Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

[whiteychan]

Hitsugaya woke with a start

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[traitors_smile]

He'd wanted to accomplish more last night, but there was never any way to tell just when the night would end. Something was fishy about the whole thing. He hadn't been gone long, just enough to fetch the green-haired girl, but when he'd returned Ururu was shrieking about something as simple as a spirit or a hollow. There had been marks too, on the little girl; just what kind of ability did that spirit have?

Gin tucked away his bloodied robes and knives just in time for the nurses to pick him up for breakfast. He picked a couple of muffins and a cinnamon roll, then some tea and water. Whatever he couldn't finish, Ran would be just as likely to help out with. She liked this kind of sweet stuff more than he did.

His smile disappeared for a moment when he caught sight of Ran. He knew her body language well enough to know something was wrong. He set his tray down next to hers, whether or not she wanted company, sitting away from the rest as she was. "Mornin'," he offered. He'd never been able to come right to the point and now was no different. "Y'have a bad dream or somethin' darlin'? Or is it jus' the food here tha's givin' you that sour face?"

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku looked up and smiled wanly when Gin approached, making a token effort to eat a few bites of food and seem normal. He'd see through it instantly, of course, but at least she'd feel like she'd made the effort. When she needed to lose her composure, she was usually in a position to get drunk enough to hide it.

"A bad dream is one way of saying it," she said wryly. With one last look at the food, she turned so that she could lean back against Gin's side. She hated this feeling. It made her so... uncertain, even of things that she knew for sure.

[traitors_smile]

Try as she might, it was apparent that something was amiss. And between what had happened between last night and now, it wasn't difficult to put the pieces together.

He didn't move when she leaned on him, whether to support her or for his own selfish reasons he stayed where he was. "Saa... well why doncha describe it a lil'. Bad dreams always seem a lil' silly once th' mornin' comes, ne?"

[fuyunohanabi]

She laughed at that, a little weakly, but still a laugh and better than nothing. That was such a childish way to put things, referring to them as bad dreams when they knew that things were worse than that. He held up her hand for a moment, examining where the spirit had touched her. Nothing, as though the tattoo had never been. But she could remember the feel of its touch, the needles digging into her.

"What would you have done, fi I had held on for longer?" she asked quietly before shaking her head. "That spirit, when it touched me it was so painful... not physical pain either and I... things I should be sure of don't seem so certain anymore."

[traitors_smile]

Her question surprised him, though he might not have shown it. In truth he knew just how inconsistent he could be. That answer might change from day to day. He was concerned that one day he might reply that he'd have taken her with him.

"Hnn..." he sighed, sipping at his tea to give him time to think. Whatever the spirit had done, obviously it had a profound effect on her. He hadn't heard of hollows that dealt in emotional pain though. Sure, some did play on emotions to get their prey, like the Grand Fisher, but Ran made it sound like it was almost a physical blow. He didn't want her falling apart in a place like this though.

"Y'got hold a' me for a good while here Ran," he assured with a smirk. It might sound far from romantic, but stability was always one of those things Ran had craved that he'd never been able to give her. Here it was required, whether it was something he wished to give or not. And after that... there were too many variables to know for sure. None of the options he'd come up with sounded terribly pleasant though.

He set his cup down, letting one hand's fingers play absently with her long hair. "Nasty thing," he commented. "Ururu too then... 'magine that's why she was so upset. Y'sure..." you're gonna be ok? "it ain't anythin' serious?" Usually the night's injuries faded with the day, but there was no telling anything for certain.

[fuyunohanabi]

The silence was a little disconcerting, but she knew him well enough to know that he never gave hasty answers to anything, or at least, not anything important. At least he wasn't just being frivolous. She did smile when he answered, relaxing a little bit against him. She reached up to stroke the side of his hand gently. "I'm glad." She wasn't certain she'd have been able to stand it if they'd had to remain enemies while they were here in such close quarters. But wasn't that another thing that had been dragged up? Maybe she wasn't hating this place as much as she ought to.

Rangiku nodded, forcing herself to stop dwelling on things that she couldn't change. "I know. I'll have to check on her later today." She desperately hoped that she would be able to find the girl and that she wasn't too badly hurt. She turned slightly and pressed a kiss to Gin's cheek, smiling a little more genuinely. "I'll survive. I always do."

[traitors_smile]

She could be just as artful at dodging answers as he was sometimes, but he'd never been given to fret too much about a bad situation. Worry was caused by regret and that... that was something he tried very hard not to feel. He wasn't pleased about whatever had happened to Ran, but there wasn't a lot he could do about it now. Ran was right. She'd survive, just like always.

"Mm. Maybe you oughta ask for th' night off, ne? Worn out soldier ain't much good." He hadn't taken a night off yet either, but she seemed to have a better knack for getting into trouble than he. "'Sides," he added with a teasing smirk, "I know y'ain't gettin' near as much rest as y'did back home." She was almost like a cat sometimes, able to nap just about anywhere. Usually, from what he heard, it was in the poor captain's office.

[fuyunohanabi]

But still, no matter how she proclaimed herself to be fine, she wasn't quite ready to move away just yet. Gin had always been there in her life and it was nice to have someone there and solid.

She smiled tiredly and nodded. "I think I might. For all of us. Last night was... we need a rest." She hadn't properly rested since she'd been here which was what? A week now? She returned the smirk with a grin of her own. "I think the paperwork at home actually made things easier. People expect me to do things here."

[traitors_smile]

He was content to let her stay where she was. No harm in it aside from the dirty looks he might receive and he was long past caring about those. It'd been amusing during the field trip at least, to see what kinds of reactions he could prod out of some of the others.

We, she'd said. We need a rest. He couldn't deny that he was tired more often than usual in this place, but the thought of both of them having a night off was more temptation than he could resist. "Ara~ how mean 'a them. All th' more reason for a break," he shrugged, picking at the berries in his muffin. "Make 'em appreciate what they're missin', ne?"

[fuyunohanabi]

Well, if anyone objected to it, then they'd have her to deal with and people tended not to enjoy it when she got involved. She could be quite vindictive when the mood hit her.

She laughed softly at his teasing. "I know. I need regular naps otherwise I just don't have the energy for a full night of sleep or drinking. Not that that's a problem here but still..."

[traitors_smile]

Ran wasn't the only one who enjoyed a little slacking. While Toushirou had his hands full of paperwork, Gin managed to push plenty of his own off on Izuru. He wasn't as much for napping, but he could often be found wandering into the other divisions or picking persimmons from the orchard outside the third squad's main building.

He didn't say anything in response to her habits, but turned his hand, twining their fingers together. "I think Toushirou-kun will be able t'handle things jus' fine on his own for a lil while." The boy still had a long way to go, but he was learning, he wasn't a prodigy for nothing. Not that Gin would ever tell him that to his face.

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku squeezed his fingers, her expression much happier now that she was being distracted and wasn't dwelling on last night and her own guilty feelings. It was amazing what a little small talk could do.

"He will. He has all of the others to help him after all. I'll try and persuade him to set up a rota for nights off. We can't all go on like this."

[traitors_smile]

That should have been the plan from the get-go, but the captain was still young and inexperienced in real battles, especially this sort of long and drawn out affair. Most shinigami learned that a fight was a fight and you just had to concentrate on the opponent in front of you before moving on to the next. Things like strategy rarely came up in the academy.

He still had his own little assignment to take care of though, whether he was going out this evening or not. It was a pity they didn't have anyone from the Shiba clan here as well; before the noble family had gone into hiding, they'd been experts in fireworks and explosives. Finding people here with those same talents without ruining the element of surprise would be a difficult thing. Not to mention he'd yet to find out anything from anyone who might've had a chance to speak with the man on the radio. He might have some useful insights since he obviously didn't favor the head doctor. "Be interestin' to see how many use their night off t'rest," he suggested with a playful smile.

[fuyunohanabi]

Yes, she was very sure that it could have been organised better, but they weren't operating under normal circumstances and she could understand how controlling things could become difficult. Not to mention that several of the shinigami were rather stubborn and didn't like being told to take time off. It felt like a betrayal of sorts since so many people were trapped here.

She laughed softly, a playful smile appearing on her lips at his suggestion, tilting her head back to look at him. "Well, that depends on if they're offered something more entertaining to do," she said, her voice becoming a little husky.

[traitors_smile]

Gin would have loved to explain in detail all of the things he could come up with that would be much more entertaining than sleeping the night away, but he'd just have to show her later instead. The fights breaking out around the crowded cafeteria were entertaining, but unless he saw that they had a decent chance of winning, he wasn't going to join in. He would, however, take the opportunity to rummage through the pockets of the nearest unconscious nurse.

He stood slowly, gesturing for Ran to do the same, "One of 'em's gotta have keys t'this place." Not to mention several other useful items. Rangiku knew the drill. He crouched low, taking care to keep up appearances, tapping the nearest nurse lightly on the cheek, as though trying to revive her, as his other hand checked her pockets.

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku's attention was caught by the fights as well, and she spent a moment looking over the participants, eyes narrowing when she recognised a good few of them. River and that man from the other night...

She nodded and followed Gin's directions, standing slowly so as not to arouse too much suspicion, and planting herself between Gin and the fallen nurse, eyes darting around. She spotted a nurse heading her way and ran to meet her, acting every inch a panicked flighty near hysterical woman. She clung to the nurse's sleeve to grab her attention and keep it off Gin, begging her to calm things down, what was happening? Were they going to be hurt? She'd thought this was meant to be a restful place! She managed to keep the woman distracted enough to let Gin raid the other woman's pockets.