Ichigo returned home, where Shiro already awaited him.
"So, where have you been and why?"
The orangette gave Shiro a sign to follow him inside, since he didn't want to discuss the matter in front of the door, where everyone could eavesdrop.
He led Shiro to his office and told him where he was, as he stared his computer, then typed in something on it.
Once he found what he was looking for he turned the desktop around to his mate.
Shiro looked at two pictures, one showing Satsuki Haruka and the other her husband Akira.
"I remembered something concerning them that doesn't fit together with the present."
The pale turned his gaze to the orangette, frowning a bit.
"What?"
"Actually, I had known that they were awaiting a child. When it was born though I was told that it was a stillbirth and the infant had been male."

Ichigo explained to him and made him listen attentively by that.
"What about Rukia then?"
"I tried to find out, but neither the hospital or the municipality could or would help me. The only one I could ask who probably knows is Rukias uncle, and he disappeared for all I know."
Shiro thought it was strange that Ichigo cared so much about that so suddenly.
He had thought that his mate already concluded that Rukia had been hidden from him, for whatever reason, and made his peace with it.
"Ichigo is there something you aren't telling me?"
The orangette looked away, not answering right away.
After some seconds he spoke.
"I have a suspicion, but until I either confirmed or confuted it I'd like to keep it to myself. So can you not drill for it further, please?"
Hesitantly Shiro agreed and let the subject drop.
He knew Ichigo would talk about it when he was ready and he trusted him in that.

Mentioned orangette was deeply indulged in his own thoughts until a sudden cry let his head snap up and his legs move before he could even think about it.
Ichigo identified the voice the moment it reached his ears.
It had been Rukia!
When he reached the outside he only saw a cloaked figure flee as Ulquiorra followed after him, throwing his knifes after the culprit.
Rukia knelt on the gravel in the middle of the plaza between the houses.
"Rukia!"

Ichigo hurried over to her and searched her for any injuries, but aside from a bruise on her underarm he didn't find anything.
"What happened? Who was that?"
He asked her and she shook her head.
"I couldn't see his face. He tried to drag me with him. He said something about, taking me back from the sinners. His voice sounded familiar."
Suddenly she buried herself into Ichigos chest and after a moment of surprise Ichigo gently embraced her and stroked her back.
She was trembling violently, it made him want to go after that bastard and rip off apart his filthy body until he was just bloody mince-meat.
"He scared me. If Ulquiorra-san hadn't come... I don't want to be taken away from here."
She began to ramble.
"It's alright now. We'll protect you, no matter what."
Ichigo promised her then.

"Ichigo, what happened?"
Shiro asked after he finally arrived and after his mate shortly answered he went to Ulquiorra, who just came back, to ask for more details.
Obviously the kidnapper was a human and in his retreat the hood of his cloak fell off his head and the raven had caught a glimpse of light colored hair and a pair of glasses, before the man mysteriously disappeared after turning around a corner.
The information was given to Ichigo and Rukia as well and upon the question if the female knew someone matching the description she answered.
"The only one I know, would be my uncle."
She stopped and her eyes widened as she realized something.
"This voice...it was definitely my uncle's."
'Things just got more messed up then the already were.'
Ichigo thought.
There was an unknown enemy, killing off S.I.N.'s and now even Rukias uncle tried to kidnap her.

"Wait! Are you sure that he said sinners?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
He now wore a winning smile on his face.
One piece of the puzzle just had fallen into place.
Ichigo hugged Rukia a bit before he let go of her.
"It's starting to fit together slowly."

Rukia and the others just stared at him and the woman felt an uneasiness creep up in her when her thoughts wandered to the training she had to take and that she just had been on the way to.
But there was no way around it, even more now after what just happened.
Ichigo seemed to have taken notice of her distress and exchanged a look with his mate, conversing non-verbally.
"We will move the training to the V.A.S.T. tower"
The pale one said and not long after they drove of.

While on the ride, Rukia tried to squeeze the two for tips for her training by asking casually.
"How did you learn that sensing stuff?"
"I didn't, I'm born with this ability, among others so I also know your hidden intention behind this question, little Missy."
Shiro told her, letting her hoped die instantly.
But Ichigo told her something that could count as help.
"When your hand touches mine, you feel it through the receptors of your nerves, who send a signal similar to an electric impulse to your brain. To imagine the same on an invisible level, like a dome that surrounds your body and that you can draw closer to you or spread out, is the most base and the best one to help you learn doing it. "
Rukia took the advice to her heart and tried to put it to use when they reached the training facilities in the V.A.S.T. tower.
But it was more difficult than she thought.
No matter how hard she tried it was still nearly impossible to do for her.
Late in the evening she broke off on her own and asked to continue on the following day.

So they did and after the second day that went similar to the first, she was close to surrender.
As she stood up and dusted herself off, something felt odd then.
Like someone was touching her, but no one was even close enough for this and not even standing in the position she caught the feeling from.
"There is something outside."
She said, like she knew where that feeling came from.
Ichigo listened up, his head spinning toward the female, eyes wide as he realized the meaning behind those words.
'She's a wide range sensor!?"

Chapter 19
End