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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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?"

The way he said it, the way he looked at her; she had to believe him now if she wanted to believe anything he'd ever said to her. And She wanted to.

Rangiku's eyes widened slightly as he leaned in closer, breath brushing across her skin; more intimate than something so simple had any right to be. It sounded so simple, but half the time she wasn't sure if she knew him at all, really. Still, a small smile graced her lips for a second, remembering his words before he'd been taken by the Menos. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be the one to capture you," she replied softly before he could pull away. Seemed like on some things neither of them could talk straight.

She leaned back a little, pushing her hair back out of her face and guiltily enjoying his confusion. She could tease him, she supposed, and refuse to say. It would doubtless see the others happy, but if this place was as terrible as she'd been told, then he deserved a warning. "It's not what it seems, this place. From what I've heard, there are monsters at night. Things other than Hollows."

Part of him was relieved, part disappointed as the conversation took a turn. Was that it? Would she trust him now? Or had he only succeeded in pushing her further away? The way she'd returned his tease made his blood race a little faster. Ran had always been blessed when it came to sensuality and she was skilled at using it to her advantage. Any man would find it difficult to resist her.

He was inclined not to believe the other part, though he knew many things that weren't Hollows could be dangerous. And after all the other insanity of the morning, that seemed just another brick in the wall. Ran didn't have it in her to lie, not like he did. And not about something important. So the people here wanted them to fight monsters, yet refused to let them keep their Zanpakutou? Was it a test of Demon Arts? Reiatsu? Nothing seemed to make sense, and for one who relied heavily on logic, it was troubling indeed.

"So you're as new t'this place as I am? Don't s'pose they're nice 'nough t'give us our Zanpakutou back at night?"

Rangiku sighed and nodded at his question, glancing around the room at all the people. "This morning." She smiled wryly. "With a hangover." He knew her habits nearly as well as she herself did. It wasn't such an unusual thing to happen.

"If they were goin' to give us our Zanpakuto back, I don't think they'd've taken 'em in the first place." She sighed again, eyes narrowing as she leaned forwards. "My powers are blocked. Can hardly feel a thing." Even Gin's reiatsu was shrouded. It was there, very faintly at the back of her mind if she thought about it hard, but it was an effort.

And now that she'd given him fair warning, it was probably time to do what she'd come over to do. "Good job I don't need a Zanpakuto to do this then," she murmured before grabbing his hand and uncerimoniously shoving it under her shirt. At the same time, she raised her knee, aiming it straight for his crotch.

"This is for what you did," she said coolly, "no matter your reasons. I'm still pissed off with you."

He'd known the answer to his other question without even asking it, but it was good to know that he wasn't the only shinigami here who's power was blocked.

And then... it hit. For the second time that day, he'd been caught off his guard. It had to be some kind of record. Gin's earlier assessment of the day had been accurate. It was in fact, a very bad day and showed no signs of getting better. There was only one upside to the entire ordeal; his hand was up Ran's shirt.

It was of small comfort as he doubled over, crumpling in pain. Was it supposed to be some last meal before the execution? With his free hand, he gripped the table, head hanging down as he winced at the sudden, debilitating pain.

She should possibly have felt guilty for using such underhanded tactics, but really, they were both from Rukongai where underhanded tactics were practically a requirement for survival. Part of what she knew was due to him after all.

Rangiku held his hand against her breast for a moment, clasping his fingers in her own even if he was probably too preoccupied with excrutiating pain to notice. Then she stumbled back a few steps, as though unsure on her feet, her face changing into a mask of horror and a little fear as she turned to the rest of the room. A sharp sound, nearly a scream escaped her and she looked around wildly for a nurse, her whole demeanour one of someone who had been wronged. She was no stranger to using her looks to her advantage and could act with the best of them if she needed to.

"Nurse! Nurse!"

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. Even through the haze of pain, Gin could see exactly where this was going. There were already countless sets of eyes on them. Gin was a man condemned and for once it was for a crime he hadn't committed.

That just wouldn't do. If he was gonna be punished either way, he was gonna make sure he got at least a small bit of satisfaction out of it.

Through an effort of will alone, he forced himself to his feet, covering the distance between them as fast as his delayed senses could carry him and pulling her toward him in an awkward embrace. One arm at her waist, firm and immovable, pressing their bodies together, his other hand at the back of her neck, closing the remaining gap which met at one inevitable end. Gin pressed his lips to hers roughly, demanding, though she resisted.

It lasted only a moment and then it was all over, the nurses were coming and this time he had no simple retort or pitiful story. But at least now he was guilty of the crime. He fell back a few steps, giving Rangiku space before she decided he'd earned another well-placed kick. He still couldn't quite force himself to stand straight, though there was a smile on his lips this time that even the pain couldn't erase.

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Day 22: Brunch

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