01. [ video -- week 32, day 6 ]

[noblescape]

[ Patient steel gazes down at the Hitomi, not with surprise of frustration, but calm understanding. He's obviously not very worried about this. Perhaps he should be, but to be worked up over something so simple... it never has been his style. ]

I see.

[ He closes his eyes and takes a slow breath. No, maybe he isn't quite happy to be looking at

Comments

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

You've been here before?

[This is encouraging, all he's heard so far is "you can't leave" which is seriously kind of unacceptable. :|]

I just got here the other day, so I don't know about Hisato, but I do know there's one in Mizusato.

[ video ]

[noblescape]

I have.

[ And he doesn't want to be back. ]

You all seem to think that I care about what lies in Mizusato.

[ What is wrong with you people. Being all helpful. ]

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

How did you leave?

[Oh, Byakuya. You have no idea what you're in for with this one. Helpful is the tip of the iceberg.]

...Oi, it's not that. It's just that you'd need a place to stay, and that was the place I was brought to when I got here the other day, so I thought I'd pass along the suggestion.

If you want someone to search Hisato with, though...I was wondering if that half-hour thing was true, anyway.

[ video ]

[noblescape]

How did I arrive? It is the same both ways.

[ 'I don't know' is too simple an answer. ]

I'm not interested in Mizusato, nor do I need an escort from you.

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

[...You kind of remind him of Bunny, in some ways. Back when they were first starting out as partners.]

Which would be?

[...]

[.......yeah frustrated sigh coming now.]

Oi, oi! That's not what I said! I'm just trying to help, here!

[ video ]

[noblescape]

By the will of those who call themselves gods.

[ Slow, aren't you. ]

Your company is not necessary, nor is it wanted. If you're bored, find someone else.

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

[Oh god, it's like watching...history...there's something in him that almost says "For a rabbit, you're not very cute," but he holds back, and there's something...uncomfortable in his posture now. This man has just put in sharp relief for him something he's been trying to push to the back of his mind. Bunny's not here (and just after he'd finally called him Kotetsu...), and there's no saying, really, when he'll see the blond again. Or anyone else he cares about, for that matter.

His luck is such shit, sometimes.]

In other words, you've got no idea how these people pulled us in, do you? [Sighs. There goes that hope. A pause.]

...You remind me a bit of someone I know back home.

If you change your mind, I gather these things are ours to keep, so let me know.

I'm Kotetsu, by the way. Kaburagi Kotetsu.

[ video ]

[noblescape]

[ He studies the image for a moment. This place is not one he would wish on anyone. It's peaceful now, quite nice, actually. The gods didn't mess with them too much. But they have done things, like messing with their will, their bodies, changing them to display their power and 'teach them lessons'. It doesn't matter how lonely it might be. It is always much better to be alone, than to see someone he cares about suffering beside him and never being able to do something about it. ]

I do.

[ Because he does. Sort of. He knows that they are here and they are there, too, and that they are just imprints of their real selves. He doesn't explain that part. ]

I did not ask your name.

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

[..............]

[Man, it is like pulling teeth with you. You're not even leaving room to bicker. :|]

Mind sharing?

[Sigh.]

Well, I'm asking yours, now.

[ video ]

[noblescape]

[ That's how he likes to roll. ]

Why? It will make no difference. Knowing will change nothing.

[ Ah, you know. He could tell you no, but, well... ]

... Kuchiki Byakuya.

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

Knowing's half the battle, as they say.

[Hey, it's how they beat Jake, after all.]

And if it won't make any difference knowing, it shouldn't make any difference to tell me either, right?

I'd rather know what I'm up against at least than sit around and wait for something to happen.

Pleasure to meet you, Byakuya-san. [Even if you're not exactly being pleasant. :T]

[ video ]

[noblescape]

You are facing gods, with power beyond your comprehension. You have no choice but to wait for whatever will they wish to impose on you.

[ That's how it is. Doesn't mean he's completely accepted that, he just knows to stay out of the way and do what comes natural to him. ]

[ video ] oh hello teal deer, it's been awhile

[wildhonor]

That's not good enough

[ video ] /noms

[noblescape]

Do you think if you bark loud enough, someone will care?

[ Call it what you will, but Byakuya knows. His power is great, greater than more than a few people, a 'god of death' in his own world, now turned into no more than a play thing for a few gods who think he has something to learn from them.

He likes it no more than the next person, but it doesn't matter if they yell or refuse to accept it, or if they have accepted it and moved on. There is no choice here. It's despicable, to say the least and he resents these gods for doing these things. He hates their very existence, but he will not wage war or deny their existence because he does not like them and what they are doing. ]

I will tell you. [ So maybe you'll shut up. ] The you that stands here is a mere imprint. I trust you understand that much?

[ video ] tasty teal venision fufufu. 1/2

[wildhonor]

[Hand clenching into a fist, go.]

No, I think if enough people give a damn, we can protect each other!

[ video ]

[wildhonor]

However powerful they are, no one is invincible. We'll fare better collectively than anyone would individually.

[Kotetsu lets out a quiet exhale, if only to calm down enough to hear what Byakuya has to say.]

What do you mean by an imprint? I just got here a day and a half ago. Haven't exactly been filled in on the finer details.

[Especially since, when he got here, he'd just recently walked out of the hospital on injuries bad enough to land him in the ICU to go help his partner save the city. Needless to say, he wasn't in the best of shape.]