Day 42: Bus 1

[rope_victim]

After the way night had ended (Miku wasn't sure if they'd ever get the smell of charnel out of her clothes), and morning had returned with its clockwork weirdness. She was hurried onto the bus in her dark red long coat and the dark, knee-length, slightly full dress beneath it. It was surprisingly warm, Miku noted, but that could've just been her

Comments

[itstaichoutoyou]

"Tired. Before I knew it, I just suddenly woke up back in my room," he answered, not bothering to hide his depression, but he stiffened a little as Matsumoto's arm brushed his wound. He remained silent, not wanting to worry her. "You're in an awfully good mood..." But then again, when wasn't his vice captain? Most of the time she seemed like a boundless spring of energy.

"It occurred to me last night that I've been neglecting my duties as a captain," he said, remembering how useless he felt last night. A feeling he never wanted to feel again. And there was no point in hesitating; it just wasn't his style. "That's why I want you to fill me in about everything that's going on in Arts and Crafts, so I can incorporate myself into the group. You gave me a brief report yesterday, but I want a more detailed run down. Like the teams and any areas of interest, within or outside the Institute."

He may have sounded a little overbearing, but he was really just trying to slip back into his usual role of her superior, something familiar and comfortable, despite her laziness. With Hinamori's situation, it felt like Hitsugaya's foundation was crumbling; he needed something to stabilize him.

[fuyunohanabi]

"That happens every night," Rangiku said with a wan smile. It faded when Hitsugaya flinched, concern flaring. Had he been hurt? Well, it wasn't a surprise. He wasn't armed after all, and it took a while to get used to the power limitations. "I can manage good moods even here," she said with a soft laugh. What was the point of moping?

She leaned back in the seat, shrugging. "You just arrived. It takes some time to adjust. I wouldn't call it neglecting your duties." That was her captain though, always concerned about duty and work. He really needed to lighten up sometimes. "It's a little more difficult than that though. The teams change day by day depending on who is around and willing to work for the night. They're all volunteers, not people who obey orders because of their rank." This wasn't Soul Society after all.

[itstaichoutoyou]

"I see."

That was to be expected. Hitsugaya's work ethic might have been rigidly set in stone, but he understood other people didn't share his views. Different opinions and methods were valuable to an organization, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen someone like Matsumoto as his vice captain. Not to mention, the patients might not all be properly trained. He couldn't very well force them to venture into unknown dangers.

"At the very least there should be members who are compatible or prefer to work together. Hopefully, working together will forge strong bonds and experience among the members," Hitsugaya said, gathering his thoughts. "During last night's dinner, I was thinking, and I arrived at the conclusion that we should try and strengthen our ties with the other resistance groups, particularly the Cooking Club. Tell me about the relationship among the groups. Are we on good terms or what?"

[fuyunohanabi]

She was glad that he'd decided to drop it, she didn't particularly feel like explaining why she was in a good mood. That would just be awkward. And in some things, she definitely liked her privacy.

He had some good points and that at least she could fill him in on. "A lot of this I'm working on second-hand knowledge myself. There's a boy called Sora who is extremely reliable and very well trusted. He and another boy called Allen work well together. They've been going out to explore beyond the grounds for the last few nights." She'd met Sora at least, and if Renji had trusted him, then she did too. "Another shinigami is here. She's called Senna, although I haven't met her personally. She's apparently from Soul Society although I've never heard her name. She's been leading a team made up of a few young women. I need to get their report at some point, but Hinamori-kun seems to hold them in high regard." And then finally... "And there's a boy here who you should meet, although I'm not certain how he will react. He and you were... friends when you were here before. Artemis Fowl. He's an extremely smart boy and you trusted him implicitly." He'd died while rescuing him. "He's an advisor and will work with us, although at his own discretion."

This was just getting awkward to talk about. The idea of people dying and then returning was difficult to wrap he rhead around, despite being a shinigami. It went against the natural order of things.

"As for the other clubs; Cooking Club makes weapons and is willing to work with most of us. I believe the man to speak to is called Hughes. I'm sure that they'd be willing to assist us. The other major group is History Club," she continued, a small frown on her lips. "The leader is a man called Homura and he is, well, not someone to be underestimated. He has his own agenda, I'm fairly sure of that, although he has yet to be openly hostile towards us and has been quite civil."

[itstaichoutoyou]

"Hinamori told me about Artemis last night."

After their little encounter, the young captain had been left feeling distraught. He didn't know what he could do for Hinamori. Her heart was in a dark place right now, and he couldn't help but feel helpless. Hitsugaya wondered if he should ask Matsumoto for advice concerning Hinamori. The only thing he could think of was to give his childhood friend some space for now, but that was only a short term solution. If there was anyone he could talk to about this matter, it was his vice captain. He glanced at Matsumoto, who was glowing. Perhaps he would, later, but right now business needed to be prioritized.

"Good. Sora, Senna, and Artemis sound like reliable individuals. I'll see if I can meet up with Hughes today and talk about pooling our resources together. And it sounds like we should treat Homura with caution."

The last thing Hitsugaya wanted was someone to undermine their efforts from within.

"Can you describe Hughes for me?"

[fuyunohanabi]

Ah, that helped a little she supposed. Her contact with Artemis had been limited, although he'd seemed a nice boy when she'd met him. He and her captain had worked well together.

That Hitsugaya had spoken to Hinamori was a little surprising. They must have run into each other during the night. She wondered if he'd managed to get through to her. Probably not. He would have mentioned it if he had. He hoped for both their sakes that he managed to do something. Rangiku would do what she could, but she didn't think that friendship and camaraderie was enough.

"They should be treated with caution," Rangiku agreed. "Don't underestimate them, but don't alienate them either. They specialise in fighters and are tight lipped about what their missions are. He's charismatic though," she added. "I can see why people would follow him."

"I've not met Hughes myself, but I've had him pointed out to me. He has dark hair, glasses and a beard."

[itstaichoutoyou]

Seemed like dealing with Homura's group was going to be tricky. From what Matsumoto told Hitsugaya, they could be useful or dangerous. However, if Homura's group was half as good as they sounded, then they might be valuable allies.

"Hm... Tell me what Homura looks like. I don't intend to seek him out yet, but I don't think we should ignore their presence either."

[fuyunohanabi]

History Club would be tricky to deal with, Rangiku had no doubt. She didn't know what their ultimate goal was, but she suspected that it would clash with a lot of people, and they'd never cared about keeping the peace between people. "Homura is a tall man, dark hair, fairly long. He has different coloured eyes, one blue, one gold." That was the most striking thing about his appearance she'd found. Different coloured eyes were a curiosity.

[itstaichoutoyou]

Nodding, Hitsugaya mentally sorted the information that Matsumoto had given him. The situation would take some getting used to. These people were volunteers, not soldiers; some of them weren't even properly trained. Hiding in their rooms was safe, but ultimately worthless, probably what their captors wanted - convenient little lab rats. Hitsugaya refused to submit to these bastards.

"Anything else I need to know?"

[fuyunohanabi]

There was much more that she could tell him, but all that she knew could take up the rest of the day. So much had happened in the past weeks and it was difficult to tell what was important in the long run and what wasn't. She tapped her lips thoughtfully. "There used to be a man who spoke over the radio at night. He'd give out clues and if you could solve them, there seemed to be useful items waiting. He seemed to have a vicious bitter rivalry with the head doctor. However, he was killed many nights ago, or so we believe. A woman replaced him, calling herself Jill, although she hasn't spoken for a while. But..." she paused here for a moment, thinking over what she remembered. "There was an odd broadcast a while back telling us not to trust the radio, and, by extension, not to trust Jill." She didn't know what to think herself. She was inclined not to trust Jill anyway, but there was always the chance that it could be Landel trying to divide them.

[itstaichoutoyou]

A mysterious voice on the radio, whose motives were unknown, didn't sound like the most trustworthy ally, but Hitsugaya would take whatever he could get in this place, especially after he learned the Arts and Crafts Club's circumstances. Nonetheless, he didn't rule out the possibility that this Jill was some sort of infiltrator, meant to hinder their resistance efforts in some way.

"She sounds unreliable, and it'd be unwise to blindly trust her in the first place," Hitsugaya said, while remembering another untrustworthy, fox-eyed ally. "But if we assume its a trap, there are ways of turning things to our advantage. Besides, useful equipment is hard to come by in this place."

Hitsugaya thought about the baseball bat left in his room. The bat was no zanpakutou, but it should do the job for now. Finding it was dumb luck, which reminded him of last night's predicament.

"I had trouble navigating the Institute hallways last night," he said, neglecting to tell Matsumoto that he had been wandering the halls like a complete idiot. While he remembered Tenzen's barbs, Hitsugaya was actually more irritated by his incompetence for not getting a map earlier. "Can you get me a copy of the most recently updated map?"