Researching the Past!

It crossed a leg over the other, the only movement other than its blinking every once in a while as it... seemed to process the words Hideki spoke. It decided to go with the simple truth, the boy wouldn't hurt Aoi and if he knew... he might help keep them safe. "As far as I know, no one knows about us. I've been around since before she came to the Seireitei, I am why they caught her. I am also why she's not still roaming the Rukon, cold as ice and covered in blood the color of her hair. Her name, Aoi, came much later than her arrival, because it was the only other color than red you would see on her. That is, when you actually caught a glimpse."

"I care nothing of those others, you mistake me. I just want to live, I want her to live and I would prefer she not know of me until she can handle it. You've seen her? Years of work, sealing away things she needs sealed. Now that she's stable as she is I can start unsealing and finally... maybe we can work in concert." It reached out a finger, pointing at Hideki. "If you don't turn us in and let her be dissected by R&D, that is. What'll it be book boy? You are someone she wants to protect and be friends with. Hurting you means hurting her."

His eye glancing at the moving leg was the only time his eyes had moved since the hollow had just shown up. They barely did before snapping back, hopefully unnoticed. Hrm... Maybe he'd been overthinking it... Maybe the hollow had less of an idea of what it was doing then he thought... Wait.. "Wait..." What? "Wh-what?" cold hearted and head to toe in blood? It sounded... Well.. Who cares how it sounded, this hollow had little reason to lie to him... He finally moved, crossing his arms as he considered what she was saying...

Was it really trying to piece together her mind? Was her mind really that broken beforehand? He frowned, before looking up at the accusing pointer finger. What to do... A hollow secretly hidden in one of Soul Society's lieutenants... but it claimed to simply want to survive and help it's host... He finally looked back up at those... wild eyes and... put his pointer finger out and aloofly batted her pointing finger away with it. "Tell me this... Can you give me... ANY kind of assurance that what you're telling me is actually true? That you don't intend any harm for anyone? If you can give me that, well... You don't need to threaten me to keep her safe then..."

"I don't know? I could send you to her old guild in the rukon, give you names and dates? You can ask those who were there when she was brought in, or look up . I can give you my word but that won't mean much coming from a hollow." It glared at him but let him bat away the finger. What was going through its mind, Aoi's mind, was... probably just anger. "I just want to live boy. Over a thousand years in the dark made me think about things a lot, I'm happier out here then there. I also doubt I can keep taking over like this for much longer without her noticing. I can fuzz up the memory of what you said, but not well. She's grown stronger in her personality and mind so its a lot harder to do without any sort of oddities she notices..."

"So hurry up and decide if we are a threat and let us die or just accept it."

He listened to it go on and on, only really focusing in on one of the things it listed. Why was it so angry? He hadn't threatened it... Then again... He supposed that it wasn't exactly in hollow nature to trust shinigami... Maybe that was because the reverse was true... He frowned more, but it was different. A sad frown. Why had he immediately assumed this hollow entity was evil? Well, because that's what he was trained to think.. And to be fair... if he'd been around for two centuries being told hollows were the boogeyman... maybe he would have responded exactly as it expected him to... Instead, he decided that this hollow needed a real surprise.

"The only thing to decide is whether or not I believe you. If I do, there's clearly no threat.." he said before shaking his head. "But I'm afraid I'm going to need proof right here and now." He said. Before the hollow would have time to react or get too angry at the statement, he put his hand out.. except it was closed... into a fist... with one finger sticking out... the littlest one. "I believe this will suffice." He said, hoping that between the hollow and Aoi, one of them knew what a pinkie swear was. His frown turned into a dour smile. It turned out the lieutenant valued someone's word regardless of who or what they were.

It stared at the pinky like it was some sort of foreign object for a few seconds, but time was of the essence. Reaching out the opposite hand from his, it wrapped its pinky around his in a time honored tradition of pinky swearing. It smiled, almost like an Aoi smile. This was a bit more mature. "I swear I'm telling the truth. Now make something up, she'll probably accept whatever you say to cover for lost time."

Whenever the pinky swear ended, her eyes would slowly start to fade back to blue, the whole body language she had changing. Her body would slump back as her eyes closed and she would stay that way for a minute or so.

He gave a grim smile. Okay... Well today HAD been interesting... he had... just made a deal to keep a hollow living inside a shinigami girl secret.. Well! Things could get awfully interesting in the afterlife, couldn't they.. even in a library. Now... What did it say? Convincing... He looked at the passed out Aoi. Oh. Oh CRAP. Make something up Make something up... What did he say. Uh... Why would she be unconscious? He stood up, not wanting to be right next to her when she came to... That could be even more awkward. He quickly darted back to his seat, before getting up and walking over. Okay. He would say she fell asleep reading.. But uh... okay, just...

He picked up a book and plopped it on her face... And just.. needed her to be sitting... how she was... He looked down, his face turning red. Uh-oh. Okay.. Just... He reached down and just... plopped her leg over. OKAY, RUN RUN RUN BACK TO SEAT... FACE STOP BEING RED, BAD FACE. He sat down and quickl buried his head in his zanpakuto to hide how blushed it was. "H-hey Aoi... You want another soda?" he asked helpfully, his voice shaking a little.

It was dark and smelled like a musty book... Aoi came awake, the book flying off of her face as she sat up suddenly. It landed with a plop on her lap and she blinked away what seemed like an odd dream. Hideki was... over on the other couch and it looked like she had fallen asleep reading. Oops! Flushing red, Aoi nodded. "Sure, I'll take one! I am sorry, I fell asleep on you... Aaah I am so bad at this. Studying like this is so... not what I am used to. How long was I out?"

She had no idea how far she was in before she fell asleep, and had probably kept on reading even while partially asleep. No telling where she had been... She'd have to start at the beginning and work her way until she found new information again... Sheeesh she'd be here all her free time! Her head still felt fuzzy though from waking up, and she tried to banish the last of it by standing and stretching. "I'll get it myself, lemme...wake up."

Bending in half, she made sure to try and get her muscles and blood moving again.

He startled a little as she popped up. Oh! Shit. Okay, Hollow her wasn't kidding. At first, he just... held his breath... would she remember? He peaked out from behind his book, one eye visible. "You uh... You... Not long. Maybe ten... fifteen minutes? Y-you're not tired, are you?" He asked, reaching out without moving anything besides his arm to grab a soda. He waited till she was aware before throwing the soda over to the couch, deciding to just... throw it on the cushions... He had kept a brave face and a cool head when the other her was out... but now that it was over, he was fairly shaken.

"Nah, you're good.." He said, trailing off as she... stretched... His eye disappeared behind the book as his face got red again. Why did she have to be so... so... HOT... it made this all way more complicated... Why was he thinking that? UGH.. UGGGH... He picked up his own soda and guzzled down the rest.

"Not tired at all, that nap must have been rejuvenating!" Which was nice, she needed more naps like that. Maybe she should start taking multiple naps everyday! The soda landed on the couch and Aoi grabbed it with a bit of reluctance as she stood back up fully. Would it explode on her? She opened it with one eye closed, worried but... nothing came of it. Yay! Victory! She'd had that happen once so far and well...

"Thank you Hideki. For all your help, I really...appreciate this. Its so much easier to share, you know?" Moving to Hideki's side, she bent over and did the hair thing. The hair thing is something she does, where she buries one her hands in someone's hair and slightly plays with it. Its her way of showing happiness and affection. "I am glad we could talk like this as equals, now. I think... you are a friend, yes?"

Hideki too winced as she opened it, not sure now that throwing it had been such a great idea... but it opened harmlessly. Ha.. ha... she would have destroyed all these books.... awesome. His face was in a cold sweat at the thought... and at the thought of what the captain would do to him. The mysterious captain. So mysterious. So unseen. Who even knew if it was a boy or a girl, or even some kind of crazy otter person. But for sure, there would be consequences.

"It's... It's nothing." He said with a sad smile. If she only knew how little he could truly help her... Well... maybe that wasn't entirely true... He was a learner... he just needed,.. to learn things about this... He smiled, but immediately started swatting as she ruffled his hair. What she said next caused him a moment's hesitation... "O..Of course we're friends... Y-yeah.." He was... more then a little taken aback by her honest directness.

After the commotion, the Captain of Squad 12 would pass by the two other shinigami in a rather casual manner. Underneath his left arm, he was carrying two rather thick looking books, ones that looked like they would give someone a headache just from the title. Recognizing the faces of the two higher ranked officers, Alexander turned his head and looked at the two. The young man looked like he was juggling between looking troubled and looking happy, and the young woman looked pretty amused with herself as she played with said person's hair.

"Lieutenants Hideki Nishimura and Aoi Murahana. Out on a date, I presume?" He smirked a little bit. Ah it was always fun to tease the young people.

"Good. Friends are good to have!" Aoi was pulling away her hand from Hideki as the Squad Twelve captain came upon their little hidey hole in the rafters. She shook her head and started laughing at the captain's...assumption. It probably was easy to see with them up here.

"No actually! I was thanking him for being my friend and helping me with some research for my new position." His smirk might have meant he intended a mean comment, but Aoi just smiled happily back. She gave a short bow after a second, hand to her chest in a salute. "Hello Captain Releigus. Its a pleasure to see you. Researching as well?"

She had seen the two large books but did not make out what they said.

Alexander was a little taken aback by the girl's honesty. Was she really that open? Well it made sense...she was part of the Human Affairs division after all, so personable skills were probably a requirement, he assumed.

He let out a small chuckle at her salute as he dropped the books onto a nearby counter. A decently audible whud accompanied the books as they hit the flat surface. He then took a seat on a chair nearby as the captain let out a relaxed sigh.

"I am never not researching, Miss Murahana. Technology waits for no one." He let out another chuckle as he reached one hand over and patted the books. The one on top was titled 'A Treatise on the Nature of Spiritual Energy; A Mathematical Attempt to Examine and Categorize its Potential'. "Apologies if I am intruding on you two. I used to come to this spot all the time when I was younger, it's a very nice place to get away, as you can tell." He retracted his hand. He hadn't thought about his past in a looooooong time. For a man like Alexander, who was always looking forward to the future, it was nice to sit and take stock on what his life has been like once in a while.

"So, if I may satiate my inquisitive mind, what exactly were you guys studying? Anything I can help you with?"

Hideki remained quiet as the spoke back and forth. In truth, he was frozen in place on the couch... How could this be happening? He had just discovered she was in threat of being put on a specimen table when who should walk up but the head of R&D himself? Suspicious... but it would be unwise to jump to conclusions too. Very well might be a coincidence. Maybe the captain could help? He seemed like a good man... but... no, he was too research minded... Hideki knew what it was like for his curiosity to get the better of him. Releigus had many hundreds more years for his curiosity to grow...

Hideki finally snapped out of it with the sound of the books dropping. "Not intruding at all, Captain Releigus!" He said pleasantly, standing up and sticking his hand out to shake. "Actually, Lieutenant Murahana was researching Fullbringers." He decided it was better not to tell the captain why. He was sure it was fine, but that didn't mean her private affairs needed to stop being private. "They're a steady influence on human world work so it seemed like a worthy field of investigation. I actually am curious myself, so I decided to lend a hand."

Briefly extending a hand to shake the Lieutenant's offered one, Alexander leaned back in the chair a little bit afterwards, getting a bit more comfortable in his seat. He let out an acknowledging hum at Hideki's explanation of their research, thinking about his most recent foray into studying Fullbringers.

"Ah yes, I've done quite a fair bit of research into these beings. Spiritually aware humans, usually come about as a result of a hollow attack while they were still in the womb. Unfortunately I haven't gotten a chance to study one up close myself." He paused for a moment. "What specifically about them were you two studying? Certainly two young bright minds like yourselves aren't satisfied with just the basics." He smiled lightly, waiting to gauge their replies.

"Its comfy and no apologies needed. Its not an intrusion at all!" Aoi let Hideki greet the captain as she snuck a peak at the title of the book. It...was a doozy. Maybe she should leave the whole huge big named books to those like these two. She'll handle anything that needs kicking.

At the words about studying one up close, Aoi jolted a bit but tried to cover it with a grin. "Well I think I can sense a few in the town I am currently going through orientation in. I was mostly wondering about abilities and powers I'd have to be on the look out for just in case I was attacked? Knowledge is power and knowing a bit more than I did would be beneficial. Plus if they are friendly I might be able to find out more about the human world. Hideki's been helping me sift through these journals and field notes! I'm not much of a researcher."

Hideki looked over at her, just for a second. If the captain wasn't there, he might have given a sad smile. Instead he adjusted his glasses and turned back to Captain Releigus. "Yeah. Just general info. I was curious about one thing though. Fullbringers come about from a hollow attack, you said? So... their power comes in part from hollow influence, right?" He crossed his arms resting against the back of a chair, remaining semi-standing. "So... What I'M most curious about is... What happens when they die? Do they turn into hollows or what?" He knew it was a question Aoi wouldn't want to hear about... but it was... well, it was important to know... For her more than anything...

"Good question. From what I have learned, they age like your average human, and they can die from things any other human would as their bodies are physical. This is also how they expend their energy, not like us spiritually based beings which can draw energy externally." The Captain paused for a moment, observing the two, especially the young woman. Fullbringers were not that numerous that she would really need to worry about them, unless she had already run into one or two. The gears in the R&D's head were already turning, but his stoic demeanor belied any sense of it.

"What happens when they die is interesting. It seems as though that all traces of their human life are erased, and that they are able to re-constitute themselves in the spiritual world with their powers intact. Of course, as I said, I haven't had any up close study of these beings, so all I have to go on is hear-say for now." He remarked towards Hideki. "You don't know how hard it is to get good research subjects sometimes."

Aoi was relieved and wanted to shoot Hideki a thank you smile, but that might be suspicious. She'd save it for later. She may not be able to ask it without feeling... odd but it was rather nice of him to think about her like that. He was a good friend.

Still she was entranced by the R&D captain's information. Leaning foreward, she nodded a bit and made hmming sounds at the right intervals as she thought about it. "So THAT is what happens. I wondered... Err, research subjects? You are looking for some?"

Uh oh. She should... be rather super careful. This could be bad if he found out she had contact with one.

"Do you know any, Miss Murahana?" The Captain asked with a slight chuckle. Of course, it was hard to tell if he was actually joking or not.

Aoi smiled at the Captain and nodded with a small hint of a blush. "I met one and he was nice, Captain. Thats why I was curious, since the signature he gives off is the same as a few others I have noticed roaming the town. He's definitely not a problem, but the others might be."

"Hm..." Alexander began musing to himself as he listened to the Lieutenant. So his hunch was correct, she was in contact with at least one of them.

"Could you take me to this Fullbringer? Not immediately, of course, as you are busy with Lieutenant Nishimura here, but I would be grateful to see this person first-hand for myself." A non-combative Fullbringer, this was good. Not that he couldn't subdue one, but it was always easier obtaining information and data from cooperative people.

Aoi didn't like Hms or any sort of thinking sounds. She didn't want the research captain interested at all in the human she had made friends with. Maybe more than friends with. But if he just wanted friendly information or simple easy tests? It would be silly to deny the Captain this. So... the best response she could come up with on such short notice was a nod.

"I will see if he is amenable to meeting with you. After the ball that the Head Captain had planned would probably be the best time to try and figure out when exactly it could be held. It would give me time to find him again and ask." Aoi gave an internal sigh. R&D people put her on edge for some reason. She didn't want to reveal she knew where his home was or about his twin. Or really too many details.

(This topic is set before the ball <_< and Water Surprise topic)

"Very well then. I'd rather not have to resort to physical means to do my research, as I'm sure you would rather not resort to violence to perform your human world duties, hm?" He asked with a small smile. It was genuine, but that would probably be lost on the young woman. Looking back at the more bookish Lieutenant for a moment, the Squad 12 Captain then stood up and grabbed the books he had placed down nearby, straightening out his uniform and haori with his free hand.

"Right then, I best be going. As I said, technology waits for no one. Lieutenants." He gave the young man and woman a nod before starting on his way out from the Library alcove. "Stop by my division when you've got an answer, or have any more questions." Alex said in a dull shout, before disappearing with the whoosh of a flash step.

Hideki nervously watched the conversation, apparently too nervous to do more then look calmly between the two as they spoke. He spoke up as the captain began to leave. "So long Captain Releigus." He gave a small wave with a friendly smile that dropped as soon as the captain was out of sight. He gave a small sigh of relief. He turned shakily to Aoi. "I don't know if I would introduce him to your friend too quickly. He's a good captain, but his scientific zeal can run away from him, if you know what I mean." He said, raising his hands to his neck and pantomiming little bolts sticking out, ala frankenstein's monster.

"I hope you heard some good news in all that, though?" He wondered aloud.