Carim looked at the monitor.
Ichigo hadn't been joking when he said that several programs had been shredded. Fortunately they had caught it early enough to fix it before it really became a problem.
"Ichigo-san, would you do us a favor and activate the Administrator's rights to the book? If we're going to replace the broken programs, we'll need the authorization of the Master to do so," said Carim.
"Um, how do I do that? I barely knew how to travel here, and the Tome was doing most of the work," said Ichigo.
Carim smiled and had Ichigo stand next to the Tome.
"Just say 'Activate Administrator's Rights'. That will get things started."
"Uh, activate Administrator's rights?" said Ichigo.
(Administrator's rights now active. New programs are nearby.)
"Replace broken programs and repair the Knight's program," said Ichigo calmly.
(Reincarnation program is currently running. Impossible to replace.)
"That is one of the biggest problems of the book, and it's considered the reason why it was called the Book of Darkness rather than it's real name."
"Is it possible to delete that program?"
(Deletion is impossible at this point. Program must be stopped before deletion is possible.)
"Well that is a problem. How in the world are we supposed to stop that program?" said Carim.
"I have an idea. Night Sky, is it possible to do a forced 'Restart'?"
"What is a restart?" asked Carim.
"Whenever my computer freezes at home, I simply restart it and it clears out the active memory. If that doesn't work I call a repair man," explained Ichigo.
The book seemed to get what Ichigo was trying to say.
(Reboot of systems is possible. All programs would stop. Would you like to reboot now?)
"Reboot systems."
The book's subtle hum stopped for a moment, and a few minutes passed before it started again.
(Time before Reincarnation program restarts, one minute. Would you like to delete?)
"Delete program!" said Ichigo.
(Reincarnation program is now being deleted from program files. Please wait before adding new programs.)
It took an hour before the program was fully purged from the book. During that time, Ichigo had called his family through an inter-dimensional phone to say he would be late in getting back. It would likely be the next day before he even returned home, because he wasn't leaving the book here.
(Program Purge completed.)
"Let's see... We can upgrade the Knight system, the defense program will have to be fully replaced, and the spell library could use an upgrade. But now that the reincarnation program has been taken out, it looks like the Tome of the Night Sky isn't running any programs to drain the user," said Angelica.
"Drain the user?"
"It appears that the reincarnation program was set to drain the user if it didn't collecting pages within three months. It would slowly paralyze the Master until it was completed, and within a few hours would go out of control and rampage until it was taken out. The only way to stop it was through a magical cannon called Arc-en-Ciel, which only an Admiral or higher could fire," said Angelica.
"How do you know that?" asked Ichigo.
"Because that's how it was dealt with for the past few Masters. The last time it appeared, it took over a TSAB ship and the captain was killed," said Carim.
Ichigo winced. No wonder Signum had mentioned there was bad blood with the TSAB.
"Let's see...this should be done fixing and updating the programs within a few hours. In the meantime, why don't you go have dinner?"
"I did take a nap on the way up here..." admitting Ichigo. Plus his feet were killing him. Even with the program no longer draining him, it would take a while for the paralyzing feeling to go away.
Since he was actually doing the Church a big favor by healing the Tome of the Night Sky (apparently it was regarded as one of the most notable Belkan artifacts, so every time it caused trouble there was some minor backwash to the Church) he didn't have to pay for the parts. Good thing too, because he didn't think his dad had the money to pay for them all.
Plus there was the added fact that Signum spoke Ancient Belkan, which was a rarity these days. Having someone from the wars would prove a boon later.
The next morning, Ichigo prepared to do another teleport home...as long as he was willing to devote a few weekends to training in the Belkan form of magic anyway. He didn't mind, as the use of swords in their magic practice interested him greatly, and it would be good to have more than one teacher.
A few of the Sisters even donated some of their magic so he could at least make it home safely. They were given paid vacation, so it worked out just fine for all involved.
Ichigo deftly ducked his father's welcome back kick (he had years of practice) but he was unable to avoid the looks Signum and the others were giving him.
"Ichigo-san, where did you go?" asked Signum a little too calmly. He winced.
"I went to get something fixed," he answered.
The pins and needles feeling had gotten worse, not better. It would be a while before he could safely go to P.E. without limping. He pulled out the Tome of the Night Sky, and all the knights looked at it.
"Where did you go, Ichi-nii?" asked Karin.
"I found out by accident that several programs in the book were wrecked beyond repair. One of the bad programs was the knight system, which needed some remodeling. Apparently the reincarnation program corrupted nearly all the other programs in the book," said Ichigo.
"What?" said Shamal.
"The reincarnation program in the book. It was like a virus and it corrupted nearly all the systems in the device. I noticed it while I was doing maintenance on my computer so I had the Tome of the Night Sky take me to Mid-Childa. It's been repaired, so now it's safe to use again," repeated Ichigo.
"You went to Mid-Childa?!" said Signum and the others in shock.
"Why else would I have left you behind? Because you mentioned the bad blood between you and the mage association, I felt it would be easier to get the book repaired without having you there to draw attention," said Ichigo. He was massaging his legs, which were murdering him.
"Your legs bothering you again?" said Karin.
"It'll be fine...I hope."
"How long have your legs been hurting you?" said Shamal immediately.
"For at least a month or so. I thought it was some sort of growth spurt pain or something," admitted Ichigo.
"Growth spurts don't hurt you enough that you have to massage your limbs," said Isshin.
Shamal took out Klarwind and had it examine Ichigo.
"The book encroachment must be causing this. It has a nasty habit of draining the master if they aren't filling the pages fast enough for it," said Shamal.
"Probably that program I had deleted. They mentioned something to that affect when I brought it in," said Ichigo.
"You are staying home today and tomorrow. I don't like the look of this," said Isshin firmly.
"Fine by me," said Ichigo. He needed a long nap anyway.
A week later, Ichigo was cleared to go back to school. Apparently deleting the reincarnation program not only stopped the encroachment, but it reversed it. Thankfully it hadn't been active that long, as it had taken a while for the program to work past Ichigo's spirit energy.
And, like Ichigo had told them repeatedly, the book was no longer broken. Apparently the whole problem had been the reincarnation program running amok.
With the book fixed, it was no longer imperative that they collect pages for the book. And so the days passed peacefully, until a fateful day in May changed everything again...
Signum was less than pleased with the addition of one Kuchiki Rukia in the house. They were at least accepted by the family because while the Kurosaki clan accepted the idea of magic and being bound to a book, they also didn't harbor freeloaders.
Signum had taken the semi-permanent position as Physical Education teacher and was the part-time assistant of the first one. She mostly helped the kendo club with their forms, being familiar with swords herself.
Shamal had practically flown through the medical courses given to her by Ryuusuke Ishida, the director of the nearest hospital and colleague of Isshin. Thanks to that she was a certified doctor, despite having fake papers. She worked at the clinic, helping Isshin when needed.
Vita was the 'bodyguard' of the Kurosaki twins, so Ichigo wouldn't worry about his sisters. Unofficially she was their 'cousin from abroad', according to Karin. She actually enjoyed school and was a member of the martial arts club. Because of her age, she shared a room with the twins, who viewed her as a third sibling.
Zafira was the family pet. He guarded the clinic against all outsiders who sought to harm the family. The only thing he really did was go on walks with the girls in his 'puppy' form and occasionally do the grocery shopping, pretending to have just come back from a cosplay club.
Considering this was Japan they were in, most people bought that excuse when they saw his ears and odd outfit.
But Rukia...she had just barged into their lives with no warning and no intention of actually letting the rest of the family know she was there.
In short, she was a freeloader and Zafira had caught her trying to hide in the futon cupboard that happened to be in Ichigo's room a few days after the incident with the hollow.
Ichigo's power had been unlocked, and several pages had appeared in the book without warning.
Ichigo had barely refrained from laughing his ass off when Signum dragged Rukia (biting and kicking no less) from the closet where she had been staying for the past two days.
He really did laugh when Karin lit into the midget and Yuzu gave the weakened Soul Reaper the disapproving puppy eyes when she learned where her clothes had vanished to.
In his mind, this was just desserts for the hell she gave him when she came to his school earlier and the fight.
Rukia was just surprised someone had noticed her there when Ichigo hadn't.
"Now, little Soul Reaper, would you care to explain what you're still doing here even though you gave Ichigo your power that took out that monster?" asked Signum.
"I never meant to give him all of it!" she protested, shrinking under the less than happy gaze of Signum. She was surrounded by those who could kill her and not think twice. As weakened as she was, she knew one wrong word and she was toast.
"Ten pages showed up after she gave me her power. I saw the book lighting up from the window," said Ichigo raising his hand.
"Not surprising. By sharing her power, you essentially absorbed her linker core as well as her soul reaper powers by mistake. Her spells are now yours," said Shamal.
"Hold on a minute! What's a linker core? And what do you mean my spells are his now?!" she said in protest. Some of her kido could do some real damage in the wrong hands.
"That's the least of your worries right now," said Isshin.
"Dad?" said Ichigo in confusion.
"By sharing her powers, she's put everyone in the house at risk. There is a law, a very old one, that explicitly states a soul reaper cannot share their power with someone living. It could upset the balance," said Isshin.
Rukia flinched. She had wanted to keep that to herself. It was bad enough she lost almost all her powers and was stuck in this stupid gigai.
"How would you know that, Isshin-oyaji?" asked Vita.
Isshin had gotten Vita to call him old man as a joke, and the name had stuck. Considering they were part of the family now (and to further bring that point up, they were invited to the yearly visit to the gravesite where Masaki Kurosaki was laid to rest) it suited him.
"Let's just say I have some experience in the matter and leave it at that," said Isshin.
"Now, Kuchiki-san, care to explain to us exactly what is going on?" said Signum. Zafira was barely resisting the urge to growl.
Rukia gulped, and explained most of why she was still around.
Apparently because Ichigo had almost all her powers, she had lost the ability to open the gateway. As far as the Soul Society knew, she had gotten badly injured and was in a gigai for the moment. Fortunately it hadn't been that long so they were still buying that lie.
In the meantime, Ichigo would have to take her place as Soul Reaper until she could return home.
She was hoping that her powers returned quickly so she could hide the fact she had given some to Ichigo in the first place. In the meantime she would attend school to avoid suspicion.
Signum was less than pleased by this development... and that only grew when she challenged Rukia to test her sword skills.
In the words of Signum, Rukia barely ranked above an amateur like Ichigo skill wise. She clearly needed to work on her sword skills.
Rukia was more or less dragged into the kendo club where Signum supervised and turned into Signum's new favorite practice dummy to the relief of Ichigo.
Whether Rukia liked it or not didn't matter to her, Signum just couldn't stand the fact Rukia relied on her sword spirit so much that she hadn't even bothered to hone what little skill she had from the Academy.
In the words of Shamal, when she figured out what element Rukia was from the sword spells now in the book, it was the snowflake going up against the inferno.
Rukia was doomed from the start.
The TSAB finally figured out that the 'Book of Darkness' was once again active over a year after Ichigo had first meet the Knights.
The fact that the knights weren't attacking anyone had puzzled them.
The only reason that they had even picked up on this development was that Signum was training Ichigo in magic outside Karakura, and there happened to be a ship with sensors active in the area above Japan.
It took them exactly a month for representatives to show up in Karakura, which was more than enough time for Ichigo to deal with problems that Rukia had unwittingly spawned by making him a substitute soul reaper for the town.
Problems like Chad and that possessed bird, Orihime and her dead brother... it just gave Ichigo a headache. Then there was that whole mess with Grand Fisher, who Ichigo recognized as being the same one who killed his beloved mother.
If he lost his temper and became enraged, well, none of the Knights faulted him for it.
They did learn a very interesting tidbit.
Belkan magic could harm hollows, but not actually kill them. The hollow had run with it's tail between it's legs from the blows Signum, Vita and Ichigo had dealt it. Ichigo was still peeved that he hadn't been able to kill the monster though, especially since Zafira and Vita had such trouble protecting the girls while he had to deal with another soul reaper who had come to find Rukia.
(Shamal and Signum had been with Isshin at the time.)
This would be one encounter that had Ichigo wishing he had brought headache relievers for.