Dayshift 22: Library (Evening Shift)

[high_prosecutor]

The intercom's announcement found Miles Edgeworth in a much better mood than he had been the previous shift. The conversation he'd had with the young Elven Lord Valyn had provided interesting information, even if hard to believe, and he finally felt as if he'd been useful to someone, rather than a hindrance in the setting

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[stray_shinigami]

Renji hadn't expected that. He'd thought that Qui-Gon's abilities with this 'Force' thing would be reasonably like what the Shinigami could do. But this...

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and just thought about it for a minute.

"A wound in the Force," he murmured. "When he came into the room, I could feel him. Very distinctly. Overwhelming." He rested his chin on his hands. "There's a real distinct... flavor, I guess you could say, to someone that hurts people and kills them, and enjoys it. Someone that belongs to Hell."

He frowned. "I still think he's human. All that really means is that he's not like me - us," he glanced at Rukia, before turning his gaze back to Qui-Gon, "and not like Eric. But that also doesn't mean he doesn't have a lot of power. And it felt like... like..."

Abruptly he stood, and began pacing. He always thought better on his feet. Mostly, he was trying to remember the feeling he'd had this morning, when the Head Doctor had come into the chapel. It was hard, because things were still so confused in his head, and because he was still trying to understand just how things filtered through whatever block was on his abilities. Because it felt like something, something he could describe, if he could just put his finger on it. Something that had required every bit of self control he had to not attack...

He stopped, as abruptly as he'd started, his eyes widening. "Oh shit."

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia's brows furrowing, she asked Qui-Gon, "What is... the Force? Is it like Kidou?" she finished, turning to Renji for assistance. It seemed that Jinn used it to sense people, but by Renji's reaction, it didn't work the same was as their Shinigami powers.

She watched Renji pace, mildly alarmed by his agitation. He had always been a man of action, not bothering to ask too many questions. But Rukia could understand his current position. When she had been deprived of her abilities, back when she had been with Ichigo, she had been forced to rely on her wits rather than her strength. She looked up when he stopped. "What?"

[qui_gonjinn]

"I can't say I'm familiar with 'kidou'," Qui-Gon admitted. Perhaps it was linked to Renji's discussion on the spirit and chains of fate, and another way of looking at the Force. He wasn't sure yet, but he knew at the very least that the word kidou didn't seem to ring any bells yet.

He wasn't particularly surprised that Renji had seen something different then he had. They came from different walks of life - so to speak - and that lent them different perspectives, which, when it came down to it, would help construct a better picture of the whole. Qui-Gon watched as Renji got up, following his movements serenely and waiting for him to speak again.

"Oh shit," said Renji.

Had he come to a conclusion? Qui-Gon was interested in hearing it and waited with Rukia for Renji to say what was on his mind.

[stray_shinigami]

He started pacing again, this time cracking his knuckles as he went. "Almost like a Hollow. Like being near one, but not quite." He looked at Qui-Gon. "Hollows are the things we hunt. What I told you about before."

He continued to pace, but he also answered Rukia's question. "From what I've talked about, with Jinn-san and Obi-Wan, sort of, maybe. Like feeling someone's reiatsu, maybe. I don't know if they do spells or not. We haven't gotten that technical." He laughed. "And I suck at that shit, anyway."

[haiiro_no_chou]

So Jinn didn't know about Kidou, that was understandable. Renji's explanation of this "Force" was somewhat lacking, but if it was like sensing reiatsu then Rukia had an idea of what the older man had been talking about. Somewhat.

So with the Force Jinn sensed nothing from Landel, while Renji perceived something akin to a Hollow when he looked. She smiled at Renji's comment about his own weak abilities in Kidou. "Yes, you do, but you make up for it in other ways, somehow."

She turned back to Jinn. "Kidou is, like Renji said, essentially a way of casting spells. We use them mostly for binding, or to harm enemies, but there are other types as well. This Force you speak of, though, is not spell-casting, is it? It's interesting that you sensed a void, a hollow in the Force, while Renji was reminded of a Hollow, a spirit who has lost its humanity." Rukia wondered what it could mean.

[qui_gonjinn]

It was almost strangely fitting that Renji had a word for something similar to Martin Landel...and that this "Hollow" almost eerily described the wound he had sensed about the man. So now those who consumed had a name, only it wasn't even a real name but simply another form of void. Qui-Gon didn't place too much stock in coincidence, though they did happen, when it came to things like this.

"It's very possible Martin Landel could be one of these Hollows," Qui-Gon conceeded. He glanced at Rukia. "My Order generally doesn't use the Force to harm others. It isn't something simply mastered to use as a tool, but instead somethin you ally your life to. Your life, essentially, is also the Force."

That was about as short an explanation he could give. While he found himself increasingly interested in the other aspects of the Force besides those favored by the Jedi, he realized that a long, drawn discussion about it was neither here nor there.

[stray_shinigami]

"Something like it," Renji said. He continued to pace as he thought, his steps slowing to an easy lope reminiscent of a caged wild cat. "Not quite a Hollow. And his spirit thread was human. Unless he's cleverly disguised." His laugh was rather self-disparaging. "Or maybe I'm blind and easy to fool. That's always a possibility."

He paced back and forth three more times before speaking again. "Now that I've looked at it, I can find it again," he said. "It's possible we could follow it to whatever rock he's hiding under." His steps sped again, the only outward sign he gave of the frustrating turn of his thoughts. "If I could concentrate long enough. If. I'm fucking useless." For a moment, he almost mentioned the nosebleed, the vertigo, the headache. But there was no point to it, and he was already angry enough a the whole situation.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia nodded at Jinn's summary of his order's philosophy. The alliance with the Force he spoke of reminded her of her own alliance with her Zanpakutou. The swords were no mere weapons. She missed the comforting weight of Sode no Shirayuki at her waist.

Rukia folded her arms, distracted by Renji's constant pacing. The point of his monologue aside, he was being uncharacteristically pessimistic. Blaming himself and saying he was useless, just like Ichigo when he'd been defeated by the Arrancar. Rukia grimaced, irritated. Why was she always the one to drag people up out of their own personal holes? Not that she didn't want to help, but...

"Renji," she finally snapped. "You're going to make me dizzy from all the pacing. Calm down."

[qui_gonjinn]

Qui-Gon spoke up as well. "She's right. Please, sit down."

He frowned, feeling some of the agitation wafting off Renji's own peculiar Force signature and merging with Rukia's. It wasn't what he was used to, where he could really look at someone and see them brilliantly shining in the Force, with tendrils here and there connecting them to others and to the past, present and nebulous future. Rather like being blind-folded, except the one doing the blind-folding hadn't made sure the cloth was completely opaque.

The Jedi Master leaned back.

"Those could be possible, yes. In fact, they could all be possible," Qui-Gon said at length. "We don't know and the important thing is to find out. Learn more about this facility and its history. And the history of this world."

He smiled faintly.

"One step at a time," he said, and remembered telling Obi-Wan, long ago, the very same thing. And having to remember that he, too, often needed reminding himself. "There are other ways to find the information we need without resorting to our other abilities, at any rate. I believe we should focus on those, although it will probably be longer to produce any concrete results."

[stray_shinigami]

If it had just been Rukia, Renji might have bickered with her. He'd been sitting down (or laying down) long enough already. But if both of them were on it, he was probably making a scene. Great.

He sat, on the edge of the chair, and did his best to force his train of thought over to the real matter at hand, as opposed to what was actually bothering him. He felt faintly annoyed with himself for once again falling into the trap of complaining. It wasn't like he was the only one suffering, here. He was just apparently the only one that had poor enough self control to bitch about it.

"Yeah," Renji finally said. "And at least we've got a face for the guy that we need to take care of. We know more than we did this morning. And there's got to be a way to find out more about at least the general area. This can't be a vacuum. We found the television thingy a couple nights ago, even if it only worked for a couple seconds. And... I know where the lockers for the nurses are. But I'd need someone that can pick locks, because opening them by force would be way too noisy."

He smiled. "It's a challenge at least."

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia was surprised when Jinn also suggested that Renji sit down. Well, at least she wasn't just being cranky.

She looked at the older man. "I don' suppose we might be able to get information, at least about the history of this place, and the world, from the nurses?" Somehow it seemed too easy. But why not just ask?

She raised an eyebrow at Renji. "You found a TV? Where was it?" Pursing her lips in thought for a moment, she continued. "And picking locks... I don't know anything about it, but someone here must know how."

[qui_gonjinn]

Qui-Gon's eyes went from Renji to Rukia, drawing a blank at the mention of this "TV".

"What's a TV?" Qui-Gon asked.

He listened to their ideas, tilting his head as he gave it thought. From what he had learned from Obi-Wan after their "therapy" sessions, apparently the staff here weren't any much more informed about the operations of Landels than their supposed patients. Still, it was important to learn just as much of what they didn't know as what they did. It would help map out the situation and help them better understand it.

"It couldn't hurt to ask," Qui-Gon agreed. "So long as we act the parts of dutiful patients rather than draw undue attention to ourselves. Nothing will be accomplished by acting rashly right now."

Other than being drugged or sedated. Qui-Gon would rather avoid being injected with if he could help it - he had been drugged only a few times in his life, but they didn't have pleasant memories attached. The incident with Jenna zan Arbor came to mind, what with her experiments on Jedi and keeping them weak and helpless to carry them out. With his shaky grasp on the Force, even worse than back then, he didn't want to test just how well he could resist the effects.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji was perversely pleased that he wasn't the only one in this stupid hospital that hadn't been familiar with television. "It's a modern thing," he said. "A box with moving pictures that receives broadcast or something." He definitely liked books better.

"When I talked with my doctor - Wilson, I think - I played nice, and he was pretty helpful. He actually handed me my own file and let me read it." He grinned. "Because I threatened to resist unless he showed me proof that I was being held captive legally. I get this impression that some of the doctors aren't as friendly. But Wilson seemed like an okay guy." He shrugged. "We'll see how nice he is now, considering I told the head doctor he could lick my balls." He didn't look all that abashed about the whole thing. "Well, maybe if I'm a shithead, it'll make the rest of you look better."

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia nodded at Renji's description of the TV, adding, "Yes, TVs are very useful. You can watch these things called "TV shows", and some of them are true stories, while others are funny, or scary. You can even see things "live", which means that what you're watching is happening right that moment." She could have gone on to talk about some of her favorite shows, but neither man seemed all that interested.

Considering Renji and Jinn's comments on their experiences gathering information so far, Rukia grinned mischievously at Renji. "Well, if you've already got a bad reputation, then you're no good. And besides," she continued, remembering the time she had gotten herself out of trouble at Ichigo's school by turning on the waterworks, "I've been told I'm a talented actress. I should see if I can't sweet-talk some information out of the nurses."

[qui_gonjinn]

Oh, he could recognize that description, basic though it was. "So it's like a primitive Holonet, I suppose," Qui-Gon said.

He remembered his own therapy session: it hadn't gone quite as well as Renji's, apparently, for he hadn't been able to see his own file, but at least he'd gotten an idea of what they thought his backstory was. It hadn't seemed too different from what he knew was the truth, aside from the fact that his doctor had failed to mention anything doing with real names, the Force, Jedi or even just what Qui-Gon "taught". It had been a fine line to tread.

And he almost had to smile at Renji's comment - it was highly...colorful.

"We'll see what we can do," Qui-Gon said. "I believe the staff dealing with me trust me, for the most part, and I will have to talk to my former student and see how his situation is. From what I understand, the staff here really do believe we are mentally ill, and want to help us. If they trust us and have no reason not to, then I think we should see some success."

It was surprisingly how receptive his nurse had been when she realized he wasn't going to resist - she had gotten slowly more open to any questions that weren't just about his injuries or how he was feeling today. Qui-Gon was certain his best bet would be to start there.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji sighed at Qui-Gon's mention of a holo...whatsit? Didn't anyone just read any more?

"Well, I'll give it a try. With so many good influences around me, who knows." He grinned. "My reputation might have been salvageable up until this morning. That's what I get for biting people."

That lead to another whole can of worms. His smile faded. "Yeah... Jinn-san, that was something I wanted to tell you about. There's five people from my world now that I know of... Rukia showed up last shift, and Matsumoto came in during breakfast. The fifth guy... Ichimaru..." He paused for a moment, but decided that if he wanted a warning or a request for help to stick, he'd better get detailed. Qui-Gon wasn't just a kid that would just follow people on their word. And he respected the guy.

"I've told you a little about what we do. We hunt Hollows. We're divided into thirteen divisions... each division's got a captain and a vice-captain. The captains... they can be pretty damn scary. Right before I came here, three of the captains... they turned on us. The great traitor was a guy named Aizen. He murdered everyone in the Central 46 Chambers - our government. He faked his own death, and then stood behind the scenes to play puppet master."

He'd thought that he could report this story without emotion. He'd been wrong. It was too soon, and still too painful. For a long moment, he just looked down at his hands. His dry account of facts was washed away as he remembered everything that had happened so recently - his useless battle against Byakuya; the attempt to rescue Rukia, cut short by the traitors; the memory of what had happened to poor, trusting Momo; his ultimately pathetic defiance; the sure knowledge as he fell that he had failed.

He stood again, and started to pace. It was either start moving, or stay seated and scream out all of those feelings of helplessness and frustration that he still couldn't shake. The thing that the other shinigami didn't and couldn't understand was that what they'd been able to let go and move on from was his present, the last thing he knew of his world before he'd woken up here. It held him with a grip that could not be shaken.

"He used me-" No. This wasn't about him. This was about telling someone that he trusted just how deeply screwed they all might be. He started again. "He used us to hunt down Rukia, and set her to be executed. The execution was stopped at the last possible moment. So he showed up to collect her himself."

Again, he fell silent, and just had to pace for a bit before he could continue in a reasonable tone of voice. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides. "That's all I know, because that was when they cut me down. I know I've been talking about this Aizen guy... but the point is that Ichimaru Gin, Captain of the Third Division, was with him every step of the way. And now he's here."