Rukia opened her eyes, expecting to see the Sixth Division's meeting hall, or perhaps the Eleventh's, and saw instead a blank white wall. No, not a wall. A ceiling. And she was lying down. In a bed.
How strange.
Rukia sat up, frowning. Had something happened when they stepped through the portal back to Soul Society? She thought for a moment. They had just found out about Orihime's abduction - that brought on a pang of worry - and then Rukia's brother and Captain Zaraki had appeared, calling all the Shinigami back to Soul Society. Rukia, of course, planned to head back to the real world as soon as she could, and from the sidelong glance she'd gotten from Renji, he seemed to be thinking along the same lines. So they had stepped through the portal, and, well, she was in this room.
Pushing the blankets back and standing on the cool tile floor, Rukia surveyed the room. No windows, one door. A dresser, two desks, two chairs, two closets, and two beds. The other bed was neatly made. She almost shivered, for a moment reminded of the prison, or worse, the Twelfth Division's labs. She quickly squashed that thought, though. After all, who in Soul Society would ever think to dress her in pajamas with a smiling face on the front of the shirt?
If she was in Soul Society, she should have been wearing her Shinigami robes, or at the very least...
Reaching reflexively for her zanpakutou, Rukia was somehow not surprised to find it gone. Sode no Shirayuki is missing, I'm wearing strange clothes, in a strange room... Am I even in Soul Society? Concentrating, Rukia tried to locate other Shinigami nearby, but sensing their reiatsu was like trying to breathe through a wet sponge. She got the vague impression that there was at least one other Shinigami nearby, but the sudden headache and nausea made her stop any further investigation.
My powers are gone, or very nearly so, she thought. Perhaps I've been put into another gigai? A particularly weak one? Rukia regarded her hands thoughfully, but looked up when the door started to open. Unsure of who it might be, Rukia remained still. A plump young woman who looked supciously like a nurse bustled in, all smiles.
"Good morning, Shiori dear. Well, I should say afternoon. You're quite the late sleeper, aren't you?"
Rukia blinked, glancing quickly around the room and growing increasingly irritated. "If you're going to barge into someone's room, at least get her name right. Who are you?"
The woman continued to smile her cheery smile, ignoring Rukia's first comment. "My name is Rachel, and this place is called Landel's Mental Health Institute. I'm just sure you'll like it here. Now, come on, let's go meet your new friends."
Rukia stared at the woman like her head was covered in snakes rather than strawberry-blonde hair. A mental health intsitute? If she remembered correctly, that was a hospital where they put crazy people. A hospital in the real world, not Soul Society. So at least she knew she wasn't home... This was all far too strange, though. Could it have something to do with Aizen and the Arrancar? Had Rukia somehow been kidnapped like Orihime? Was this all just another illusion?
Perhaps determining that the new patient's blank stare was indicative of dull wits, the nurse approached, gently grabbing Rukia's arm.
"Take your hands off me!" Rukia snarled, wrenching her arm away. The blonde's smile wavered for just a moment, but soon she continued with a conspiratorial grin. "You know, there are all sorts of handsome young guys here who I'm sure you're just dying to make friends with."
Thoroughly confused, Rukia decided to follow the woman for the time being, at least until she got out of this room and had a better look at her surroundings. After that, all bets were off.
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How strange.
Rukia sat up, frowning. Had something happened when they stepped through the portal back to Soul Society? She thought for a moment. They had just found out about Orihime's abduction - that brought on a pang of worry - and then Rukia's brother and Captain Zaraki had appeared, calling all the Shinigami back to Soul Society. Rukia, of course, planned to head back to the real world as soon as she could, and from the sidelong glance she'd gotten from Renji, he seemed to be thinking along the same lines. So they had stepped through the portal, and, well, she was in this room.
Pushing the blankets back and standing on the cool tile floor, Rukia surveyed the room. No windows, one door. A dresser, two desks, two chairs, two closets, and two beds. The other bed was neatly made. She almost shivered, for a moment reminded of the prison, or worse, the Twelfth Division's labs. She quickly squashed that thought, though. After all, who in Soul Society would ever think to dress her in pajamas with a smiling face on the front of the shirt?
If she was in Soul Society, she should have been wearing her Shinigami robes, or at the very least...
Reaching reflexively for her zanpakutou, Rukia was somehow not surprised to find it gone. Sode no Shirayuki is missing, I'm wearing strange clothes, in a strange room... Am I even in Soul Society? Concentrating, Rukia tried to locate other Shinigami nearby, but sensing their reiatsu was like trying to breathe through a wet sponge. She got the vague impression that there was at least one other Shinigami nearby, but the sudden headache and nausea made her stop any further investigation.
My powers are gone, or very nearly so, she thought. Perhaps I've been put into another gigai? A particularly weak one? Rukia regarded her hands thoughfully, but looked up when the door started to open. Unsure of who it might be, Rukia remained still. A plump young woman who looked supciously like a nurse bustled in, all smiles.
"Good morning, Shiori dear. Well, I should say afternoon. You're quite the late sleeper, aren't you?"
Rukia blinked, glancing quickly around the room and growing increasingly irritated. "If you're going to barge into someone's room, at least get her name right. Who are you?"
The woman continued to smile her cheery smile, ignoring Rukia's first comment. "My name is Rachel, and this place is called Landel's Mental Health Institute. I'm just sure you'll like it here. Now, come on, let's go meet your new friends."
Rukia stared at the woman like her head was covered in snakes rather than strawberry-blonde hair. A mental health intsitute? If she remembered correctly, that was a hospital where they put crazy people. A hospital in the real world, not Soul Society. So at least she knew she wasn't home... This was all far too strange, though. Could it have something to do with Aizen and the Arrancar? Had Rukia somehow been kidnapped like Orihime? Was this all just another illusion?
Perhaps determining that the new patient's blank stare was indicative of dull wits, the nurse approached, gently grabbing Rukia's arm.
"Take your hands off me!" Rukia snarled, wrenching her arm away. The blonde's smile wavered for just a moment, but soon she continued with a conspiratorial grin. "You know, there are all sorts of handsome young guys here who I'm sure you're just dying to make friends with."
Thoroughly confused, Rukia decided to follow the woman for the time being, at least until she got out of this room and had a better look at her surroundings. After that, all bets were off.