[district 12]

[illdrinktothat]

The day of the Reaping has come as it always does, and District 12's sole victor, Walter Sullivan, is ringing in the event in the manner with which he is accustomed to. That is, of course, by getting blackout drunk the night before and being utterly unresponsive on the morning of.

He doesn't hear the Capitol escort knock at his door. Likewise, he doesn't hear the same Capitol escort come in the house, call out, or stomp his way up the stairs, back down the stairs, and through the house. He doesn't hear Weyoun's reaction to him being passed out in the hallway. He's not aware of anything and then suddenly he's very acutely aware he's very cold and very wet, and there is an incredibly annoyed Trinket standing over him, holding an empty bucket.

Walter sputters cursewords, hefting himself up onto his elbows and shaking his head vigorously - he regrets that very quickly. The room spins, and neither the hangover haze or the cold water are moved any. "The hell is your problem?" He snarls once he gains some amount of coherency again.

"We're going to be late, Mr. Sullivan," Weyoun tuts, frowning, as if there is truly no offense worse than that. Late. How very dare. "Get yourself prepared, please. And no drinking. I expect you to be composed. This is a very important day."

Walter's not to pleased with the authority Trinket apparently thinks he's wielding here. No drinking? Like hell. Still, he clumsily pushes himself up more. "Fine, fine. Just get the fuck out of my house." He blinks blearily at the icecubes on his clothes, the floor. Did that shithead actually dump ice on his head? That's just cruel.

"Very well," Weyoun answers primly, tucking the bucket delicately under his arm. He stares down his nose at the victor for a long moment before turning and making his way back down the hall. "I'll see you at the justice building, Mr. Sullivan."

Walter stubbornly sits in the puddle of cold water and melting ice until he hears the front door shut behind Weyoun. Getting up is a lot more difficult than he'd like to admit; stiff, achey limbs from his choice of bed, the ever increasing hangover... and the puddle. He slips and nearly falls a few times before making it to his feet properly. Goddamn Trinket. Goddamn Capitol. Goddamn Hunger Games.

The prep team and getting ready can wait. Right now, he makes a beeline down the hall for the nearest room, and the nearest bottle of booze. No drinking, sure.

Comments

[ichigo_kurosaki]

Not even Reaping Day makes Ichigo's father any less... Ichigo's father. It could be the same as any other morning, really. Isshin barrels into Ichigo's room, yelling good morning cheerfully. Ichigo barely has enough time to finish pulling his shirt over his head before rolling out of his father's way. Doesn't matter if there was a punch or a kick headed for him - there usually isn't, this time of year - Ichigo dodges away all the same.

After that he just has to put on his sh-- wait, where the hell are his shoes? Ichigo scrambles around the room. "Are Yuzu and Karin ready?" He asks, looking under his bed. No shoes.

"Of course," Isshin answers, blinking as if it's not the brightest of questions. (It's not.) "Yuzu made breakfast."

"I'm going to be late, I gotta find my shoes and go meet Sa--"

He doesn't get to finish that. Isshin repeats himself, in a surprisingly stern tone of voice. "Your sister made breakfast."

Ichigo pauses in his search, regarding his father thoughtfully for a moment. It's his last year. No more worry about his name getting pulled after this - but that doesn't mean his luck couldn't run out. Might as well be a little late. "Alright, alright," He acquiesces, finally, and deliberately doesn't think about how soon his Yuzu and Karin will turn 12. There's enough on them for one day.

After breakfast, Ichigo hugs both Karin and Yuzu, then his dad, who.... promptly hands him his missing shoes.

"You gotta be kidding me," Ichigo sighs, pulling them on as he stumbles out the door. He's definitely late now, but his friends know his family. They'll understand.

[yasutorasado]

The morning of the Reaping starts the same way as any other morning for Sado. The only difference is the clothes are a little nicer, and he doesn't have to go to work. He would have gone in after lunch like everyone else, but his boss told him he could have the whole day. Since it's his last Reaping and all. That was nice.

He takes a little extra time eating what passes for breakfast before heading out. Ichigo's dad always finds a way to drag things out a little, so there's no need to be early to their usual meeting spot. Even so, he gets there first. Caro shows up not long after.

"Morning," she says as she hops up onto the low wall Sado's leaning against. "I see Ichigo is as on time as ever."

"You know how Isshin is," Sado replies. "It's the same every year."

Caro laughs a little. "I'm surprised Ichigo gets anywhere on time, really." She swings her feet a couple times then scuffs the back of her shoe against the stone wall.

[ichigo_kurosaki]

Ichigo is really late. He has to mostly sprint to make any sort of good time, but it's not going to help much; they should have had breakfast earlier. He'll make it to the town center on time, sure, but that's not the important part.

"Hey, Caro! Chad!" He calls out once he sees them in the usual spot, slowing his pace considerably. He hopes they didn't wait all that long - Isshin always holds him up every year, like clockwork - but they had to have been there for at least a little bit. "Sorry," He starts, shifting around a smallish parcel from under his arm and untying it. Jam, biscuits, bits of fruit, nothing terribly amazing inside it, but something all the same. And maybe worth a little wait, hey? "Yuzu made extra."

[caroflower]

Caro looks up from the scuff she's determinedly wearing into her stupid Reaping Day shoes when she hears Ichigo come roaring up. "About damn time, Ichigo!" she calls like this doesn't happen every year. She hops down from the wall and shuffles over to inspect this year's breakfast offering from Yuzu. Caro doesn't even have to look behind her to know that Sado's nodding at Ichigo and doing that companionable lurking that only Sado can manage.

"Ooo nice," she says as she grabs a biscuit before Ichigo can even start dividing everything up. She never bothers fixing breakfast on Reaping Day, honestly. It's not until about now she can ever keep anything down anyway. And hey. If she actually gets fucking Reaped, she'll have more room for fancy Capitol cooking on the train. Right? Right. (And right about now, Sado's probably switched which foot is crossed in front of the other.)

Caro could go back to her spot on the wall... but why? Instead she'll stand here a little too close to Ichigo for just standing. That's much funnier. She switches the biscuit to her other hand and takes a bite, and stretches her free hand up to ruffle her boyf-- Ichigo's hair. Almost. Not quite her boyfriend yet. Not til after their last Reaping, that's what they decided.

"What kind of jam did Yuzu send this year?" Sado asks after a moment, finally straightening up. He sounds amused and a little resigned, like he knows perfectly well that Ichigo's about to be distracted grumping at Caro. He's probably right.

[ichigo_kurosaki]

Ichigo isn't even surprised. He sighs a little and starts divvying up the breakfast. Caro, of course, stands very close and... reaches up to play with his hair. "Hey, hey! Don't mess up the hair. I just got it perfect," He grumbles (as if his hair is every anything but all over the place) and ducks down if not quite away.

"Raspberry," Ichigo answers, reaching over to hand Sado's portion to him before Caro completely diverts his attention. Not that he's complaining. Soon enough they'll have to go deal with the Reaping, so might as well enjoy it while he can. He'd work on a little payback but his hands are still full of their breakfast. In a moment, though.

"Think Sullivan will actually be awake this year?" The year previous had... not been pretty. The lone victor, shitfaced, snoring and leaning precariously the entire time.

[issuiyanagi]

Issui is up long before the sun. But that's not unusual, especially not on Reaping Day. It's not like she's the only one who slept poorly, if at all. But she can at least make use of her free time. She slips out of the house before Nana can pester her. She'll just make the rounds first. Maybe find something for lunch.

It's not long before she's over the fence and out by her usual lake. There's some watercress that should be ready finally. That'll be nice. Issui sets a few of the fishing lines and goes to gather the watercress. While she does so, she even finds some water chestnuts. Very good. When she gets back with the plants, there's a fish on one of the lines. A nice big one. She brings it in along with the other lines. She hides those back in the little hollow of a particular tree, then bundles up the fish and plants more securely for the walk (and climb) home. Issui only had to drop a fish on herself once climbing back over the fence. That was enough.

By the time she gets back to the house, it's just about time for breakfast. Issui slips back into the house, removes her boots, and pads quietly toward the kitchen.

[shinobuakiyama]

Shinobu's awake long before sunrise, but she steadfastly refuses to get out of bed immediately. This is a household that very usually is up and going long before the sun is - but this is Reaping Day. It happens once a year, and she's going to be damned if she actually gets up early for it. She's going to enjoy laying in bed an extra hour or two, given the possibility of never being able to do that again in the immediate future.

By the time she rolls out of bed, Nana is already trundling through the house, and Issui is gone. Out in the forest, probably. Shinobu puts as little effort into getting dressed as she can, knowing fully she'll still have to put on her dumb Reaping Day clothes and make herself look extra presentable. Ugh.

She's wandering around the kitchen when Issui makes it back. "There you are," She starts. "What'd you get? I thought I said don't come back unless you catch a cow."

An entire cow, somehow. She would also accept cake.

[issuiyanagi]

Issui tilts her head and blinks slowly at Shinobu. "I did," she says very solemnly, eyes wide. "This is a cowfish." She deposits the wrapped up plants on the counter for Nana to deal with shortly. Then she shuffles across the kitchen to Shinobu and lifts up the fish, holding it flat across her palms like some kind of offering.

"Don't you--" Issui stops abruptly, as if only just now realizing that she's offering the fish to... slightly above Shinobu's head. She clears her throat and then kneels at Shinobu's feet, now holding the fish level with the top of her own head. "Don't you want to milk it?" Issui asks, peering up through her bangs.

"Oh yes dearie, we'll get a nice fishcheese from that one," Nana says from somewhere behind her. Probably investigating the watercress and water chestnuts. Possibly while smiling serenely at Shinobu.

[shinobuakiyama]

Shinobu plants her fists on her hips, looking down at the offered fish sternly. "Are you sure?" She asks, narrowing her eyes to a tight squint. The fish doesn't look very... cowlike. It looks fairly plain, for a fish, even for one from their neck of the woods. "Are you sure it's a cowfish? Did it even moo?"

Nana cheerfully shuffles about with the rest of that morning's haul. After a brief moment she wanders over to inspect the supposed cowfish more closely, scooping it out of Issui's hands. "Ah, yes, I will take care of this. Perhaps you should go wash the fish off your hands so you can have some breakfast, hm?"

[issuiyanagi]

"Of course," Issui replies, eyes wide. "I baited the hook with hay and everything." She maintains the dead eyed, mildly upset stare until Nana comes and takes the fish from her. Then she clambers to her feet with a dutiful "yes ma'am" and goes to wash her hands.

Breakfast is... breakfast. They keep joking around until Nana gives them a look and then Shinobu and Issui have to settle down and actually eat. Nana's not someone to upset anyway, but they especially don't want to do that today. So they'll just make faces at each other when Nana's not looking. Like mature adults.

Getting ready for Reaping Day is always a trial. Issui has to wash her hair the day before to make sure it's dry in time, and then actually bathe the morning of. Hair as long as hers takes a lot of planning. Styling it for today isn't too bad, at least. It's just a matter of corralling it up into enough braid and bun to be presentable and not in the way. So then it's into the bath for her, then into her Reaping Day dress. She must have grown a little in the past year after all-- the dress has crept a little higher up her legs since she wore it last. Wonderful.

[rukiakuchiru]

"--nd now, the girls," the Escort says in his cheery Capitol accent. He fishes around in the big glass bowl, making a game out of it. Just do it already, asshole. Pick someone to die and shut up. "Our second Tribute for District 12 is--" Dramatic pause while he unfolds the paper. "Rukia Kuchiru!"

She tries to run, but it's already too late-- the Peacekeepers are dragging her up to the stage. Rukia tries to fight them, but there's too many of them and her limbs aren't working right. Onstage, Trinket looms over her, leering. "Congratulations, Rukia!"

--

Rukia bolts upright... and crashes right into Renji's chest. "Idiot!" she yells, reaching up to rub her forehead. "What the hell are you doing?" It was just a dream. Thank god.

[renjiabarai]

Renji's awake and sneaking through the district's fence hours before sunrise. He fetches his arrows and bow from the usual places, and sets off to see what might have gotten itself stuck in one of their snares.

This is not terribly unusual for him - getting out early to check and reset snares is never a bad idea, after all. He's just doing it solo, this time. Rukia's back home, trying to sleep in a bit on Reaping Day, while he's trudging through the woods quietly, checking traps all for... nothing. It's been a bad season for game, probably not going to get much better. He should've just tried to get some more rest.

He's given up and halfway back to the fence when he spots movement in the bushes some distance away. He freezes, stock-still, hoping to at least be downwind enough to not be noticed. A deer tentatively emerges from its hiding place, after a moment. A deer. Healthy, sizable. A doe, from the looks of it. That's a prize that's well worth this trip.

He carefully creeps to a better vantage point, plucking an arrow from his quiver, ever vigilant that the slightest of mistakes could fuck this up entirely. He nocks the arrow, draws the string back until it's against his jaw. It's a perfect setup, there's so little breeze, the doe doesn't even know he's there. He inhales, relaxes the fingers around the bowstring, and -- his perch gives way underneath him.

He doesn't see where his arrow goes. He doesn't even really care. He's just suddenly tumbling down a hillside, through still-damp leaves, dirt, rocks. He comes to a hault with a thud and a very upsetting crunch. He's fine, he knows that without even really checking. His bow's intact, too. He thinks he'd almost prefer an actual injury to the sight of his utterly busted sunglasses. Those took so much effort to get. God. Damn. It.

His bow and arrows go back into their hiding spots, his busted glasses get buried, and he gathers himself for the trip back to the fence. He's still removing leaves from his hair by the time he gets back home, later than he should be. He's going to have to rush to get ready, now, and mostly just hopes Rukia's already up and out of the way so he can.

...Of course, she isn't. Renji finds her still in bed asleep, and having one hell of a dream, at that. He can't quite make out what she's saying; he doesn't really want to. "Rukia? C'mon, Rukia," He starts, padding over the roust her. Shaking her shoulders a little does nothing. She flails around a bit more, still oblivious. "Get your ass up, we gotta get ready for th--"

Rukia snaps upright so abruptly and totally that she manages to headbutt Renji's chest with some amount of force. He stumbles back a bit, managing to land solidly on the floor on his ass. "What the hell am I doing?" He yells back, mouth twisted into a scowl. "I was trying to wake you up! You slept in too late, stupid."

[rukiakuchiru]

"By leaning over me?" Rukia squints up at him and sniffs haughtily. Damn, her head hurts. "What were you gonna do, kiss me like one of those dumb storybook princesses?" She gives him a sly look and folds her arms. "I thought you'd be saving that stuff for-- are those leaves in your hair?" They totally are. Real charming, Renji.

Shaking her head, she hops out of bed and steps around Renji. She could pluck a couple of those leaves out for him, but why bother? He's the one who went and played in the leaves. Besides, he gave her a headache. Stupid Renji and his stupid chest. At least she didn't catch his forehead. She did that once. It was awful.

Rukia glances out the window as she heads for the kitchen. "Shit, what time is it?" Does she still have time for breakfast? She'd better.

[renjiabarai]

"What - what? No! Why the hell would I do that?" Renji practically sputters, scrunching his nose up. He's not going to even acknowledge thesecond half of what Rukia said. It's too early for that. "You know what, next time I'll just dump some water on you instead."

He straightens up and goes about pulling the rest of the leaves out of his hair. His chest hurts. Stupid Rukia and her stupidly hard head. "Time for you to hurry your ass up, that's what time it is," He pauses, pulling his hair out of the ponytail so he can try and shake out what bits of leaves remain. "You slept in late."

[rukiakuchiru]

"At least I don't look like I rolled down a hill on my way home," Rukia snaps as she stuffs one of last night's biscuits in her mouth. This is why they always make some the night before the Reaping. Just in case.

Now that breakfast is at least nominally taken care of, she can grump back and start putting on her Reaping Day clothes. At least the dress still fits okay. That's something, right? Might as well find some bright side to being so damn short. She makes a show of hogging their busted up mirror while she deals with her hair. Renji hates it when she does that. Heh.

[weyountrinket]

The town's square is at least somewhat pleasant, in a very... quaint sort of way. He eyes the banners on the shopfronts, and the crowd around them. They did their best with what they have. That's the closest thing to a compliment Weyoun can come up with. It's 12, it is what it is, and what it is happens to be rough and ramshackle and very far from any place he has any great desire to be for any length of time.

He watches as the last of the teenagers line up. Beside Weyoun, Sullivan's chair still sits empty. On time. Sober. It was all asking too much, apparently. The Mayor takes the podium, says the same thing he says every single year, and even Weyoun finds himself tuning it out. When the Mayor has finished, Weyoun cheerfully pads over to the mic and taps it lightly.

"Welcome! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor." He smiles down at all the assembled faces. The crowd of 12's children shift about, uneasily. "Before we begin, we have a very special film. Bought to you all the way from the Capitol."

He motions to the screen off to his side, and on cue, the film rolls. It's more or less the same every year, but he still enjoys this part. A quick glance to the potentials, though, is a mostly unnecessary check of how much everyone here dislikes it. In fact, there are a couple small groups in the back who don't seem to be paying attention at all. Tch. At least the very tall ones seem properly affected by it.

The screens dim as the video ends, and Weyoun claps his hands togther. "How delightful."

He would go straight on to the Reaping, but there is suddenly some amount of noise behind him, off to the side of the stage. He looks in time to see none other than Walter Sullivan making a belated entrance. Weyoun announces him, as per usual. There is a small smattering of token applause. Sullivan pauses in his trek across the stage, looking distinctly confused. He turns, locks eyes with Weyoun, wobbling a little.

Whatever you're thinking, Sullivan, no.

The Victor frowns thoughtfully and begins shambling forward, veering from his path to his seat and now heading directly for the mic.

No, Weyoun mouths silently, shaking his head. No, no, no.

Sullivan drunkenly presses onward. All Weyoun can do is move out of the way between him and the mic and - Sullivan changes course immediately. It wasn't the mic, after all. Suddenly, Weyoun finds himself grimy grabbing hands as Sullivan attempts to hug him. He skitters back, and across the stage, and around the stage, but still, Sullivan pursues him.

This is ridiculous. He has a Reaping to run, and he can't let it by delayed by this... imbecile of a drunk.

Eventually, he caves. He stops long enough to let Sullivan get his way and hug him. The booze stench is enough Weyoun feels as if his eyes could water. He has to turn his head away, lean out of the contact as much as possible, which only seems to encourage Sullivan more. Is he... is he rubbing his back awkwardly? He is.

Weyoun tries to hide his scowl from the cameras. Sullivan has to know what he's doing. He has to.

After a truly very long few minutes, 12's Victor relents. He pats - then kisses - Weyoun's cheek before mumbling incoherently and slowly making his way to his seat, finally.

Weyoun is left to straighten his suit and glasses and hope that all gets edited out. Please, let it get edited out.

[issuiyanagi]

Issui can't believe her eyes. Walter Sullivan is chasing the Capitol Escort around the stage. And... hugging him. Caro and Rukia aren't the only ones doing a poor job muffling their laughter. After an excruciatingly long hug that also includes rubbing Trinket's back, Sullivan kisses him on the cheek and ambles over to his seat.

That's more than Issui can handle. She nudges Shinobu and glances down at her, eyes wide. "He's really outdone himself this time. You must be so proud," she murmurs.

Next to her, Caro has to smother her cackling with her hands. Rukia pats her on the back comfortingly. "Don't worry Lichfield, I'm sure she didn't mean it. We all know you're his only love." That earns her more laughter, choking, and an elbow to the ribs.

[shinobuakiyama]

Shinobu has to clap her hands over her mouth to keep from absolutely bursting with laughter. She can't quite parse what's going on up on the stage in front of her. Sullivan's wobbling after a very distressed Trinket.

"Oh my god," She manages after a moment, in a very small voice. She finally breaks when Sullivan initiates the most awkward hug she's ever seen, but by that point, she can barely make a sound. Her shoulders shake but the only noise coming from Shinobu is the occasional high-pitched squeak. Issui nudges her, but a snappy comeback is not something she's quite able to produce, at the moment. So she reaches over and slaps Issui's arm, all the while still making dog whistle noises. She can't even begin to react to ukia. She has no air.

[ichigo_kurosaki]

Most of the district 12 people are smart enough not to laugh, or to at least stifle or otherwise muffle it. Ichigo, though... not so much. Ichigo lets out a laugh loud enough it surprises even him. It just makes him laugh more, while the shenanigans on stage just get worse.

Then Renji stomps on Ichigo's foot hard. It's enough force to end Ichigo's laughter with an abrupt, painful exclamation.

"What the hell?" Ichigo whispers sharply at Renji, expression twisting into a scowl.

"It's the goddamn Reaping, stop laughing!" Renji snaps back quietly. "Keep yourself together or the Capitol's going to take it out on you, you fucking idiot."

So Ichigo reaches over and punches Renji again, for good measure.

[yasutorasado]

Well. This is certainly unexpected. Sado blinks as Sullivan and Trinket go round and round the stage. That has to be the most awkward hug he's ever seen. Most of the crowd is laughing, but Ichigo is loud. He moves to try and quiet his friend down, but Renji beats him to it. Not the way Sado would have done it, but at least Ichigo's quieter now.

He decides he should keep Renji and Ichigo from being any more... them. Sado shifts over so he's standing behind the both of them and rests a hand on each of their shoulders. "Well, I guess you called it, Ichigo," Sado says quietly. It's a good thing they didn't actually bet.

[weyountrinket]

Weyoun can feel warmth creeping up to his face, but he keeps his composure. Laughter - and loud laughter, from that one orange-haired boy. He straightens his posture, smooths down his suit jacket again and clears his throat at the mic. It takes a moment for the crowd to get a hold of themselves. The mirth of the moment vanishes quickly, though - the presence of the Peace Keepers and the nearing ceremony are quite good at that.

"Now," Weyoun starts, pressing his lips together tightly. "The time has come to select one brave young woman and man for the honor of representing District 12 in the 73rd Hunger Games. As usual, gentleman first."

Weyoun primly walks across the stage to the first of the large bowls holding the names. There's a brief moment, a very brief moment, where he entertains the idea of it being the loudmouth with the orange hair, then dismisses that thought just was quickly. He doesn't want to deal with that.

He reaches in, his hand hovering over the mass of paper for a beat before he plucks one of the folded slips out. His shoes tap sharply against the stage in the silence; he can almost feel the collective holding of breath while he approaches the mic again, paper in hand.

He pops the seal of the slip open, unfolds, and... squints a little at the handwritten name.

"Rikichi Kikuchi."

[caroflower]

Caro always feels a little bit bad about sighing in relief when it's not someone she knows. But it's not like she's the only one. She feels worse when she turns to look at the boys' side and it turns out to be one of the little ones. Some tiny little thing with a dumb name.

Unsurprisingly, he looks completely shocked. Blank, really pale. The other kids around him who do know him back away as the Peacekeepers start making their way over. No one wants to get in between them and a Tribute. Ever. Kikuchi's body finally realizes what's happening even if his mind hasn't caught up. He starts walking out towards the middle aisle to meet the Peacekeepers, agonizingly slow. Even in shock, he knows not to make them come to him.

[renjiabarai]

It's not him. It's not one of his friends. The relief from Ichigo is almost palpable, and even Chad looks as if he feels it, though both with the same familiar pain of watching a kid that tiny get picked. But Renji doesn't get any sense of relief, not in the slightest.

He can't bring himself to look over at Rukia or the others. There's a stone settling somewhere in his gut. It's a death sentence. How many other times has he seen this? Other kids, like Rikichi. Some of the orphans, like him and Rukia, older and younger, dead in the rift or sent to die in the arena. He knows Rikichi, kind of, and that kid won't last five minutes.

Kikuchi freezes for an excrutiatingly long moment before he starts a slow, terrified shuffle to the center aisle. He isn't moving fast enough. The Peace Keepers, already moving, converge there to escort him.

Renji's moving forward through the crowd before he even has time to process it. He reaches Kikuchi about the same time those white-uniformed bastards do. One of the familiar faces steps between them, looking bored underneath the visor. Renji barely registers who that is. Keevan, he thinks. Doesn't matter. Renji rams his shoulder into the Peace Keeper hard enough to send him backwards and out of the way. Rikichi looks up at him, wide-eyed and pale. He can't be 12. He can't be. He looks 8, maybe 9.

Renji feels hands closing around his arms tightly, someone's forearm locked around his bicep. He snaps his gaze up to the stage, to Trinket and the Mayor and Sullivan. And he shouts, loud enough his throat burns, "I volunteer."

Dead silence. The Peace Keepers holding him freeze in place. "I volunteer," He shouts again, "I volunteer as tribute."

[caroflower]

Oh shit. Ohhhh shit. Of all the boneheaded fucking things. Caro snakes an arm out and grabs hold of Rukia. All the blood's draining out of her face and she's completely expressionless. But this is Rukia. She's going to be yelling in the very near future. And who can fucking blame her. Caro feels like yelling herself.

...And then feels like slapping herself when it finally occurs to her who else she should be holding onto in support. Poor Issui. Caro reaches out and grabs her hand. Issui holds onto Caro like she and Shinobu are the only ones keeping her standing. Which might not be wrong. Shit. They were fucking safe-- Ichigo, Renji, and Sado-- but then fucking Renji has to go and volunteer. Shit.

Issui looks blankly down at her for a moment, then past her to make eye contact with Rukia. Caro doesn't know what makes her turn, some sixth sense for impending Rukia fits probably, but she looks over in time to see her expression darkening.

"No," Caro hisses, squeezing Rukia's arm. "Not here." She feels heartless for it, but what else can she do? She can't let Rukia start yelling in the middle of all this. Caro stares her down for what feels like forever, but finally Rukia just... collapses in on herself a little. Crisis averted.

She turns back to check on Issui, but it's not necessary. She's looking at Renji. Fuck. Caro can't even see the look on her face, but she won't be surprised at all if she gets to see it on the recap later. Shit. She squeezes Issui's hand, because that's all she can fucking do.

[ichigo_kurosaki]

Ichigo doesn't even realize Renji's moving until he's well on his way. There's a red blur, then that numbskull is deep into the crowd, making a beeline for Kikuchi and the Peace Keepers. And then Renji goes and fucking volunteers.

Ichigo wants to leap after him, drag him back, but finds himself rather firmly stuck in place. Chad's got a grip on his shoulders.

"Goddamnit, that dumbass, why the hell would he--" Ichigo grits his teeth. What the hell was he thinking? They were done. It was their last year. He'd have to worry about his sisters, sure, but everyone else'd be safe finally. Why fuck that up? He can't imagine what Issui is going through, or Rukia, and one glance their direction is enough to tell him he doesn't want to.

Ichigo would like to yell, throw some kind of a fit, maybe, for all the good it'd do. He slumps a little, watching to Peace Keepers converge around Renji. "It's fine, Chad, I'm not going to do anything stupid."

It's not as if he could top that level of idiocy, at least.