Day 27: Breakfast
Day came too soon.
Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn ( Read more... )
Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn ( Read more... )
And so the day began, after a rush to grab the pillowcase of metal with a warning to Hijikata to do the same. It turned out to work, as Homura found his gathered material in his closet, along with Hijikata's case. A rather welcome start, all things considered.
Ken was sleeping soundly in his bed, and Homura debated for a moment bringing him to breakfast. But the questions weren't urgent, and dinner would leave the pair trapped together. Why take away the topic of conversation? Besides, Homura had an appointment to keep, and there was the chance that Hitsugaya wouldn't be comfortable answering them at all, much less with someone besides Homura present.
So he headed to the cafeteria with his nurse, rather pleased to find himself clean. The odor from the bathroom water could hardly be called appetizing, and he didn't need to give Hitsugaya any reason to run. He filled out a tray of the food, taking a pancake of each kind, and covering them with syrup and whipped cream.
Such interesting food they served.
His meal complete, Homura found an empty spot in view of the entrance, and waited for the short captain to arrive. He also watched out for Hijikata and Okita, both of whom were supposed to draw maps for him that day.
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No, morning came. He could just barely sense her reiatsu. Everything was going to be ok. When day came, people were patched up. Even his burns seemed less severe. They stung slightly, and his entire body was sore, but the memories stung more than the actual wounds. Momo in trouble, again. Omi's childishness and games. The truth about Dr. Lecter...
No. He wasn't going to think about that. But breakfast was coming, and the thought of pancakes, or any other food, made him nauseous. He might have refused to go to breakfast altogether if he hadn't made an appointment with Homura. He was a man of his word.
He allowed the nurse to lead him into the Cafeteria, but didn't bother going through the food line. Instead he sought out Momo, but found that she wasn't here yet. You'd better come to breakfast, dummy he thought to himself. He needed to be sure she was alright.
Although Momo was missing, Homura was there. Hitsugaya walked over to the table and sat down across from him. He felt like shit, but he wasn't about to show it. "Good morning," he said politely. "You wanted to speak with me?"
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He didn't go into detail just yet, however, pausing to eat a bit of his breakfast. Perhaps he'd go back to get some sausage, but the pancakes would do for now, if they were a touch sweet for his tastes.
"Have a hard night?" The pink shade of Hitsugaya's skin was entirely too familiar, the demi-god recognizing the signs of burns. Of course, Homura's lingering injuries were concealed by bandages and by clothes, though that didn't stop an observant eye from seeing them.
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The food looked positively vile, but it was easy enough to ignore the food and focus on Homura himself. There were a few lingering injuries on Homura as well, he noted, but showing off battle scars was something the 11th division did, not the 10th. It was all very childish. He was more interested in Homura's 'discoveries' than anything else.
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"The person I traveled with and I explored an area that hasn't made it on to your map." Homura grinned, already knowing Hitsugaya would want this place. "We found a good deal of weapons there. Short blades, but much sharper than kitchen knives. I should have an updated copy of the map to give to you soon."
The map was only the bait, however, the offering Homura brought for the information he truly wanted. "I also met someone you might be familiar with. Ichimaru Gin. He wouldn't tell me much about himself, but he's certainly interested in your group."
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The moment he mentioned Ichimaru, however, Hitsugaya's face grew darker. "I'm not surprised," he said. "Ichimaru was once one of us. How is he interested?"
Mentioning that Ichimaru was once a shinigami in the Gotei 13 wasn't going to hurt anything. Ichimaru likely told people that himself. Worse, he might still call himself captain. It was hard to say with that snake.
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"Would you tell me what he did to make you distrust him so much?" Homura grinned, knowing there was no way Hitsugaya could deny the emotion. "Oh, and he wanted me to send his love, Toshiro-kun."
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And he wants to join, all the while still disrespecting him and calling him both by his first name and by such an insulting honorific? No...it was all too shocking to be funny.
"Ichimaru betrayed us," Hitsugaya said simply. "And from when I come, was working with other traitors to destroy the world."
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"Do you know his reason?" Homura kept his composure, however, quite aware that this was dangerous ground. His connection with the Arts and Crafts group was already fragile, and revealing that he himself had tried something similar would undoubtedly severe it completely.
And Homura wasn't finished with them yet.
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"His actions caused injury to both myself and to others. He manipulated friends to fight against one another, and is willing to destroy countless lives though his act of treason. He is in league with demons who hunger to devour human souls. He threatens not just my society, but the very fabric of the world itself."
He shook his head slightly. "No, I don't care what his reasons are. His actions are reason enough not to trust him. Why do you care?"
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"I like to know about the people I deal with." Homura placed an elbow on the table, propping his chin on his hand. Grinning to Hitsugaya, he looked at the little Captain curiously. "He mentioned Kyoka Suigetsu. What does that name mean?"
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He paused, trying to think of any reason that Ichimaru would have mentioned it. "What was the context of the conversation?"
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"I simply asked him a question, and Kyoka Suigetsu was his reply." It was the truth, if not very helpful. The war god wasn't about to reveal what he had asked, just as he had told Gin. "Whose weapon is it, if not Ichimaru's? And what significance does it have?"
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"It's the weapon of another traitor," he answered. "I don't know its significance as relevant to Ichimaru."
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Even the concept of waiting to be invited never crossed Schuldig's mind. He simply dropped his tray on the table next to Homura's, sitting down beside him and smirking between the two men.
His seating choice was strategic; he expected to be pissing Hitsugaya off considerably more than Homura. "I'd say 'mind if I join in', except that I'd do the exact same thing regardless of your answers, so let's just skip over that part and take it as read that I'm joining you. I've been meaning to speak to both of you anyway; you in particular." This last was said with a sidelong glance at Hitsugaya. "But if you'd rather continue to omit important details from each other, by all means, continue." He folded his hands under his chin and grinned.
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"And you can fill in these blanks?" Homura turned his gaze to the new man, the distraction very effective for ignoring Hitsugaya's question. "Are you another that can read minds, then?"
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