Narue and Hideki

"Whaaaat? You haven't? Then that just means you'll get to see it soon! It usually snows once we get deeper into winter, it's really pretty! Before...becoming a shinigami...I couldn't exactly appreciate it as much as I do now. Trying to survive in the Rukon Districts is hard, much harder in winter than anything...so for awhile I guess I hated it, because out there getting too cold could mean your death. Now though, now that I don't have to worry about freezing, I can really appreciate it for how pretty it is."

Narue gave a small smile before taking his offered hand, "Yeah! I can't wait!" She replied in response to his statement about the library.

"That's..." He looked down, away from her. That sounded really rough... "I'm sorry you had to go through something like that... I can't even imagine it myself." He said, looking over and giving her a sympathetic look. "I didn't spend much time in the Rukon, so I never really experienced that kind of life... Although now I sort of feel bad, like I cut in line or something..." He felt a bit better when he saw her smile, however. "B-but I'm glad you can enjoy the winter now... And it shouldn't be too far now."

"It's fine now, I didn't live that way for long. When I met Riichi-nii I got to learn to enjoy the snow a little." She smiled, not wanting Hideki to feel sad or bad about her living condition in the Rukon. "Now winter's fun and I look forward to it every year!"

He nodded, the sadness to his smile easing up a little. "So.. uhhh.. Tell me about this Riichi-nii? Did he take you in?" He felt like it was rude to be talking to her like this and not ask more about her past when it came up. Plus, he was genuinely interested. It sounded like a sort of bigger brother person, but he could be wrong. N-not that he was interested in finding out how many brothers she had, or how scary they might be.

"Riichi-nii is Riichi-nii! When I was little he found me and I lived with him. He gave my name and a home. He even taught me how to make plush toys and made Hato-kun with me since I was too little to help him with work since he ran a bar." Narue explained, happy to share the information.

He nodded as she spoke. Hrm. Simple enough explanation. Also... hrm.... so.. her brother... was a bartender.... Interesting information to have. "Hato-Kun is pretty adorable." He spoke warmly, reaching out to give the doll a playful rub of the head, hoping that wasn't violating some sort of 'no-touchies' rule about it. "I...Well... Life before the Rukon district was um... pretty normal for me." He suddenly got rather quiet on the subject.

She gave a smile at the compliment towards the doll, it made her happy to see people compliment it as it was very dear to her.

Narue tilted her head slightly, "Do you remember much about it? I don't really know much about the Human World, since I'm not in the Sixth I don't deal with it that much. I've only been there a couple of times. It seemed like a fun place!"

He'd gotten a little quieter near the end, and she wasn't sure if that was due to the fact he may have found his life uninteresting or if something had happened. She didn't want to push him if he didn't want to talk about it though, since she wasn't exactly giving her whole story either.

He smiled when she smiled. It was practically reflexive... The doll must have had some memories tied to it for her to protect it. It was more then a little old... He tensed up a little when she inquired about the human world. "Um.. Y-yeah.. .I... I remember it... real well." He cleared his throat nervously, absentmindedly wanting to take his hand from her so he could cross his arms, but forcing himself to just leave it there.

"I uh... I was a human until I was 17... and I only... died... like... six years ago.." He looked away. "I um... Just.. M-my dad... he... he didn't really have anyone else. We're not allowed to visit in cases like this. So I um.. I worry about him." His voice was thin and quiet. It wasn't something he spoke about easily, but he was keeping it together. He couldn't let himself get too emotional.

Narue pulled Hato-kun up slightly, covering her mouth. She didn't want Hideki to see her frown, because that would likely make him sadder. She wanted...she liked making people happy. Now, how could she make Hideki happy again?

"I see." She started, "Maybe...Maybe he's okay?"

Losing someone was hard, she knew that. Not everyone dealt with it the same way, some eventually moved on and others didn't. It was a shame he couldn't visit, just to see...

Moving Hato-kun from it's current position she lifted it to Hideki's cheek, making a light mwah sound like a little kiss. It might not be much but still, anything to lighten the mood.

He winced as she pulled the doll up over her face. Crap... he hadn't wanted to make her sad... maybe he shouldn't have shared? Damn it, come on Hideki.... "I... He... He gets by... I can't contact him, but I... I check on him... Try to help in ways I'm allowed..." He rubbed his arm awkwardly, feeling like he'd really buzzkilled things when he felt the plush bird against his face. He looked over at her for a second, mostly stunned, before his expression softened. He looked away and tried to hold it in, but a chuckle escaped from him, which quickly became a laugh.

Narue smiled brightly when Hideki started laughing, it seemed her little gesture had worked and she was glad for that. It wasn't long before she let out a few giggles herself, "There. You're smiling again."

Hideki wanted to stop giggling, but now that Narue was, it was a little hard. "Y..Yeah.." He didn't really blush this time. Just... was happy. He turned to face her. He'd touched on some sad things in her past and was just... happy that they'd just bounced back from that. "And more importantly... So are you." He said with a grin, looking into her eyes for a moment.

Narue's grinned, "Mhmm! I don't know about it being more important but I'm happy! You're smiling now which makes me happy."

His grin turned more warm and inviting as she spoke. She was so... kind... bright.. cheerful... pretty. SO so pretty... He just... "Uh.. L-let's keep going. Library's actually just up ahead here. You should be able to see it, actually, over those buildings right there. The place is actually kind of huge. It can be easy to get lost in there if you don't know where you're going. Fortunately, we have the library's head of staff to find the way." He said with a playfully cocky grin, glad to be moving again.

Narue gave a nod of agreement. "Then I'll be counting on the library's head to keep me from getting lost!" She winked before grinning, though she had no doubt she probably would get lost in there if she were on her own.

It was a very large building after all, plenty of places to wander off to in there. She'd probably eventually find her way out if she were to get lost, but the best thing to do was avoid that in the first place.

Caught a little off guard by the wink, he gave a nervous laugh as they reached the front side of the library. "Well. He'll do his best, but he MIGHT be distracted by a pretty Administration Lieutenant. He's only human, after all." Hideki said, excitedly leading her up the steps to the front doors of the library. He, begrudgingly, let his hand slip from hers and walked up to the front entrance. "The doors are locked because of the party, though with how big this place is, god knows how many actual entrances there are... Nevertheless..." He pulled his Zanpakuto from his pocket and gestured for her to come in so she could see.

"One of the handy functions of this Zanpakuto? Any object flat enough to close the book on it..." He opened the book up to page 7, revealing a key tied to the page. He unlocked the front doors before replacing it and snapping the book shut. "Well then... Welcome to the library!" He opened the doors a little dramatically for her.

Narue laughed a little at the compliment, happily that is before smiling again. When they reached the door she watched as Hideki pulled out his zanpakutou. "Mm, there's probably a lot of entrances considering the building's size. I wonder if anyone's tried finding and counting them before..."

Though, even if one were to count that number may still be off. When it came to big places like this there were always the possibilities of hidden entrances as well.

When the doors finally opened, Narue 'ooo'd in amazement. Just from being in the entrance way one could see how large the building was on the inside, although only a fraction of it could be seen from that point of standing. Still, it was amazing, especially seeing it when it was empty. When empty, it made it seem even bigger.

"Hm." He paused, looking up. "I dunno.. Maybe the captain? Who knows though..." He hrm'd to himself quietly. "I think I'll try and find them all. Never know when it could come in handy one day, after all. And I have all the time in the world to find them." He turned and couldn't help but smile at her look of wonderment. More then a little happy that his da-...er...-ncing...partner? was excited by the scope of the library, he took a few steps ahead, turning in a little circle as he gestured to the place. "Welcome to the Great Spirit Library, Lieutenant Ueno. If you'll come right this way, I'll show you to the front desk.. AKA, my workspace."

"Okay!" Narue said excitedly, following Hideki as he guided her through the library to his area of work.

All the shelves lined throughout the building, all the books they contained, Narue was enjoying the sight. There were all sorts of books within this building, she wondered how many different occult legends within them could be found that she hadn't read about yet or books on different ways of doll making or hell, even other things that she could could develop a new hobby in.

Narue walking around, taking in the sight of the place, ogling all the books. As Hideki hopped up to sit on his desk, he grinned. It was more then just being happy that he'd impressed her.. It was... Well, he cared a lot about this library and it was rare to see someone appreciate it the way Narue was seeming to. He chuckled a little. "So, Lieutenant Ueno. What can I help you find today?" He asked playfully, picking up the little rolodex on his desk, ready to flip to whatever section had whatever she asked for.

"Hmmm, let's see." Narue thought, tapping her chin with her finger as she tried to think. "Occult legends in the Rukon?" She asked, a sparkle in her eye, "or perhaps skilled toy making. Hmmm, ahhh so many choices. Occult! Yes! That!"

"Hrm.. Let's see..." He began flipping through the little rolodex. "Occult legends... or..." He paused, his fingers slowing to a halt, before he suddenly looked up. Really? Occult legends? The girl seemed so... He didn't know what the word was for it... but she just didn't seem like the type to be into occult stuff... He slowly pushed his glasses up, adjusting them a little. "REALLY.." he said with an intrigued tone and an eyebrow raise, casually tossing the rolodex behind him. "Well, then." He slipped off the desk and crooked his arm for her to take if she liked. "Right this way!"

Narue smiled, "Mhmm! I'm sure there's plenty of good legends I haven't come across before! I've read a lot but there's just sooo many out there to research. Hehe."

She gave a sheepish laugh, "It'd also be good, new material to tell the new recruits. See how many I can spook whenever they come in. It's all a lot of fun! Tell spooky stories or legends in a dark room, perhaps some candles for atmosphere. It's best done on a stormy night, one time lightning managed to strike at just the right time! It was great!"

Thinking back on those memories made her laugh, in her usual happy tone. They were fun times and she was glad she was able to experience them with everyone.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "That's the trick about old folklore and occult stuff. There's always SOME story that hasn't been heard yet." He walked down between the aisles with her, looking around. He knew the way to the section, but in the dark things looked a little less familiar. "But I always felt like that was sort of the appeal. Always a bit more mystery to discover, right?"

He laughed more then a little at her explanation for her interest. "Well. I never figured you for the scaring type. Didn't realize you had a mischievous streak." He teased, poking his tongue out a little.

"Yeah! It's really fun, reading and reading and then discovering more and knowing there will be more even when you finish that." Narue smiled brightly, just thinking about all that she had yet to read and learn about excited her.

"Ehehe, when it comes to the scaring thing I just find it fun. It's something everyone can experience together and laugh about later. In a way it sometimes brings everyone closer as friends. Some of them even get interested in the stories I tell too."