Rukia reached the estate and just entered the mansion, in search for the pale Vampire.
She found him and one other of the local council in the grand living hall.
It was the blue haired one, Grimmjow, if she remembered right.
"Hello Rukia."
Shiro greeted her and after a short look behind her shoulder and at her distressed expression he asked with an already slightly alarmed tone.
"Where's Ichigo?"

"He isn't doing well and stayed behind."
The blunette entered the conversation, asking a question as well.
"What happened to the brat?"
Instead of answering Rukia retorted.
"Why do you care?"
"Because he's family, of course I'm worried when he sends his lap dog home first. So what happened?"
Rukia looked at Grimmjow then at Shiro, before she told them as short as possible of the recent events.
After hearing her speak of Ichigo being about to bite her, Shiros alarmed state grew.
"Did he bite you?"
"Wh-what?"

The Vampire stepped in front of her and rested his hands on her shoulders.
"I asked if you were bitten by him?"
"No, he just scratched my skin a bit before he pushed me away and told me to get out."
A relieved sigh left Shiros lips, before he turned to Grimmjow.
"I might need your help. Come, we need to hurry."
The blunette followed after the pale one, as he demanded.
"Would you fucking explain what the hell is going on?"
The last thing Rukia heard from them both was Shiro, halfway growling out an answer.
"You'll see."

When the two reached the V.A.S.T. tower and found the training floor Ichigo occupied, they found the orangette kneeling in the middle of the hall, bend over and embracing himself.
Shiro thought that it was a desperate try of his self to hold onto his consciousness.
Ichigo noticed the newcomers and his head snapped up, sweat pearls rolled down along his face and he whispered relieved.
"Shiro."
Mentioned knelt down in front of him and wiped away the sweat.
"I'm here Ichi. Everything's gonna be fine soon."
Ichigo bend forward again, his fingers digging into his sides while he let out a miserable moan.
"I can't no more."
By the time he began to writhe on the floor in agony and cry in pain.
Grimmjow who had watched the scene unfold itself, as he feared for his friends safety, now asked.
"What the hell is wrong with him?"
"He's having a S.I..N. symptomatically attack. It just started recently and happens in cycles."
Ichigo wound on the floor, as Shiro tried to hold him still, without hurting him.

"It burns. Shiro, I'm on fire. Please make it stop."
He whined before he began to cry out again.
Shiro hurried up and uncovered his lower arm.
"Save your questions for later, now hold him still in an upright position."
He ordered Grimmjow, who then grabbed Ichigo by his shirt, pulled him up as he sat down behind him and locked his arms so that he couldn't flail around with then.
"Ichi, you know what to do. Don't rush it, take your time."
The pale one spoke gently as he held his arm in front of Ichigos face.
As soon as Ichigo bit him and bean to drink, Shiros attention switched to the blunette.
"You know that he always needed more blood than us. Lately it's like his body can't absorb it fully, just as if it get's erased from the inside beforehand. The lack of blood accumulates and he develops a S.I.N.'s traits. Ichigo is like a key, to the syndrome, just that he never went further than stage one. He's just to stubborn to give into his lower instincts."
Grimmjow didn't quite get it, but Shiros explanation almost sounded as if he was saying that Ichigo was something like the original S.I.N., which couldn't be since they already existed long before the brat.
Then again he was a slayer as well, so everything was possible, right?
Which brought him to something else.
"Do you think it's because of his other heritage?"
"It's possible, that his soul fights against the genes of his body and causes this. I don't know."
Ichigo had gotten silent and finally fell unconscious in Grimmjows arms.
The strong Vampire lifted him up bridal style and carried him out of the office building.

Shiro and him brought him home, where they rested him in his bed as soon as they arrived.
After they went back to the living hall, Grimmjow asked before he split off to head to his own house.
"Do you think it might get worse?"
"I really hope it won't. Should it happen anyway, I'll put him out of his misery."
Grimmjow nodded, then left, knowing the unspoken words from the look on the elders face.
He hoped the best, for both their sake.
The things he talked about with the whole council before, made the current situation even worse.
Now Shiro also would be forced to tell the remaining members of Ichigos situation as well, that he hadn't already must have had its reason.
Also, like he was now, Ichigo might be unable to fight the enemy that was closing in.
How close he already was, no one would have fathomed yet.

Chapter 13
End