji and Ichigo. If this place was as bad as she'd been told, then fighting between the 'patients' wouldn't do anyone any good, except for satisfying Renji's bloodlust. She didn't think that'd be sated anyway, but she could at least divert him.

That same sensation. It wasn't difficult to remember the feel of her hand on his arm. He'd felt it not so very long ago along with the cold steel of Haineko at his throat. This was different. These fingers, hands, they begged for trust, for understanding.

He looked at her now, truly looked at her, "I did it f'something other than a power trip." He leaned in a little closer, his voice a whisper that only she could hear, "Y'know me better'n that Ran." He hadn't meant to make it personal, but her name slipped off his tongue so easily. "Though," he added, "maybe it wouldn't be so bad... to be caught by you."

He pulled away, trying to gauge her reaction as well as process her last statement. It didn't make sense. Nightfall? A look of confusion crossed his features. "Tell me," he watched her now, with a bit more intensity, "What happens at night?"

Day 22: Brunch

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