Post by Hirose Hiromi on Jul 11, 2011 23:41:16 GMT -5
The research labs of 12th lay peacefully silent, after a long day of extensive studies most of the scientists had called it a day and headed off to their private quarters for some well needed rest. All but one, somewhere in the distance burned a dim light, slight sounds of mechanical devices resounding through the empty hallways. Working at this late of hour of night offered privacy and seclusion, an escape from colleges and the noise they make. Inside of the barely lit lab stood Nanami, toiling away at her work as if hypnotized, unaware of exactly how much time had passed. The slight flickering of various small blue lights, radiating from various electronic machines all spaced around the room, many of them connecting themselves to the worktable Nanami was at through thick cables. On the table lay an immense number of complexly shaped tools, all surrounding this small cube shaped object Nanami was working on. Her eyes displayed an exhausted stare as she used the tool in her hand on her device in-the-making, tiny sparks emerging as the tool made contact with it, metallic clicking noises filling the room. After many minutes of switching tools and applying them on her work she finally looked up from her workspace, this being first time she had focused her attention to something else than her work in hours.
Her back was sore from standing up so long, she hadn't noticed it before as her attention had been completely absorbed in her work. The room was hot, this being due to the various large stationary devices present in the room, all emitting heat from having been running for so long. Nanami's clothes were drenched in sweat, only the lab coat she wore over her clothes was seemingly fine. Slowly she was becoming aware of how much time exactly had passed, however it did not bother her, working so many overtime hours was natural to her. It was an escape for her an escape from having to be alone, alone with her mind that would go into thoughts and memories she would rather avoid. Working this long allowed her to escape both herself and others, as she always felt awkward to some extent as they offered to assist her. As Vice-Captain she had become accustomed to the presence of her squad members, and while most of them meant well or were trying to earn some respect or squad credibility she always felt tense by their presence. Most of them were good people, some of them trying to push her for friendship even however she didn't feel comfortable getting this close to people, not just yet...
She decided to call it a night, storing her work in progress in a safe-locked container in the back of the lab. After writing a few notes and adding some information regarding her progress in her report she calmly made her way to the changing rooms. Gently strolling through the dark hallways, dimly lit with the blue glow of the safety lights, the slight tapping sound of her feet resounding to usually busy complex of the 12th division. After making her way into the changing rooms she began removing her drenched clothing, using a soft towel to dry herself. As she removed her footwear her exhaustion begun catching up on her as her eyes felt heavy. She sat on a small bench while facing downward to remove her shoes, before lifting her head back up she leaned it against the locker in front of her. Her eyes began closing for a second but in reaction she forced herself to stay awake, sleep was not something she looked forward to as during her sleep no pleasant dreams were waiting for her. While still leaning her head she punched in the code of the locker beside her, which conveniently belonged to her. As the door opened the insides of the locker were revealed, at the top were some spare clothes however below stood her more important item. Her elegant zanpakutou stood there waiting for her return, as if it was an old friend waiting to be reunited. Her tired eyes looked at it while soft a voice resounded through her head.
"My dear child... Do not keep yourself from your rest... Do not torture yourself like this, you can overcome your nightmares if you give yourself the time."
Asamoya's calm voice soothed her mind, and while not responding directly she was sure he understood that she had acknowledged his message, following it up was more difficult to her however. Now on her bare feet on the cold floor she began removing the rest of her clothing. Quickly she jumped into the shower, cleaning herself after her hours of labor. While the hot water felt nice and comforting on her naked body she rushed herself, she always felt uncomfortable and awkward showering in a public place, even if nobody was around. After using her towel to dry herself and wrapping it around her to cover up herself (even if there was no one to see her), she picked up a spare set of clothes from her locker and continued to dress herself. Finally finished she took her sword and put it in its rightful place at the side of her hip. As she left the room she flipped off the light switch, the room going back to its dark and quiet state.
Back into the hallway she began strolling towards the exit, she was ready to head to her own private quarters and perhaps attempt getting some form of sleep. As she neared the main doors something caught her attention. A small glowing light was coming through the windows of one of the offices. Curiously she opened the door, stepping inside of its dark confines. The source of the light originated from a screen of a computer which somebody had forgotten to turn off, something that could be expected regularly within the 12th. Naturally she moved in to turn off the console and move on towards her room. On the screen was a seemingly endless list of titles, radiant green letters on a black background. The same old archive program they had been using for a substantial while now, naturally Nanami was familiar with it. While drowsy and exhausted she decided to scroll through the list to see which archive had been pulled up. After looking at several titles in the list she deducted that this was one of the archives that had cataloged testing materials, resources and subjects obtained over the years from various places. The contents of every one of these files was usually a mystery or surprise as the materials retrieved could literally be anything, usually the test performed and the progress were briefly reported in them however nothing in depth was ever revealed (more detailed require another totally different archive directory). As titles containing places, reference numbers and times scrolled by she blankly stared at them, not particularly looking for anything in specific. Only half awake she continued to do this for a while, the reason however was beyond her, she wasn't planning on finding anything. However it seemed that while not having planned on it she found something, something that perhaps for her was a grim find.
Seeing the title "Reference #0015867 - District 55: Shimazu" shook her out of her drowsy state and into a mild state of anxiety. Her breathing became heavier, her hands were slightly shaking. Perhaps what she thought was false, certainly it couldn't be from then. However the green numbers on a pitch black screen confirmed her fears, the date matched what she could remember. She grabbed one of the chairs and sat down, her head resting in her hands as he began figuring this out.
Why? Why did they retrieve test subjects? It was a hollow attack, a supposed rare but generally natural occurrence. Technically that eliminates it from being a sight of interest, as there wouldn't be anything worth retrieving by the 12th. Surely the 3rd investigated the scene but those records aren't accessible from the 12th archives. Inside of her head she analyzed the facts, only to arrive at the same conclusion each time. Her eyes moved fast as she read the title time after time again, however she had not mistaken. Slightly panicked she determined that if subjects were taken from the incident's sight back then that there was more to it than there was claimed to be, something a few rumors had hinted at. She had forbidden herself from endlessly pondering about it shortly after having survived the ordeal, she didn't want to be confronted with it. Now through her discovery she was forced to do this, regardless if she wanted to or not. She buried her face into her hands, tearing her attention away from the screen. The thought had been sitting in the back of her mind from the moment she had seen the file's title, however through her conclusion she feared that her thought was right. If they did collect evidence and subjects from the sight than it would've been the bodies of the deceased, this she knew without a doubt. Chances were she would find him in that list, however she couldn't verify this without seeing it first.
Slowly she raised her head, her hands moving towards the keyboard. As she selected the file she heard Asamoya's familiar voice resounded through her head once more.
"Child, do not torment yourself... Is this truly what you want to see?"
While her mindful spirit was right her shaken mind couldn't stop itself. She knew this would be bad for her, she felt it and she feared it. However she needed to know it, being aware of the file's existence would haunt her waking hours, she had to see. As her fingers touched the keys she selected the document with dread. As expected the authorization menu popped up, requiring one to submit their clearance before possibly being granted access to said file. As her hands trembled she typed in her username and access code. She could never truly be ready to be confronted with this.
Her back was sore from standing up so long, she hadn't noticed it before as her attention had been completely absorbed in her work. The room was hot, this being due to the various large stationary devices present in the room, all emitting heat from having been running for so long. Nanami's clothes were drenched in sweat, only the lab coat she wore over her clothes was seemingly fine. Slowly she was becoming aware of how much time exactly had passed, however it did not bother her, working so many overtime hours was natural to her. It was an escape for her an escape from having to be alone, alone with her mind that would go into thoughts and memories she would rather avoid. Working this long allowed her to escape both herself and others, as she always felt awkward to some extent as they offered to assist her. As Vice-Captain she had become accustomed to the presence of her squad members, and while most of them meant well or were trying to earn some respect or squad credibility she always felt tense by their presence. Most of them were good people, some of them trying to push her for friendship even however she didn't feel comfortable getting this close to people, not just yet...
She decided to call it a night, storing her work in progress in a safe-locked container in the back of the lab. After writing a few notes and adding some information regarding her progress in her report she calmly made her way to the changing rooms. Gently strolling through the dark hallways, dimly lit with the blue glow of the safety lights, the slight tapping sound of her feet resounding to usually busy complex of the 12th division. After making her way into the changing rooms she began removing her drenched clothing, using a soft towel to dry herself. As she removed her footwear her exhaustion begun catching up on her as her eyes felt heavy. She sat on a small bench while facing downward to remove her shoes, before lifting her head back up she leaned it against the locker in front of her. Her eyes began closing for a second but in reaction she forced herself to stay awake, sleep was not something she looked forward to as during her sleep no pleasant dreams were waiting for her. While still leaning her head she punched in the code of the locker beside her, which conveniently belonged to her. As the door opened the insides of the locker were revealed, at the top were some spare clothes however below stood her more important item. Her elegant zanpakutou stood there waiting for her return, as if it was an old friend waiting to be reunited. Her tired eyes looked at it while soft a voice resounded through her head.
"My dear child... Do not keep yourself from your rest... Do not torture yourself like this, you can overcome your nightmares if you give yourself the time."
Asamoya's calm voice soothed her mind, and while not responding directly she was sure he understood that she had acknowledged his message, following it up was more difficult to her however. Now on her bare feet on the cold floor she began removing the rest of her clothing. Quickly she jumped into the shower, cleaning herself after her hours of labor. While the hot water felt nice and comforting on her naked body she rushed herself, she always felt uncomfortable and awkward showering in a public place, even if nobody was around. After using her towel to dry herself and wrapping it around her to cover up herself (even if there was no one to see her), she picked up a spare set of clothes from her locker and continued to dress herself. Finally finished she took her sword and put it in its rightful place at the side of her hip. As she left the room she flipped off the light switch, the room going back to its dark and quiet state.
Back into the hallway she began strolling towards the exit, she was ready to head to her own private quarters and perhaps attempt getting some form of sleep. As she neared the main doors something caught her attention. A small glowing light was coming through the windows of one of the offices. Curiously she opened the door, stepping inside of its dark confines. The source of the light originated from a screen of a computer which somebody had forgotten to turn off, something that could be expected regularly within the 12th. Naturally she moved in to turn off the console and move on towards her room. On the screen was a seemingly endless list of titles, radiant green letters on a black background. The same old archive program they had been using for a substantial while now, naturally Nanami was familiar with it. While drowsy and exhausted she decided to scroll through the list to see which archive had been pulled up. After looking at several titles in the list she deducted that this was one of the archives that had cataloged testing materials, resources and subjects obtained over the years from various places. The contents of every one of these files was usually a mystery or surprise as the materials retrieved could literally be anything, usually the test performed and the progress were briefly reported in them however nothing in depth was ever revealed (more detailed require another totally different archive directory). As titles containing places, reference numbers and times scrolled by she blankly stared at them, not particularly looking for anything in specific. Only half awake she continued to do this for a while, the reason however was beyond her, she wasn't planning on finding anything. However it seemed that while not having planned on it she found something, something that perhaps for her was a grim find.
Seeing the title "Reference #0015867 - District 55: Shimazu" shook her out of her drowsy state and into a mild state of anxiety. Her breathing became heavier, her hands were slightly shaking. Perhaps what she thought was false, certainly it couldn't be from then. However the green numbers on a pitch black screen confirmed her fears, the date matched what she could remember. She grabbed one of the chairs and sat down, her head resting in her hands as he began figuring this out.
Why? Why did they retrieve test subjects? It was a hollow attack, a supposed rare but generally natural occurrence. Technically that eliminates it from being a sight of interest, as there wouldn't be anything worth retrieving by the 12th. Surely the 3rd investigated the scene but those records aren't accessible from the 12th archives. Inside of her head she analyzed the facts, only to arrive at the same conclusion each time. Her eyes moved fast as she read the title time after time again, however she had not mistaken. Slightly panicked she determined that if subjects were taken from the incident's sight back then that there was more to it than there was claimed to be, something a few rumors had hinted at. She had forbidden herself from endlessly pondering about it shortly after having survived the ordeal, she didn't want to be confronted with it. Now through her discovery she was forced to do this, regardless if she wanted to or not. She buried her face into her hands, tearing her attention away from the screen. The thought had been sitting in the back of her mind from the moment she had seen the file's title, however through her conclusion she feared that her thought was right. If they did collect evidence and subjects from the sight than it would've been the bodies of the deceased, this she knew without a doubt. Chances were she would find him in that list, however she couldn't verify this without seeing it first.
Slowly she raised her head, her hands moving towards the keyboard. As she selected the file she heard Asamoya's familiar voice resounded through her head once more.
"Child, do not torment yourself... Is this truly what you want to see?"
While her mindful spirit was right her shaken mind couldn't stop itself. She knew this would be bad for her, she felt it and she feared it. However she needed to know it, being aware of the file's existence would haunt her waking hours, she had to see. As her fingers touched the keys she selected the document with dread. As expected the authorization menu popped up, requiring one to submit their clearance before possibly being granted access to said file. As her hands trembled she typed in her username and access code. She could never truly be ready to be confronted with this.