paixaorpg | Where is everyone? [COMPLETED]

Entry tags:

Where is everyone? [COMPLETED]

Characters: Matsumoto Rangiku, Hitsugaya Toushirou, Ichimaru Gin, and any of the other Bleach-muns or characters ~~who are itching to play, sorry for the lag~~ who might be in the general area.
Content: Rangiku finally wakes up from apparent hibernation.
Setting: Right outside the Morem o Lisboa [M4].
Time: Technically Saturday, just a little past Friday midnight.
Warnings: None.

She wasn't sure whether she ought to be worried that she didn't remember exactly how she got upstairs, how she managed to pass out cold for over a day, but as Rangiku stepped out of the hotel lobby and out into the street the shinigami decided that at least for the moment, she didn't really care.

Her last recollections were set Thursday morning. She knew that much because her last journal entry was set at around that same time, and while the entry itself seemed written in an implied alright state of mind, she barely remembered lifting the pen to write it.

On the other hand, she wished that the images of that Thursday morning could have been jumbled, her thoughts disoriented, so that she could just dismiss them as another of the random and less than appealing dreams that had been plaguing her long since before she arrived in this city. But they weren't, and as clearly as she could see the lamps shining to illuminate the darkened street she could still recall the rain, and Gin, and Aizen, and what almost turned out to be a battle inside the hotel.

Glancing back briefly, she wondered where Urahara-san was. The reception desk was currently manned by some other person employed by the hotel. Come to think of it, she mused, I wonder where everyone else is as well.

Was Zaraki back? She wasn't sure. Rukia-san? The same. Kurosaki? Well, the answers were all defaulting back to the same one.

With a sigh, she settled down on the steps, glad to be shielded from the pitter-patter of rainfall intermingled with bits of snow that melted quickly when they fell into the palm of her hand. Hugging herself from the cold -- a sensation that she was going to have to get used to, she supposed -- she resigned herself to waiting. And silence.

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Gin had finished up a hard day of work (actually, it was more boring near the end than anything) with a small walk around Paixao. He has successfully located a map of the city through the small "journal" and he traveled to a small little jeweler nearby. And interesting choice to go to, but the light-haired shinigami had much in mind.

First, there was the problem of Ran. She was angry at him, and most obviously ignoring him completely. Understandable. Gin was now determined to make it up to her somehow, some way.

That led to the second problem of Aizen himself. Of course, the man knew about Gin's misgivings at the moment, and had approached him with the questions earlier. The skinny man had been reluctant to give way to anything, and had cut the conversation short. They both had gone their ways, and Aizen hadn't bothered with the grinning shinigami for the rest of the day.

Better for him, really, then he could move more freely. Well, as freely as he could in a place he didn't know. So now, he was taking a "u-turn" back towards the museum, taking the roundabout route just so he could chance upon walking by the Morem o Lisboa. Just to check.

Honest.

She expelled a breath, and tucked her journal back in her pocket. She'd checked it briefly, afterall, the network was fascinating in it's own way and proved an ample enough distraction now and again. The fact that it was perpetually updating itself thanks to the people who conducted their business on it and thus in turn, constantly showing something new made her more curious of exploring it.

Afterall, curiosity over technology wasn't a trait for the 12th Division alone. She smirked, but that curve on the edge of her lips faded a little as she recalled an entry dated not too long ago.

Kuso. She muttered inwardly as she ran her fingers through her hair. Bad enough that he'd left her something to think about two days before. Did he have to stalk her over the network as well?

Hitsugaya Toushirou had been in this strange place for almost a day now. He had no other run-ins with the gypsy who had given him the journal but this whole area was completely out of the ordinary. The shinigami had come to the conclusion that it was, in fact, a city… but an unnatural one. It was nothing like his Seireitei at all. Because of Seireitei, however, Hitsugaya had formulated a plan. Every city had a center, a heart, perhaps if he found the one of this new, odd one he could discover if the other captains were here and how to leave this place. Or rather… confirm it.

The more and more he tinkered with the odd journal, the more he found it could do. One was an instant conversation. And of course the very first of these conversations was held with the one person a shinigami would least expect to meet: Urahara.

The man was a legend of the Soul Soceity, right? But why was he so weird. No. Weird wasn’t the right word. It was more like idiotic. Hitsugaya had a strong feeling that even he possessed more maturity than the ex-captain. Of course Hitsugaya felt that way about almost everyone.

Urahara did prove to be useful though. He directed Hitsugaya to this one hotel called ‘Morem o Lisboa’. Apparently there were many shinigami staying there and it was both Hitsugaya’s duty (that and he didn’t feel it would be safe to hang around this city by one’s self) to reunite with the missing captains.

It took until very early Saturday morning to complete the journey across the city. Despite the long hours, the tiny shinigami was not tired in the least bit. The hotel slowly but surely came into view. Hitsugaya sighed in relief. Finally, he could stop.

To his surprise, a lone figure stood outside of the hotel. It was a figure he knew quite well. As he approached, Hitsugaya inquired, “Matsumoto?”

She didn't freeze or halt in any way at the sound of her name. Instead, Rangiku looked over to where the voice had come from and felt her earlier frustration and resentment towards one Ichimaru Gin fade into something a little bit better to stomach.

Well. More than better.

"Taicho!" The smile that broke out of the Vice-Captain's might have been something her fellow vice-captains might have teased her once before as something resembling that of a puppy that was finally being welcomed home. The blonde shinigami left her space just infront of the lobby's entrace to take her place at her little Captain's side.

But not without plucking the said captain off of his feet, thus crushing him in what an onlooker might describe as an overenthusiastic hug.

Hitsugaya felt himself be lifted high in Rangiku’s very familiar greeting. Did she always have to do that? When did he ever say he enjoyed it? Of course… the young shinigami never flat out refused it. It was more of the fact that he could just put up with the hug for the few moments so Matsumoto would be happy. It was just part of her personality and that was something that Hitsugaya had gotten used to over the years. Though sometime she would have to learn to not do that if it could be helped. Oh lord, she really did have to learn to not do that.

He endured the death grip of the woman for a few moments longer before his muffled voice finally announced, “Anytime now, Matsumoto.”

Ah. So the little squirt captain was here too? He should've expected as much. Gin peered around the corner of the building that he was currently "hiding" behind. Actually, with the appearance of Hitsugaya, it really was like hiding. The skinny ex-captain wouldn't have had to worry so much about Ran, but the little icy Taicho was more on par. He wouldn't give attacking Gin a second thought, and that wasn't what Ichimaru was here for.

Eyes opening just a crack, Gin let out a silent but frustrated sigh. Hm. Looks like this would have to wait for another day. Yet, he could still stick around to see what the other captain had been up to. It would be an informational notch that he had up on Aizen. Right now, anything he could hold against the man was good enough.

Not to mention that Ichimaru was exceedingly nosy.

Rangiku set her taicho daintily back on his feet, her smile still on her face, though not as wide as when it started earlier. "Hitsugaya-taicho," she started, nonchalantly brushing off what appeared to be a dust-smudge from the smaller shinigami's shoulder. "I hope you pardon my rudeness," and crossing her arms over her chest she peered down at him curiously. "But when exactly did you get here?"

The tiny shinigami once again felt the ground beneath his feet, just as expected. His mind flash back to mere hours ago. The strange gate... the odd people... this whole city. This certainly wasn't any world he had heard of before. The possibilities of what happened were endless.

"Just this morning," Hitsugaya answered briefly. "On the other side of the city. I spoke with someone who led me here."

But then he stopped. A presence... the pressure of reitsu... lie just behind the reunited leaders of the 10th Squad. Why hadn't he noticed it before? As a taicho of the Gotei 13, it was inexcusable to let things like that slip by. And he could recognize that reitsu anywhere.

Hitsugaya abruptly turned and drew the zanpaktou that resided on his back. It was held firmly in front of him and pointed straight at the spot where the reitu's owner lay hidden.

"Come out, Ichimaru!" the shinigami yelled angrily. "Only a coward would sneak around and only a fool wouldn't conceal his reitsu!"

Ah, so he was not only a coward, but now a fool as well? Hmm, that sounded sorta right. If you looked at it from an angry little kid's perspective. Gin inhaled a slow breath, wondering what his next move would be. There were only three options. One, run away like the coward Hitsugaya-taicho presumed he was. Two, go out and fight. Or three... none of the above? Now, how was that supposed to work out. He knew if he started fighting, Ran would only get stuck in the middle and it would be an unpleasant experience for all of them. If he ran, Matsumoto would be pissed again and Gin did not want to try his luck. It was very thin as it was.

Door number three it was then.

Ichimaru stepped out from behind the corner of the building, holding his skinny arms out. One hand grabbed Shinsou's hilt, and the Shinigami felt the little wakazashi hum in anticipation. Too bad it wasn't going to get the fight it wanted. With a clatter, he dropped the small blade on the ground. There, unarmed.

"Maa. Y'got me, Hitsugaya-taicho."

Baka. That was the first word that ran through her mind the moment she saw Gin drop Shinshou to the ground. Her earlier annoyance and what appeared to be resentment towards him dissipated as worry took it's place and inwardly, she tensed, unwittingly readying herself to play referee between him and her own captain should the need arise.

While Gin had gotten under her skin, while she didn't appreciate that he had -- he was still, at the end of the day her best friend. And while the do'aho was as big a jerk as they came -- and a manipulative one at that (need she remind herself a traitor to the entire of Soul Society), she did harbor some form of hope that she'd find a way to knock some sense into him or at least drag out his reasons.

Given, that is, that there were reasons to begin with.

She didn't expect it to be this soon though. By hell, she'd only woken up short of an hour ago. She didn't need this just yet.

One would consider the look on Hitsugaya's face a 'death glare' or a 'face of stone' for he did not react and brows remained furrowed. What was Ichimaru thinking? What did he hope to achieve by laying his zanpaktou on the ground? The tiny taicho was well aware of Shinsou's abilities but even Gin seemed to make no move to attack. Hyourinmaru, however, still held fast, pointed directly at the skinny shinigami.

"Ichimaru Gin, you don't even deserve the title of 'taicho' anymore. What are you doing here? What do you plan on achieving?"

"Saa~ S'raight ta th' poin' so soon? Well, I s'pose I could tell ya what 'm here for." Gin shrugged, acting like this entire scene was not centered around the little Taicho wanting to rip his throat out. Not at all. It was just a normal conversation, with just a dash of loathing. And confusion. But that was a given.

"All I was doin' was droppin' this off..." A skinny hand reached into the folds of his hakama, producing a small wrapped box. Yes, a present. Yes, Gin still cared about other people enough to spend money on them. That was a surprise in itself. He shook the box a little bit, gesturing that it was pretty much harmless. Unless of course, he launched into Hitsugaya's eye. But it was doubtful that Ichimaru would do so.

Very very doubtful.

“What are you talking about, Ichimaru?” Hitsugaya growled. This man never ceased to pull all the wrong nerves and get the little taicho angry. Hyourinmaru remained pointed at the skinny deserter of the Soul Society. What did he have planned now? ‘Bastard.’ the boy thought.

He watched carefully as Gin pulled a small box from the confines of his clothes. Small hands tightened around the zanpaktou’s hilt as green eyes examined the box as the man shook it around. A small package… something inside even smaller… It was a rather nice box, obviously it contained something of high quality. And he wanted to drop it off? For who?

The answer to the question was obvious. The taicho of the 10th Division was not ignorant to his fukutaicho’s relationship with Ichimaru. He wasn’t as informed as he would have liked to be, only due to Matsumoto’s unwillingness to go deep into the subject with Hitsugaya.

The snow-haired boy still did not lower his weapon or even take his eyes off of Gin.

“Matsumoto, he’s here for you.”

When he'd pulled out the box, something in her had hitched. Some small part of her was touched -- flattered, to say the least. It had been a long, long time since she'd received any sort of present. The events in Soul Society had all but robbed all of them of a sense of fun and enjoyment.

But she withdrew from any hopeful emotions. What in the world was Gin up to this time?

"Leave it on the ground, Ichimaru." She said, wary to the thought of leaving her taicho's side. "By your leave, Hitsugaya-taicho." She murmured. Her fingers flitted over Haineko's hilt.

So they were both going to stay on guard? No matter, Ichimaru had expected that much. After all, he was still a traitor to them, even if he wasn't really feeling very traitor-like as of late. He felt a touch of amusement when Hitsugaya turned to his blonde Vice-Captain. It was almost as if the little boy was a secretary of sorts. Of course, that was not the case in the least. The smaller Captain still had a sword in hand, ready to slit Gin's throat in a moment's notice.

His momentary amusement faded with not only that thought, but also at Ran's reaction. She, of course, could not act openly about how she really felt, and it was sort of depressing. It was also rather saddening that she had her hand ready at the hilt of Haineko. Gin, however, showed nothing on his face, eyes and mouth still curled in his neverending smile. One impossibly thin hand held the small present and he walked forward a few steps, walking right over Shinsou on the way before placing the little wrapped box on the ground. The ex-captain then made a small nod towards Hitsugaya, indicating that he was bowing out.

"Saaaa~ 'Twas nice seein' ya Hitsugaya-taicho, an' o'course, Matsumoto fukutaicho. I'll see ya 'round."

((OOC: I guess we can wrap up? :"D))

((OOC: I didn't really want to restart Gin, but we may have to do a partial restart, mostly because of that huge nonsense that went on at the Morem o Lisboa. D: I wanna get all the Bleach-muns together to see what we can do.))

She nodded and kept her eyes level on his face. While she was curious about the box, and therefore the content within, she would wait until he was out of sight before she picked it up. What are you up to, Gin? She couldn't help but think as she stood by her captain's side.

The tiny shinigami stared down at the tiny gift wrapped box. A gift for Matsumoto, that was sure. Hitsugaya could only imagine what was running through her mind at the moment. This man was in league with Aizen Sosuke, a betrayer of the Soul Society, of the Gotei 13, and of her. Did she have the heart to forgive him?

On that matter, should he forgive him. He betrayed all of Soul Society, that was an obvious one. He had to be watched at all times no. There was no letting him slither away again.

But what had Ichimaru really done to him personally? He threatened Hinamori and almost killed her (if it wasn't for Rangiku). But of course he wasn't as bad as Aizen had been. He was not the one that nearly killed her and then Hitsugaya as well.

But he was in league with him. He was still a betrayer.

A child groaned and closed his eyes in thought. He didn't fully trust Ichimaru but he certainly wasn't as bad as some (though Hitsugaya never really liked the man to begin with anyway). And there was Matsumoto to consider. Well, she was too part of the Gotei 13 and Soul Society, the place that Hitsugaya was at least loyal to.

Ichimaru needed to be under watch and Hitsugaya could not have a fukutaicho who obviously had a lot on her mind. That would be horrible for work.

Hyourinmaru found its way in its sheath once again, though Hitsugaya's hand never left it's hilt. "Ichimaru, you will no longer have the freedom you once did. From her on out you will be placed under constant surveillance."

The shinigami turned then to the woman beside him. "Feel free to take the box, Matsumoto, but your new assignment is watching over this man. Never let him out of your sight for one second." He looked around the buildings surrounding them for a moment.

"I'm going to look around this city some more tomorrow and get a good idea of where we are and what's going on. I'll meet you here when I am finished.

"And remember, always keep him in your sight." Hitsugaya repeated. He looked at the two breifly before turning and making his way down a quiet street.

She watched him depart, ready as always to follow his commands to the letter. As his form disappeared into dark she straightened and turned her attention back to the other presence who was now half-hidden in shadow and going further still.

Watch him. Follow him. Those were her orders now.

She moved forward and plucked the box off of the pavement with not so much as a break in the rhythm of her gait. Tucking it into her robes she kept her eyes trained on Ichimaru and crumpled up her unease for later consideration.

She would check the contents later. If it was anything like the swatch of cloth hidden in her belt, then he would have questions to answer.

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Where is everyone? [COMPLETED]

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