Report 117 [Video] Backdated to Sunday, 30th

[iceandivory]

[Hitsugaya is sitting up in a clinic bed, though the way he bites his lip for a moment suggests that maaaaybe he shouldn't be. That, however, isn't what's surprising. What's surprising is that after his ordeal, he appears to be his usual annoyed self. He looks as if Sasuke has just informed him he needs to lighten up for the umpteenth time, not as

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[marsfireignite]

[Okay, so she's not actually at his bedside, but she's lingering pretty close. Staring at a dead body is twice as difficult as you think. And she's quiet, as she leans in the doorframe, before she exhales slowly.]

I didn't hear the joke.

[Stupid. 8|]

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[iceandivory]

I doubt it was a good one anyway.

[It's dry but not bitter or angry. He still doesn't quite get it yet. Was it something to do with the event? He'd made sure not to make direct eye contact with anything suspicious....]

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[marsfireignite]

[This doesn't seem quite right. He's not... reacting the way she thought he would. No anger, no 'where the hell is the person who did it', no... well, anything Toushirou would normally be doing for someone who had just died.

Her stomach twists slightly as she digs her fingers into her palms. She's fairly certain he knows who she is, because he would've given her more of an attitude over being in his room in the first place, but there's a surefire way to figure out how without actually asking:]

... Toushirou --

[Beat around the bush or just ask? ... when has beating around the bush ever worked for him. So she grits her teeth.]

Do you know what happened?

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[iceandivory]

[His frown sets in deeper at the tension, and he moves to sit up straighter. He can't decide whether she's asking because she knows or because she doesn't, but he can tell that she needs a finite answer. He doubts the one he has to give is the one she wants to hear.

He didn't remember anything out of the ordinary, but something must have happened.]

No.

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[marsfireignite]

[He's correct -- that isn't the one she wants to hear. Her shoulders slump ever so slightly and she looks -- not quite upset, not quite disappointed, but something in between -- but it quickly gives way to a shake of the head, and she inches forward, before sitting on the edge of his bed.

Blunt is the best way.]

Someone killed you, Toushirou.

[She's trying to be something of an adult about the matter and not cry or be stupid, but it's hard to keep the very faint tremor out of her tone. She pauses for a moment before reaching out to gently touch his chest with a few fingers, not applying pressure, frowning slightly.]

You were stabbed. And someone -- left you where you would be found.

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[iceandivory]

[He doesn't respond at first, the idea tossing and turning in his mind without taking hold. He's looked on as virtually everyone else he keeps watch over has met that same fate, and yet not until now has he ever really applied the concept to himself. Someone killed him? Someone... stabbed him?]

...impossible.

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[marsfireignite]

[Ah -- there it is. The reaction she had been expecting. But that made no sense. How could he not remember? Was the memory of his own death his price? -- could that happen?]

I saw it.

[She's fighting down some kind of reaction, now, to keep her voice level.]

You were dead.

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[iceandivory]

I don't-

[Remember. Anything. What the hell? What happened?]

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[marsfireignite]

[It's difficult to keep a grip when the person you really needed to see was staring to lose his. But something inside Rei's head clicks into place, and she draws in a deep breath, before taking Hitsugaya by the shoulders, to force him to pay attention. Her expression remains neutral, but her fingers are shaking, ever so slightly.

It's been a seriously long week.]

You were killed little over six days ago, during the beginning of the event with the gravestones. Whoever did this to you either targeted you for a reason or did this as some kind of sick joke because --

[Her fingers dig into his shoulders a little and she grits her teeth again before continuing.]

-- the event. Do you remember the event? With the gravestones, and the ghosts, and seeing people you care about dead?

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[iceandivory]

[Think, Hitsugaya, think. Rei's grip on his shoulders grounds him, and for once he doesn't push her away. Think, Hitsugaya, think.]

Monday. It's- was Monday. I avoided the graves. It couldn't have had anything to do with the event's effects. Anyone who would target me no longer remembers why. [Hino's the one who gets targeted. Sasuke's the one who gets targeted. Hinamori's the one who gets targeted. He no longer even bothers to give directions to questionable people.] Going after me for a joke when there are so many easier targets...

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[marsfireignite]

[She's quiet, allowing him the opportunity to think out loud -- but she drops her hands into her laps, looking suddenly tired. And, more importantly, the tiniest flicker of guilt.]

I didn't... you didn't release Hyourinmaru.

[The girl purses her lips in thought, to try and recount the evening. Much of it is a blur. Nothing quite pieces together neatly in her head. Everyone else would probably be much better at telling him any of this, but she would rather drown than allow someone like Kurotsuchi tell him first.]

You were only gone for a couple of hours and I didn't think anything was off until I -- saw you. With the event the way it is and without any of the signs of a fight, I didn't think you were gone until I checked.

[It feels kind of silly, now. She could have backtracked his steps, somehow, or chased down whoever put him on his own doorstep. Done something except try to find him when he was obviously dead. It would've been a lot more helpful to do the opposite.

She's quiet, for a moment, before continuing.]We'll figure out

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[iceandivory]

[He hadn't...? She said he was stabbed. If that were the case, he would have fought back. That was the very art he had been trained in for his damn job. Why hadn't he? Why doesn't he remember any of it? Is that... a price? In that case, wouldn't that imply that whatever happened is important? Well, it explains in part why everyone seems so relieved. None of them understand what happened either.

When she finishes, he remains taut for a few seconds before releasing a heavy sigh and relaxing stress-ridden muscles in an undignified slump against the headboard. After another few breaths, he closes his eyes.]

...Look for someone who could bind a captain level shinigami's arms.

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[marsfireignite]

I will.

[She doesn't bother to correct that she has been. He's been through enough without knowing the brief panic his death caused when everyone figured out he was actually dead. But after that, she's quiet for another minute, before leaning forward to mess up his hair, forcing a smile. Mostly to aggravate him. And for some semblance of normalcy.]

This place isn't the same without you complaining at me. I'm glad you're awake, now.

[She pauses.]

I missed out on six days of torturing you. I'm making up for it in the next two hours..

[That and you made her cry. 8|]

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[iceandivory]

[Those endlessly frustrated teal eyes pop wide open when she ruffles his hair, and now, now he's definitely pushing her hand away.]

Th-That's the most ridiculous thing you've said yet!

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[marsfireignite]

[The panic is associated by a snort of laughter and she lets him push her hands away, quietly relieved.]

You'll be fine.

Stupid.

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[iceandivory]

I'm not the one being stupid here!

[What are you even talking about, Hino. Shut up.]