damned_institute | DAY 23: BREAKFAST

Entry tags:

DAY 23: BREAKFAST

That hadn't felt like an entire night.

And his goddamn head hurt. Pounded, even. Enough that he wondered if he was going to end up playing another round of "Christen the nurse" this morning.

Maybe it was because he'd spent so much time and energy trying to find Nowe. That could be the reason behind both those problems. Just the thought of it made his stomach turn, made him want to fucking choke something.

Still, there was shit to do. He forced himself out of bed to put away his pens and the other leftovers from the adventures that didn't happen last night. He'd have to try to talk to Sora today, to see if they could just do tonight what they were going to do last night... and to see if the kid was doing alright.

...he just wished his head would stop hurting. That was probably the result of just how badly he'd overreached himself the previous morning.

The nurse that showed up to get him was cheerful. He grunted at her, listening to her with only half an ear until she mentioned all the excitement, about someone pretending to be a patient, all that crap that Landel had mentioned.

Renji gave her a narrow-eyed look. "Dr. Landel is a goddamn lying coward, and he's lying about that, too," he said. Whether it was true or not, there was only so much good cheer he could take on a shitty morning. "I hope he chokes on a cock." No matter how much venom he put in that statement, it wasn't enough.

Then he had to listen to a lecture about language and gratitude for the rest of the walk to the cafeteria, so maybe it wasn't worth it after all. She dragged him through the breakfast line, and he ended up with granola and toast and tea and a cinnamon roll, because not even a shitty fucking night could ruin his sweet tooth. Though that thing was looking a little too sweet.

The cafeteria was pretty much empty; he had his run of the place. He sat himself about as far from the doors as he could get, and proceeded to stare at his breakfast.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rukia rested her chin in one hand. "Hm. That's weird." She regarded Renji for a moment, then took a bite of toast. He was clearly miserable, and understandably so, if his friend had really disappeared. Renji looked pale, and tired. Rukia swallowed, then said to him quietly. "Is your friend really gone?"

Renji looked up slowly from his untouched breakfast again, his lips compressing to a thin, angry line. He really didn't want to talk about this. Why couldn't Rukia leave things alone?

"His spirit thread is gone. That's what I was doing most of the time we were waiting for you. I was trying to locate him. I guess it's possible that I'm even more goddamn useless than I thought, but I doubt I'm that lucky."

He rubbed his forehead, pressing his fingers against his temples in the vain hope that it'd stop the pounding of his head, or at least alleviate it for a moment.

Rukia opened her mouth to say something nasty, yell at him, but stopped herself. She knew what it was like to lose a friend; they both did. And Renji was just being his usual stupid self and trying to take all the blame for what had happened to his friend.

Instead Rukia stood up and walked around the table to stand behind Renji. He was so tense he looked like he was about to splinter into a thousand pieces. Sighing, Rukia placed her hands on his shoulders and began kneading the taught muscles there. When they were kids they had often given each other shoulder rubs, but that was a long time ago. She just hoped Renji would allow her to at least offer this comfort.

Renji had expected to get slapped, or something similar. That's how Rukia normally dealt with him when he was in a bad mood, and he was just fine with that. Instead, it looked like he was getting a shoulder rub.

He froze, trying to figure out what that was about. Since when had she gotten all touchy-feely? As standoffish as he could be at times, she was normally far worse. And considering they'd spent the last forty years avoiding each other and everything else...

Apparently things had changedin the time she'd been through and he hadn't. Maybe. He had to wonder.

For a moment, he tensed up more; surprise, mostly. Then he did begin to relax, almost grudgingly.

((From the second page.))

After checking the bulletin board again, Adelheid had seen that there had been... well, a mostly unsatisfactory response, as 'maybe' almost never ended well for the teenager. But, after finishing off his breakfast and waiting a little while longer, he decided that he honestly didn't have much to lose. Why not at least try?

Making sure that the bandages were in place and that he wasn't limping too badly- he did have his dignity to maintain, after all- he made his way to one of the two red headed men with tattoos, and politely bowed to him. It would have been the height of rudeness to just barge in when he was having a... sort-of conversation? "Please excuse me, but I'm Adelheid; did you leave a message for me on the Bulletin Board?"

If not, he was going to feel kind of foolish.

After a few moments, Rukia felt Renji's muscles start to relax. She tried to think of something to say, to make things less awkward. Maybe filling him in one what had happened back in Soul Society? He said the last thing he remembered was Aizen stabbing him...

"So, um, after what you remember, back home... Well, Ichigo went down too. Then," She remembered Ichimaru standing there, his zanpakuto poised to kill her. "Well, then my brother saved me." It was strange, telling this story to Renji again.

Just then, a very muscular young man with blonde hair approached them. Rukia moved her hands away from Renji's shoulders, almost guiltily, and stepped back.

"Saved... you...?" The guy that he'd fought almost to the death had changed his mind and decided to save Rukia? What the hell? Not that he was complaining, but...

Before he could ask anything else, a kid with blonde hair walked up. So that was Adel. Renji had mostly wanted to see him before committing to anything, because if nothing else he knew that there were some people here he wouldn't want to help. But Adel was a kid, which pretty much got him a free pass for help from Renji.

He looked at Adel for a moment. The headache interfered with things, but the kid seemed to have a pretty strong spirit to him. Not that it was terribly unusual, here.

"Yeah," Renji said. "I'm Abarai Renji. This is Kuchiki Rukia." He waved at the seat across from him. "Sit for a minute. How bad is it?"

Adel felt a little bad, interrupting the situation; it had obviously been something important, and he would have been upset if someone had walked in on himself and Rose bonding. But, both of them seemed all right with it, so after a moment's hesitation he sat down in the indicated chair.

"A pleasure to meet both of you," he answered, sizing both of them up. If anything, Renji seemed to be strong just from his own build; it made the boy wonder if the man had any supernatural powers beyond simple healing. It was something to wonder about, anyway.

As for the question, the boy slightly smiled. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before, but it is quite troublesome. The skin of both palms was ripped away, as well as some of the muscle, as well as the bottom of both feet. There is also a series of electrical burns, which traverse almost all of my body."

He offered a look that he hoped was stoic and manly; after the weird cuddle-piling of the previous night, he had to claim some masculinity, did he not?

After Renji introduced her to the blonde, Rukia offered a slight boy, then went back to her chair, watching the kid. He certainly looked like he was telling the truth; he must have been awfully strong to survive all of that.

Not wanting to interrupt, though, she stayed quiet. What sort of assistance was Renji planning to offer the young man?

Keeping his movements slow - he didn't want to startle the kid, he seemed like a fighter - Renji reached over and took one of his wrists, pulling Adel's hand forward so he could look. The kid tensed up anyway, but he wasn't all that surprised about it. He made a little hiss of sympathy between his teeth. "That must've hurt like hell," he commented, sounding suitably impressed. He let go of Adel's wrist.

"I think I could heal you with kidou," he said. He glanced at Rukia for a moment, wondering if he should ask her. She was better at it than him. But he didn't want to volunteer for the unpleasantness that followed using kidou here.

"Kidou, kidou... 'Deceptive methods'?" Adelheid frowned slightly at that; he wasn't sure if that was the exact translation, but it was possible, at any rate.

He also averted his eyes from Renji, his entire body tense as he felt calloused fingers holding on to him. It seemed like his instincts were still there; he just barely managed to rein in an audible sigh of relief when his wrist was let go. Much better.

"It wasn't too bad, a monster simply attacked with lightning while I was holding a completely metallic spear. I managed to reflect the rest of attacks and escape... obviously, on the latter part." A bit of a chuckle at that; he could laugh now, now that he was safe, but back then he had been running for his very life.

...and now he had to wonder if the girl had any fighting talents. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she was preyed upon, but on the other hand, some women were terrifyingly powerful as well.

Rukia stared at Renji, open-mouthed. He was going to try to use Kidou in the state he was in? After what he had done to himself last night? She remembered the vertigo she'd felt after casting one little destruction spell, and she certainly wasn't going to let Renji do anything like that. Dummy.

She noted Adelheid's unease at Renji's touch, wondering idly if he was just one of those people who didn't like pysical contact. When the blonde was finished explaining what had happened to him, Rukia spoke before Renji could say something stupid.

"I'll heal you."

"I think the closest you can translate it is... spirit arts?" Renji frowned. "A spear. Nice. I'm more of a sword guy, myself, but anything would be better than stabbing shit with pens. It takes too damn long."

He didn't think he had the energy to heal Adel now - he needed a good meal under his belt (which this didn't qualify as) and then he'd be good to go. Before he had a chance to voice that, though, Rukia jumped in. He stared at her.

"Rukia..." Yes, she was better at kidou than him. By a lot. And probably fresher than him. But he hadn't invited Adel to sit so he could volunteer her for something.

Well now he didn't know what to do; on the one hand, he was used to saying "Yes ma'am" as soon as girls adopted that sort of tone. On the other... he didn't want to sell Renji short.

In the end, he sheepishly answered, "I can't really say I mind who does the healing..."

As for the other thing? Adelheid softly smiled. "Ah, there is a way to create legitimate weapons here in the Institute; if you wish, I could arrange a weapon to be made for you as well. Though I can make no promises as to how quickly it can be made; for some reason, weaponry seems to be quite popular in this place." A bit of a smirk and a shake of the head at that; yes, he would be happy to make things easier for all of the patients.

"That would make us even for the healing, I would daresay?"

Rukia shot Renji a glare. "Don't you 'Rukia' me," she growled, trying to imitate his voice when she said her own name. "Look at you! You're about ready to pass out into your breakfast - which you haven't touched. So eat, and I'll take care of it." Rukia only had so much patience for Renji when he was being bull-headed.

She paused, then smiled at Adelheid. "Sounds like a fair trade. What do you need healed the most?" After last night, she wasn't sure how much power she would be able to dredge up. Certainly not enough to heal all the kid's injuries, but she could get the worst ones, at least. Hopefully.

He hated it when Rukia was right. It made him grind his teeth. He glared at her and shuffled the toast around on his plate. "I," he said firmly, "am fine."

And he was vaguely appalled that Rukia was going to take Adel up on some sort of trade, when really, they should have just been helping the kid because that was the right thing to do. She didn't like kids as much as he did, but damn...

He looked at Adelheid. "Someone mentioned to me before that I just need to collect the metal. Well, I've got it, now. I just need the next step." He frowned. "And... well, if Rukia wants a trade, that's her business. And," he grudgingly admitted, "she's a lot better at kidou than I am anyway. But if you ever need help from me, you don't owe me a goddamn thing."

He was smart enough, at least, to not voice the rest of that thought - my duty isn't for sale. He was well aware that really would get his head snapped off.

Adelheid glanced from one person to another, glancing at Renji, especially, with a slightly warning expression. Something that said, quite clearly, 'It's best just to let her do as she pleases; she's a woman and both of us are injured.'

As for that last part? Adelheid blinked in complete confusion, stunned and not sure what to say. "I... thank you for the sentiment, but I would hope to make some sort of payment at any rate. It is the only equitable course of action, considering that everything in this place is weakened."

He was torn between feeling a little honored, and being insulted. He didn't need charity! He could pay for anything with his own two hands, if need be!

Then he turned to Rukia, flexing his hands. "The feet are the most important. I don't need my hands to fight, and mobility is essential in this place. However, I ask for you to name your price before we begin anything." He wasn't going to be caught in a situation he couldn't afford, after all.

Rukia scowled at Renji, considering reaching across the table and punching him or something. But one glance around the room showed nurses and orderlies standing about, probably just waiting to break up any trouble. She settled for muttering under her breath. "Fine... right."

Nodding at Adelheid's request, Rukia pulled over a nearby chair, saying, "Okay, put your feet up on this chair. It's easier if I can touch them." She considered his question - and Renji's obvious irritation that she had agreed to a price at all - before answering the blonde. "Well, I'm not sure how much this will take out of me, but Renji acquired a metal bar for me last night." She regarded Adelheid for a moment. "Can you make that into a blade?"

Considering the look Adelheid had given him, Renji had to wonder if he'd met Rukia before. Or if there were more women like Rukia out there. Now that was a terrifying thought.

"I do my duty," he said, and shrugged. That was all the explanation he ever needed for anything.

He looked at Rukia. "I can get more bars," he said. "Enough for a sword." He suddenly felt very selfish for not offering the opportunity to Rukia first. He was managing alright with pens. Maybe it'd be best to let her have the blade first, since it seemed that opportunities were limited. And she was the one dealing with Adel, not him.

It was just a little frustrating; he missed having a sword in his hands. Though no sword that could be made could match Zabimaru anyway.

It was obvious that Adelheid knew the routine; he followed Rukia's directions immediately and without question, nor did it he show any signs of nervousness or tension. She was a woman, that meant that, for the most part, her word was law. Adelheid had just accepted this as a fact of life long ago.

"It depends on the bar and what it is made out of; if the metal is of a lower grade, then more of it would be used up to make the blade durable. As well, the handle would also use up more of the bar's material by necessity." Not that he wasn't sure that she didn't know this already, but as his polite tone indicated, he was trying to make sure that nothing was hidden and that he was trying to be trustworthy. "It may be best to obtain a few more, just so the weapon is as close to perfect as possible."

He paused, then he glanced to Renji, something like worry in his crimson eyes. "And please pardon me for asking, but what do you mean by 'your duty'?"

It was, after all, duty which had led Adelheid to being hunted across the entire face of his world, and which had ultimately led to him rejecting that world as much as possible... but here, he wouldn't have anywhere to hide or to run.

Rukia considered Renji's words. He was better with a sword than she was, so really, it would make more sense for him to have a weapon. Well, best to see if they could get one in the first place. "They looked almost like something from a piece of furniture; where did you get them anyway?"

Turning her attention back to Adelheid, she took a few deep, slow breaths. She rested her fingers lightly on the tips of his toes, calling to memory the words of the healing incantations. Those had never been her specialty, but every Shinigami learned at least a few, and she was more skilled in Kidou than most.

There was that resistance again, that feeling of fishing around in deep mud, then pulling with all her might just to free a sliver of power. Sweat beaded on her forehead and upper lip, her arms shaking as she whispered the words of the spell. Rukia closed her eyes tightly to fight off the sense of vertigo, wrenching the power of the spell out of herself and forcing it into Adelheid.

She didn't know how long had passed, but the sounds of the people around her faded to a dim ringing, and even when she cracked open her eyes there was just a small point of light ahead of her. Feeling the last of the hard-won power slipping from her into the Adelheid, her hands dropped and she slumped forward.

"I have a pair of scissors that I used to dismantle my bed," Renji said. At least all the cuts on his hands from that adventure were pretty much healed. "So I've got at least two beds I can take apart tonight before dinner."

He was about to answer Adelheid's question when Rukia started the spell. He kept his mouth shut then; with as hard as everything was in this place, he didn't want to risk distracting her.

But he did stand up, silently, moving in to position. He was ready when she began to fall, catching her in his arms and cradling her against him. He could let her go the minute she started squirming.

He looked at Adelheid. "My -- our -- duty is to protect people." It was more complicated than that, but he couldn't really get into it without going into a lot of other details. "I will continue to follow it while I am here." He shrugged. "Fight, bleed, and die. I could just to a hell of a lot better job if I had something other than my fists and some shitty pens."

A sword for healing... for all intents and purposes, that would be a fair enough exchange. He'd have to get the full details later on, but for now it would be even. As well, he focused on Rukia as the healing began, feeling the wounds on his feet closing... and staring, staring very intently. His family's technique enabled him to understand the flow of energy as it happened, and after a moment he realized that it was, for all intents and purposes, magic. But then he realized that she was using a lot of power; a far greater amount than was healthy.

It was just when Rukia's eyes slid open that Adelheid desperately whispered, "Stop, you can't channel more energy than that...!"

And even though Renji was already there, Adelheid bolted up as he reached to grab her when she fell. His feet were fine now, but he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. It was his weakness that had done that, and he didn't want anyone else to shoulder his burdens! It just wasn't equal! It wasn't-

-a part of him wanted to say 'it wasn't fair.' He couldn't heal. He couldn't create. All he could do was to destroy and to bring pain and suffering on others. And yet those two could protect, they could heal, they could do all of that simply because they weren't human- Adelheid could guess that much simply because of how Rukia's power had worked. It just wasn't fair. Why were they free of destiny, when he was eternally locked by his.

"I..." He looked at Renji, suddenly shocked and more than a little off-balance. "...I'll... make some kind of weapon, in exchange. Is she going to be all right? I didn't expect for something like that; if I had known..."

Rukia tried to fight against the blackness swelling up around her, but she lost consciousness, sliding off the chair into Renji's arms.

After a few moments, sounds and sensations began to filter back into her mind, and she stirred. Rukia couldn't quite remember where she was, or what she was doing. And who was that...? She lifted her head weakly, which made it throb painfully. Recognizing Renji through the thick haze of confusion, she mumbled, "Wha..." She blinked her eyes in an effort to make them focus. "Ren...ji?"

He sat, balancing her across his lap, her chin against his shoulder. So far they hadn't attracted any unwanted attention, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"It's okay, kiddo," Renji said to Adelheid. "She knew what she was getting in for. This isn't normal where we're from, but everything's fucked up here..." He cradled Rukia a little more securely against him. "Your feet okay now? I can get your hands tonight if you don't find someone else to fix 'em up. I just need a couple meals under my belt first." He smiled crookedly. "The important part is making sure you can fight without being bothered by your wounds. Those of us that can fight... have a duty to do so."

Then Rukia began to move. He touched her hair gently, trying to get her to quiet down. "It's okay," he murmured. "Rest for a minute. The headache'll get better." He grabbed the cup of tea from his tray; it was cool enough to drink, now, and he held it to her lips. "Sip."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject