Day 24: Courtyard (Shift 2)

[stray_shinigami]

Renji's quasi-peaceful mood from breakfast was well and gone by the time he got out to the courtyard. Rather than dwell on the all-new problems with Rukia - and the fact that he had absolutely no idea how to deal with any of it - he tried to occupy himself with a mental checklist of the things he needed to do today. Meet with Roy Mustang at lunch,

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[whiteychan]

Based on what he had read on the boards, Renji and Rukia clearly had some issues they needed to work out among themselves. It wasn't proper for him to bring it to their attention, but it certainly was the best idea for him to leave them alone and give them the opportunity to work it out themselves. He didn't approve of their public display, but trying to interject himself and force them to resolve it would only make things worse. Either they'd get it fixed, or they wouldn't and there would be bad blood between them. In either case, he hoped Renji had the wisdom to assign Rukia to a different team than his for the nightshift missions.

During the shuffle, it was easy to conveniently lose himself from their presence. He'd catch up with Renji before the lunch shift so that they could meet with this Roy Mustang individual, but for now, he wandered off to a nearby tree and sat down beneath it, taking a full survey of the area. If escape were the primary objective, this would seem like the best option; however, something had to be in effect during the night shift to keep them from taking such an obvious route out. He'd have to ask Renji about it later.

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi let Kurama and Yohji go their separate ways, content to wander out into the Courtyard on his own. It had been an enjoyable breakfast, even if he did worry as people were led off for doctor's visits, hoping that no one he knew would be taken.

He stretched a little, enjoying the feel of being outside after having been cooped up so long inside, their little adventure last night not-withstanding. It's hard to enjoy being in the open air when one is fearing for one's life the entire time.

He spotted a kid who looked even younger than himself sitting alone under a tree. He considered it for a minute before shrugging. Couldn't hurt, right? Besides, new friends were always worth it. He made his way over and dropped down next to the white-haired boy, smiling cheerfully. "Hi! I'm Omi. Can I join you?"

[whiteychan]

Hitsugaya saw the other boy approach, and his body tensed slightly. The problem with dealing with all of these people from other 'worlds' was that nearly every one of them likely saw him as a child, and any efforts to dissuade them would fail. Still, it was something that could be clarified later, perhaps when Renji and Rukia were done with whatever drama they were getting themselves involved with, and getting to know as many individuals as possible would be vital to success in this place.

"Hi Omi," Hitsuaya said respectfully. "My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro. Please, take a seat." He motioned to a spot under the tree.

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi knew all about being underestimated because he looked young. Not that it completely stopped him from making snap judgments about people, but he usually tried not to do it when age was involved.. usually.

He leaned back against the tree, grinning at Hitsugaya before turning his attention to the leaves above them. The flowershop must be affecting him, because he really missed not being around nature these days.

"Thanks. You been here long?" That was the standard question, wasn't it? Anyway, it was a good ice-breaker, if nothing else.

[whiteychan]

The nature around him didn't have any major effect. His earliest memory was just on the outskirts of the sereitei, and while there was nature nearby, he generally stuck to the city itself.

Hitsugaya almost smiled. "I was about to ask you the same question," he confessed. It was the easiest way to introduce oneself and start the flow of conversation and, more importantly, information. "I just woke up before breakfast. How about yourself?"

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi shrugged. Time seemed to act oddly enough in this place that pinning it down was difficult. "A couple days. Long enough, anyway."

He glanced back down again, serious this time. "This place isn't what they want you to think. Or it's not just that. Have people warned you about it, yet?" He didn't know if Hitsugaya had friends here or not, but he hadn't been here very long and it was easy to overlook things. Better safe than sorry.

[whiteychan]

Hitsugaya nodded. It had only been a couple of hours, and already the oppressive and time distorting sensation of the place was taking hold on him. two hours might as well have been two weeks...and he hadn't even been through a single night yet.

"I work in the same organization as Vice Captain Abarai Renji," he mentioned. "Abarai-Fukutaicho already briefed me on the situation, but if you have anything to add, I would appreciate it."

He did appreciate that this boy wanted to look out for him, though. An open offer of caution was well founded, based on Renji's brief. "I understand that we're trapped under the watch of a lunatic who seems to be more than he claims to be, and that the doors open nightly, at which point monsters and occassionally other patients roam the halls against us. I also understand that any 'special' talents we might possess have been cut off or at least severaly limited." This last bit had already been verified at breakfast. He still felt weak from the exertion of his powers. If they didn't replenish soon, he'd be useless when night came.

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi tried to look out for people. It got him into trouble as often as not, but he did. It was a thing.

And those names meant nothing to him. Not that that really said anything. He didn't know more than a handful of people here. "I don't know them, but if you've got friends here, that's good. It makes things easier, I think."

Well, unless those friends are from drastically different places in time than you, which makes you spend a good portion of your time wondering what had changed.

"Sometimes they take people. For experiments and stuff, I guess. That's just what I heard." He fixed Hitsugaya with a more curious look. Kurama had been the only other person to mention anything like 'special talents,' even though he'd seemed upset that Omi didn't have any, but... well... could they really be that common? "So you have... powers?"

[whiteychan]

Hitsugaya nodded. He supposed it was easier to call them friends than shinigami.

"They're solid friends," he said. "Loyal to a fault."

Then he asked about the powers. Super-human capabilities was another potential common thread that he could cross off his list. "It's...complicated," he answered hesitantly. Trying to explain the nature of soul society would be unwise for now, but so would lying. "On a basic level, I work in a law enforcement agency, and I have special tools that I can use to accomplish my tasks. Those tools have been taken from me." Hyorinmaru, for one. He felt naked without his soul cutter on his back. A part of his soul had been taken from him, and he felt empty inside on account of it.

[daddyslilkiller]

"That's good. Everyone needs friends like that." He couldn't quite stop himself from trying to find Yohji and Aya in the crowd. They were friends like that, weren't they?

He listened intently to Hitsugaya's sketchy explanation. It didn't really sound that different from what he did... except for the magic or whatever... and the fact that it sounded a lot more legal. "Oh. I guess that's worse than getting normal weapons taken away, huh?"

[whiteychan]

'Worse' seemed like an understatement. Losing his zanpakuto literally meant losing a part of himself; however, it was best not to break down over that. They would find his zanpakuto eventually, and everyone in this prison would be free.

"It is," Hitsugaya said, leaving it at that. "I'm guessing you have friends here?"

[daddyslilkiller]

He nodded. "Yeah. Well... sort of, anyway. There are people from my world here, but we're from different timelines or something, so they didn't recognize me at first."

Well, they'd recognized him, it was just all horribly awkward with them mixing his name up.

"I guess you didn't have that problem?" He knew he was a little upset over the 'alternate dimensions' thing at first. ...Maybe some of these other worlds were used to it? That was a scary thought.

[whiteychan]

So they weren't the only group who had been pulled from different periods of their timeline. He suspected as much, but this was a solid confirmation.

"It seems like all of my group were pulled from a relatively similar time...within the span of about a year." When you've lived over a hundred years and were still young by shinigami standards, a year was nothing. That's what made it seem so odd. Why did everything center around the time of Aizen's betrayal and the Arrancar's assault? His mind raced as he absently commented, "Thankfully, we've all been on this team for a lot longer than that."

[daddyslilkiller]

"We had been, too, but five years is still a big difference. Aya-kun and Yohji-kun are from really close timeframes, though, I think." He half-smiled. "Guess I'm just the odd one out."

He continued looking around the courtyard, eventually spotting Kurama. "Oh! And my roommate here. He's really nice. Have you met your roommate, yet? I guess if you just got here you wouldn't have..."

[whiteychan]

Hitsugaya nodded. "Thankfully, all of us have the same ranks and positions in all of the remembered timelines. Otherwise things would be a lot more complicated."

Following Omi's vision, he noted who he could only expect was Omi's roommate. "No," he said. "When I woke, he must have already left for breakfast." The idea of a roommate didn't please him, but it only made sense. He only hoped that he could turn his roommate into an ally once he found out who it was.

[daddyslilkiller]

He thought about that for a bit, then nodded. "It was the same when I got here. Kurama-kun was already gone, so we didn't meet till dinner. I think they might do that on purpose. Wake us up at odd times, I mean."

It seemed like everything here was done for some purpose or another, anyway. He glanced over at Hitsugaya. "How would that make things complicated? You having different ranks or whatever, I mean?"