[And in eight minutes -- eight! -- Rei is at his door. And she only waits about a second after knocking before just opening it, because -- well, whatever, she's earned the right to just come into his house without having the door opened for her by now.]
[She slides into the kitchen quickly once she's done giving the dog some attention to come to the table, hesitating a moment or two before taking a seat.
-- and it takes about two seconds before Rei just spits it out.]
Lucifer decided to talk to the Animus like an idiot. And in order to heal his vessel, he reached into Urahara -- and Break -- and used the power of their souls to heal himself.
[With some great amount of patience. It's a miracle of God she doesn't say it a bit more snappishly.]
It isn't the point whether or not they let him, it happened!
[ -- yeah, the patience thing lasted long. But while she looks frustrated for a couple of seconds, she slumps into the chair a little.]
... they did. But doing that -- manipulating souls like that, for -- power, it's unstable, and -- who knows what kind of damage it does, Lucifer makes my skin crawl by existing, let alone if he touched my soul.
[Rei already knew Hitsugaya would never, but hearing it out loud mollifies her slightly into relaxing enough to sigh, resting her elbows on the table so she can put her chin in her hands.]
Cas did. And no, he doesn't. And I can't think of one.
[She pauses.]
I can't really think of any reason good enough to let someone do that to me, unless someone I loved was dying, and -- it's Lucifer, Toushirou, come on.
[Seriously, who would go through that amount of excruciating pain for that asshole.]
If you think Urahara would agree to that for Lucifer, you're sorely mistaken.
[It's clear in his stern expression that he's not saying that to defend Urahara. Hitsugaya doesn't even fully comprehend what happened (touching souls? manipulating them? to heal?), but if the man agreed to let Lucifer use his soul, then something is wrong. Shinigami are souls, albeit powerful ones, and something like that can potentially wreck him in a way death never can. But that's the very reason Hitsugaya knows Urahara must have a motive. Because, aggravating idiot that he is, he knows what he's doing. He always has a motive.
[She frowns, at that, but lets it go, and instead focuses on the question. That much she can answer, though she doesn't particularly want to.]
You reach inside a person and grab their soul, like --
[And Rei hesitates before reaching forward to touch Hitsugaya in the chest, with her fingers. They obviously don't go through, but she presses slightly.]
That, except your hand goes through. It's some kind of metaphysical thing that the angels can do, but they don't do it very often, if at all. There's no real reason to except to absorb power from them. Or to see if they're in one piece.
Think of it like a battery. They siphon power off of it.
[She looks uncomfortable.]
I can't tell you that he'll go around touching souls, but the shinigami --
[She falls silent, but the unsaid worry is clear. The shinigami are supremely powerful souls. And if Lucifer has already used Urahara to heal himself, then he must already have figured that out. And she glances down at her hands before she keeps speaking. Rei keeps her tone carefully neutral, because she doesn't want to start an argument, but she has to get it off her chest.]
I'm done with having him walk over my life and the lives of the people I care about. If he touches anyone else in this city, in any capacity, I can't -- [And Rei lets out a breath, her cheeks puffing out slightly.] I don't know what to do.
[First thing's first. If the annoying man made this choice, there's certainly nothing Hitsugaya can do about it now. Hino neither. Urahara can handle himself. But if it doesn't stop there...
What can anyone do?
After a moment, he thinks of something he may regret bringing up later, but anything is better than nothing.]
...Is there any way to keep up some sort of surveillance on him?
[She's silent at that, deep in thought. Suggesting herself is pointless, because the day Hino Rei can survey anyone without giving herself away is the day Hell freezes over. That and putting she and Lucifer in the same district is just asking for a fight. But the more she thinks, the less she knows what to offer in return, except for one individual.
Suggesting it would be blatant manipulation. And Rei isn't sure she can do that. But Hitsugaya offered a theory and Rei, in return, needs to offer a suggestion, and the only feasible suggestion Rei can think of, one that could offer legitimate results, is:]
I could ask Castiel to tell me what he's doing.
[Her eyes are fixated on her nails.]
Lucifer answers him truthfully and tells him almost everything.
[Hitsugaya freezes for several seconds at the suggestion. He should have expected it. From past experience, Castiel is nearly always Hino's suggestion. But what makes him pause is that Hino's right. It's the most obvious and least suspicious solution. But it's Castiel. It's like asking him to trust Ichimaru with watching Aizen.
...But isn't that just it? Hitsugaya wouldn't agree to it, so why would anyone expect it to happen?
Finally, he breathes, and time seems to start rolling again.]
...Only if he reports relevant information directly to me.
[She looks up slightly when he doesn't answer, to gauge his reaction, and purses her lips tightly together at his condition. Castiel wouldn't agree to it, but she couldn't tell him that. It was all a matter of compromise.]
... I can try.
[That was all she could really offer in response.]
[Castiel doesn't exactly do 'report to people' very well, especially when Hitsugaya and Castiel can hardly have a conversation without arguing about something. But she doesn't point that out or acknowledge that she knows that he knows that, instead letting out a sigh, her cheeks puffing out slightly.]
Yes, sir.
[It's said somewhat tiredly, but she means it. She won't do it.]
[It's not so much the lack of certainty, it's the solid offer of assistance in preventing Lucifer from harming anyone -- that is what she needs to hear, and her shoulders abruptly relax completely as relief curls around her.]
...Alright.
[But her brow furrows as she crosses her arms over her chest, leaning back slightly in her chair.]
But you can't be the one to conduct surveillance on him, either. At least not close-range and never alone.
[She can't have Lucifer getting odd ideas in order to get back at her or to use him for some sick twisted battery source, either.]
[She frowns at him again before leaning forward to put her chin in her hands again.]
He's going to tell me regardless of whether or not I ask him to. He doesn't keep secrets from me -- that's how I found out about this to begin with, because he told me. Besides, he's not the problem here, Lucifer is.
[And she huffs the hair out of her eyes before she pauses to narrow them.]
Thus, if he reports to someone else directly, you will have more freedom and the chance to deny that you were the one who obtained that knowledge from him. If any surveillance is going to be held for this purpose, you are not going to take the fall for it.
[He snorts, turning away for a moment. It's not a difficult concept, Hino.
...What he's about to suggest next is a bit harder to swallow though.]
[She almost argues that she doesn't want anyone else to take the fall for her, either, but -- that's pointless. And stupid. So she lets it go, allowing him the victory on that one, because he's right.
-- Rei, however, does not think he is so right on the next part. But as she opens her mouth to shoot it down, she hesitates. Negi is as much a kid as she is and Rei is perfectly okay with risking life and limb in order to fight to defend the city. And she knows that Negi would do this for her, if she asked, or if Hitsugaya asked.
She looks unhappy, though.]
If he finds out we're spying on him, this is going to end badly. It needs to be done, but -- he's not...
Fighting him isn't like fighting anyone else.
[She doesn't particularly want to offer more details. But Lucifer is the Devil for a reason. He gets inside your mind and tortures and pokes and prods until you're begging for mercy.
Not that Rei has ever let an utterance of mercy cross her lips whenever she's faced Lucifer, but she knows what delight it would give him to hear it.]
[Well, if he's going to attempt to sense those ermines, he might as well be the one to ask about it in the first place. Just from looking at her, he figures she has enough on her plate anyway.
Finally, he faces her again, his expression downcast but not defeated.]
[She wants to say she wants to go to sleep -- and Rei is seriously considering just going to his couch and doing just that -- but she contemplates for a moment or two.]
[Hitsugaya frowns at that. It's not something he wants to talk about, all the things Sasuke hid from him so he could continue association with the man who killed him.]
If you really want something, I'll see what I can do.
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In person.
Where are you?
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[What she needs, he doesn't know, but it's safe to assume it really is necessity.]
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Toushirou -- ?
[ ... after nudging the dog off of her legs.]
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[Where he's standing next to the dining table, dropping a dirty rag onto the table when he hears her enter.]
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-- and it takes about two seconds before Rei just spits it out.]
Lucifer touched Urahara's soul to heal himself.
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...Come again.
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[With some great amount of patience. It's a miracle of God she doesn't say it a bit more snappishly.]
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[ -- yeah, the patience thing lasted long. But while she looks frustrated for a couple of seconds, she slumps into the chair a little.]
... they did. But doing that -- manipulating souls like that, for -- power, it's unstable, and -- who knows what kind of damage it does, Lucifer makes my skin crawl by existing, let alone if he touched my soul.
[She looks positively disgusted at that thought.]
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[He snorts, hiding a cough behind his fist. Her momentary lack of composure helps him to regain his own. Calm down, girl.
Still. He can understand.]
Who told you this? Did they know Urahara's motive?
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Cas did. And no, he doesn't. And I can't think of one.
[She pauses.]
I can't really think of any reason good enough to let someone do that to me, unless someone I loved was dying, and -- it's Lucifer, Toushirou, come on.
[Seriously, who would go through that amount of excruciating pain for that asshole.]
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[It's clear in his stern expression that he's not saying that to defend Urahara. Hitsugaya doesn't even fully comprehend what happened (touching souls? manipulating them? to heal?), but if the man agreed to let Lucifer use his soul, then something is wrong. Shinigami are souls, albeit powerful ones, and something like that can potentially wreck him in a way death never can. But that's the very reason Hitsugaya knows Urahara must have a motive. Because, aggravating idiot that he is, he knows what he's doing. He always has a motive.
He grimaces, unsatisfied.]
What does it entail?
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You reach inside a person and grab their soul, like --
[And Rei hesitates before reaching forward to touch Hitsugaya in the chest, with her fingers. They obviously don't go through, but she presses slightly.]
That, except your hand goes through. It's some kind of metaphysical thing that the angels can do, but they don't do it very often, if at all. There's no real reason to except to absorb power from them. Or to see if they're in one piece.
[She lets her hand drop with a frown.]
It's painful.
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They absorb something from it? That's where the healing comes in.
[Then Lucifer had been close, and Urahara at his mercy. That's... uncharacteristic.]
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[She looks uncomfortable.]
I can't tell you that he'll go around touching souls, but the shinigami --
[She falls silent, but the unsaid worry is clear. The shinigami are supremely powerful souls. And if Lucifer has already used Urahara to heal himself, then he must already have figured that out. And she glances down at her hands before she keeps speaking. Rei keeps her tone carefully neutral, because she doesn't want to start an argument, but she has to get it off her chest.]
I'm done with having him walk over my life and the lives of the people I care about. If he touches anyone else in this city, in any capacity, I can't -- [And Rei lets out a breath, her cheeks puffing out slightly.] I don't know what to do.
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[First thing's first. If the annoying man made this choice, there's certainly nothing Hitsugaya can do about it now. Hino neither. Urahara can handle himself. But if it doesn't stop there...
What can anyone do?
After a moment, he thinks of something he may regret bringing up later, but anything is better than nothing.]
...Is there any way to keep up some sort of surveillance on him?
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Suggesting it would be blatant manipulation. And Rei isn't sure she can do that. But Hitsugaya offered a theory and Rei, in return, needs to offer a suggestion, and the only feasible suggestion Rei can think of, one that could offer legitimate results, is:]
I could ask Castiel to tell me what he's doing.
[Her eyes are fixated on her nails.]
Lucifer answers him truthfully and tells him almost everything.
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...But isn't that just it? Hitsugaya wouldn't agree to it, so why would anyone expect it to happen?
Finally, he breathes, and time seems to start rolling again.]
...Only if he reports relevant information directly to me.
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... I can try.
[That was all she could really offer in response.]
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Anyone but you. That's my requirement. Otherwise, there's no point.
[And that's that.]
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Yes, sir.
[It's said somewhat tiredly, but she means it. She won't do it.]
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[But he's not promising he'll find any.]
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...Alright.
[But her brow furrows as she crosses her arms over her chest, leaning back slightly in her chair.]
But you can't be the one to conduct surveillance on him, either. At least not close-range and never alone.
[She can't have Lucifer getting odd ideas in order to get back at her or to use him for some sick twisted battery source, either.]
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I meant my requirement is that Castiel can't report the information to you.
But I won't follow him. [Because if she's that upset over this, he can't give her any more reason to worry.] He'd notice.
However...
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He's going to tell me regardless of whether or not I ask him to. He doesn't keep secrets from me -- that's how I found out about this to begin with, because he told me. Besides, he's not the problem here, Lucifer is.
[And she huffs the hair out of her eyes before she pauses to narrow them.]
However what?
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[He snorts, turning away for a moment. It's not a difficult concept, Hino.
...What he's about to suggest next is a bit harder to swallow though.]
Springfield.
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-- Rei, however, does not think he is so right on the next part. But as she opens her mouth to shoot it down, she hesitates. Negi is as much a kid as she is and Rei is perfectly okay with risking life and limb in order to fight to defend the city. And she knows that Negi would do this for her, if she asked, or if Hitsugaya asked.
She looks unhappy, though.]
If he finds out we're spying on him, this is going to end badly. It needs to be done, but -- he's not...
Fighting him isn't like fighting anyone else.
[She doesn't particularly want to offer more details. But Lucifer is the Devil for a reason. He gets inside your mind and tortures and pokes and prods until you're begging for mercy.
Not that Rei has ever let an utterance of mercy cross her lips whenever she's faced Lucifer, but she knows what delight it would give him to hear it.]
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He once offered to scout the inner city with his abilities. If he's still capable of doing so...
[He sighs, still facing away from his guest as he sorts through how he wants to word this.]
But I don't know whether Lucifer would be able to recognize it as Springfield's handiwork.
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... I don't know. It depends on the energy.
Can you feel Negi when you're near them?
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But not until we find out for sure.
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[She was going to offer, but. If he wants. :C]
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Finally, he faces her again, his expression downcast but not defeated.]
...Do you want anything else while you're here?
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Did you eat dinner yet?
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No. Hungry?
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[She's already pushing herself up to poke through his cupboards.]
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[But he heads down to the basement to grab something from storage anyway.]
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[Because she's not going to eat in front of him without him eating too. 8|]
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... I really miss good fish.
I would kill for really good fish.
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[Dead serious.]
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[Hitsugaya frowns at that. It's not something he wants to talk about, all the things Sasuke hid from him so he could continue association with the man who killed him.]
If you really want something, I'll see what I can do.
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[With some amusement -- and Rei shrugs to herself.]
I'm alright, really. But maybe for tomorrow.
[If he's offering. :C]
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Tomorrow then.