Rukia went to the place Ulquiorra told her of.
The library was a room, as grand as the living hall downstairs and filled with two stories of bookshelves.
In the middle of the room stood a single, large table with some chairs around it.
The woman slowly walked past the shelves and read some of the book titles on the books backs.
Works from Shakespeare, Poe and other famous authors, throughout time had found a place here.
It was really impressive.
Rukia walked up on the few stairs that lead to the gallery and there she headed to the back end, where the light got dim and the books exterior changed.
In the last bookshelf there were only ones, who looked the same, they had no titles, but some numeric code.
Curious, Rukia picked one of the many books, it was one of the first at the top shelf.
As she opened it, she found that it was handwritten.
Sometimes there even was a date in the corner of a page.

The book she read over was chaotic, random notes were scattered everywhere, mind-maps and diagrams drawn in it.
When she turned another page a single word caught her eyes, like it was screaming at her.
SIN
Furrowing her brows, she flipped the page and now read a collection of words, scribbled down on it.
Soon she could group them together.
They all began with either a S,an I or a N, and one of each group was encircled.
Now she got it.
This book and probably all it's brethren belonged to one of the inhabitants, and seeing the current notes, Ichigo seemed to be the only plausible owner.
Rukia understood, Ichigo hadn't come up with the naming randomly.
Rather than reading S.I.N. and pronouncing the single letters, like with CIA and USA, he read it like the word 'Sin'.
As she flipped through the pages, she found what she guessed would be there.
V.A.S.T., was named after the same system.
Still, she couldn't guess the intention behind it, but now even that word carved onto that other branch leaders chest made sense.
Whoever did it, he might have understood the meaning behind S.I.N. and stated his mind through it.

At the end of the book, she found an entry that read.
'Make etchings' , and under it a poem.
Under that was another note, 'To hang over every exit of headquarters'.
Thinking about it, she never saw something hanging over the exit or elsewhere that even resembled that poem.
If they had taken it down?
Did it not fit with today's V.A.S.T. anymore?
Never mind, the book was over a hundred years old, meaning, if Ichigo continued his scattered entries, she might even find some more recent ones.
Skipping to the books, in the lower shelves, Rukia found one with the year she was searching for.
Flipping through the pages, she first noticed that it changed, to be more like a logbook.

When she searched for the correct date,she found that it was missing,but there was an entry from several days later.
"Entry for May 17th. Went with my team to hunt a S.I.N.. Located it and were after it. The thing was unusually fast. Teammates began to fall behind. Lost them after turning into an alley. S.I.N. escaped me after some meters then. Went back to find my teammates. Weren't near the place I lost them. I heard a scream. Identified it as Harukas and followed it. I found the two. Akira laid on the ground, bleeding bleeding out the last of his blood. Haruka got devoured by the S.I.N. that escaped me. I reacted to late. Two persons died, and the S.I.N. got away, because of me."
Finally she knew it.
In the end, her parents died in an accident.
She wouldn't, no, couldn't blame Ichigo for it and the male probably pushed enough guilt onto himself already.
Her parents had been his teammates, which made them the humans that had been closest to him, she couldn't imagine the pain he'd have to have felt back then.
Now she felt bad for drilling in that wound.

"Have you found what you were looking for?"
The voice asking her, startled her so much that the book slipped through her hands.
As she looked toward the source she saw that it was the blonde from before.
"I thought a push to the right direction might help you find the way to move on again."
Rukia asked, as she picked up the book and placed it back on the shelf.
"So it was your idea to tell me about this place?"
Shinji leaned against the shelf, grinning widely.
"Yea. Ichigos situation is worse enough as it is. He doesn't need a brat who clings to the past and stabs him in the heart through it. Then again, knowing him, he's to stubborn to tell you directly and make an end of it. It's his own fault for keeping this things here, so he can't blame anyone if they read it."
The blonde looked at Rukia.
"So, what do you do now?"
She needed a moment before she could answer.
"I'll give everything in the training, so that I will be less of a burden to everyone and can take down that S.I.N. who killed my parents."
Shinji pushed himself off the shelf and told as he left.
"Then you have another problem."
The woman looked at his back, not understanding, as he descended the stairs.
When Shinji was almost at the exit he spoke loudly enough, that Rukia on the gallery could hear him.
"Only Ichigo knows how it looks."
He was gone and left Rukia alone to digest all the information she took in, in the past hour.

But rather than that, she yearned for some distraction and found it in one of the many more modern novels.
She was so immersed in the book, that she didn't notice the approaching person until he spoke.
"What are you doing here?"
Her head snapped up and her wide eyes stared at Ichigos pale face.
After a moment she retorted, while mustering his figure.
"What one normally does in a library, read. But you should rather be in bed than here, shouldn't you?"
"What I should and shouldn't is none of your concern. Who allowed you to come here?"
"Someone. And he he told me of something interesting I'd find here."
Rukia snapped back and pointed back to the gallery with her thumb.
Ichigo understood the gesture, let out a weak sigh and sat down across from her.
"So you know."
"Yes. But you could have told me, instead of letting me find out myself. Oh, sorry, I forgot. You're as thick headed as one can get."
She really hadn't intended for a snide comment like that, but now it was out.

Laying the book aside, Rukia looked at Ichigo, who had a pained expression now and then took one of his hands into her own ones.
It was cold and the skin felt almost like paper.
That idiot could act as he wanted, but the body still told the truth.
"I'm sorry. I didn't meant it like that. I don't blame you for what happened. It can't be undone anyway, but I want to find that bastard who did it. I think that makes us two. Will you let me help?"
Ichigo only heard her, like through a thick fog, those two gentle and warm hands taking his so casually had him distracted.
"Aren't you the least bit afraid, after what I made you go through yesterday?"
Brown eyes met with violet ones.
"You want the truth?"
Ichigo just nodded.
"I had no idea how I would react until now. I knew that being afraid, would hurt you even more. Being angry wouldn't change anything and pitying you was out of the question. Seeing you all worn down now, all I want is being a person at your side that supports you in times like these. I want to be your comrade, in my parents state."
It was the first time, Rukia saw him smile like he did now at her.
A warm and truly happy smile, that came from his heart.
"You really are Harukas daughter. I'd be glad to call you a comrade, but I'm scared of the things that could happen to you, because of me."
Rukia pressed his hand and assured him.
"Everything will be alright, I'll learn from the best how to handle it, right?"

"Ichigo! There you are. You shouldn't wander off like that."
Shiros voice sounded in the entrance of the library and the concerned looking Vampire came to them.
"I already told you, I'm fine to get up. The symptoms are worn off and the side effects are also...already..."
Ichigo explained as he got up and took a step, before he faltered and was close to collapsing.
Rukia jumped from her seat, but Shiro already had caught his mate.
"See? Side effects gone my ass. You belong in bed, no discussions."
"You're like a mother hen."
Ichigo chuckled weakly.
"And you're a wiseacre fledgling who still has his first fangs. Just listen to what other people say, for once."
Shiro had shouldered Ichigo and carried him back to his bed.
"If I did that, we wouldn't live like that now."
Rukia last heard the pale ones answer, before they were out of reach.
"Yes, Yes. You'd be a dutiful little slayer, who'd slit open my guts and had gone through one or two incarnations again."
The female shook her head and took the book she had been reading back to her house.
These two truly were made for one another, she just hoped that fate would be gracious on them.

The day had gone by and neared it's end again.
That it was so late already she hadn't even noticed.
Upon entering her living room, she sound the two files still resting on the table.
'I have to return them. Don't need them now anymore, either.'
She thought and placed the book next to the files.
After she made herself dinner and watched some TV while eating,she went to bed.
Beginning tomorrow, would be a time of exhausting training sessions.

Chapter 16
End