The Deep Stacks

Yuzuki was making a good pace as she moved into the bookcase's center... but never reaching it so far. It had been enormous from the outside, but the path never seemed to get thinner at the sides. It seemed like it could just go on forever... But that couldn't be true! It was up to her to solve this mystery, even if her sidekick had left her. Even if it was a bit chilly in this outfit. She shivered, pulling at the skirt for a second as she stopped and looked down.

So...much skin.

A sound from behind her made her spin around quickly, but it was only Hideki's voice. It seems her sidekick was going to join her in exploring! She could shout a bit since he wasn't in sight and her voice sounded a bit perturbed. "I am perfectly fine! You are slow, Hideki! Hurry up, I won't wait all day for you."

Flipping back around, she covered her mouth and hid a smile as she took off into the spiral shelving more. If she went in far enough he wouldn't be able to take her back without her wanting! She better make it a ways before he caught up. There was never any doubt he would, in her mind. He was in much better shape for this sort of thing than she was.

Hideki continued to run down the bookshelf, following the curve of the spiral. He looked to the side, keeping an eye out for it. His blood ran cold as he passed it. A little blue piece of tape. He'd put it there.... He'd done the math and drawn diagrams, and worked the geometry of it and determined the actual last point the shelves physically COULD continue to exist as they do. And then he'd marked it... with a little blue piece of tape.

They were in shelf country now.

His running hesitated as a hard shiver ran down his spine, losing his footing but catching it again, he continued. Thank God he was at least in shape in this aspect. Cardio and running speed was pretty much the only aspect in which he could measure up to other shinigami. "Yuzu! At least wait for me!" If something was dangerous, he didn't trust princess doge to notice it before him.

Hideki's voice came from much closer than before and Yuzuki was a bit disturbed by how far in this was going. Even in her stubbornness, her dense obliviousness to the potential danger and oddity this was... by now even she felt a bit of a chill at how odd this shelving was.

She felt inside of bones almost that this was unnatural in many ways. Something was wrong. The part of her that felt this however, was run over and beaten by the part of her excited to figure this out. She wanted, no NEEDED to see this through.

Yuzuki's pace slowed as she breathed a bit harder than usual, letting Hideki catch up easier. Maybe it would shake the chill from her to be with company. She called back over her shoulder, the only sign of the slight fear she felt a crease on her brow. "Fine! I am walking now, you better hurry up, I'm not waiting too long for you."

Hideki kept running. He was almost afraid for himself, if she weren't farther in. He realized once he got her, he'd have to do his best to convince her to leave... that'd be a trip... He couldn't bring himself to think anything too negative though as he finally rounded a curve and saw her ahead. He picked up his pace sprinting to her. "Yuzuki! You're okay!" He said, leaning forward for a second to rest against his knees, his voice showing more honest concern then might seem necessary to her. This library was just too old for Hideki to trust things like this bookshelf and he'd started to worry something might very seriously have happened to her.

He took a step forward and flung his arms around her, giving the girl a squeeze that, were he not so relieved she was safe, have been far too tight for his nerves. "I was worried something had happened to you when I couldn't catch up to you." He said, relief apparent in his voice.

"Of course I am okay. Its just a mysterious spiral. There's nothing in here that is dangerous." Yuzuki scoffed as she turned around, being polite and stopping as Hideki called out to her. It was polite to do that for friends, besides they were far enough in at this point she couldn't he could just drag her out. There was no need to hurry now...

He would have to see this through with her! She was about to step back as the young shinigami took a step towards her out of nervous habit, but his arms stopped her. They were the same height, so his head was right above her shoulder as he pulled her to him in a hug. Her face slowly grew red and she sputtered for a second before pushing Hideki away and stumbling back. She forgot she wasn't supposed to raise her voice or call him names as her embarrassment overtook her. he had been that worried over her?! "I-Idiot! Don't touch me like that! N-Nothing's happened as you can see!"

"JUST a mysterious spiral?" He mimicked sarcastically as she pushed herself a way. For a brief second he was almost hurt by her pushing him away from the hug before he remembered just who he'd been dealing with all day and then what followed. He stared blankly as she sputtered and insulted him, completely red in the face. Just... as much attempt at no expression as possible. Any amount of smiling will just make more shouting. Which will make more smiling and then they'd just be in a loop.

Well... He could stand a LITTLE more shouting. He took one slow, calm, deliberate step towards her before reaching out with one finger and gently tapping her nose. "Hey. No yelling." Not to mention that he felt creeped out being this loud in a place like this.

"Yes, it must be solved for the good of all. It is your job, as the Vice Captain, to find anything dangerous for the regular users of the Library." Her eyes closed, the white haired woman nodded sagely as a hand rose to her chest. "I have thought it over and decided to help you, as it is my duty as a Morinaga to make sure that the other souls here are safe as well."

As her eyes opened, he was that much closer again and she went cross eyed for a second as his finger tapped her nose. The hand on her chest came up and held her nose as she looked offended for a second. Then she remembered her promise, and instead of yelling more, she merely gave a hmph and turned around. She took a quick step forward as she did, trying to improve the distance between them.

"Come on, its too late to turn back. We have to see this through." With that she stalked off, head head high. He could follow her again or be left behind! She was finding the center of this!

Ugh. When she described it, this sounded less like fun and more like work. He gave an audible "Uggh." As she turned and started marching off, crossing his arms behind his head and keeping up pace with her. "Fine, but I refuse to do this out of any sense of duty. This shelf has been here since before anyone in the squad has and nobody has ever died to it so calling it a hazard is just silly." He looked over with something he almost allowed to be a grin. "But I suppose now that we're already waaaay past the part of this bookshelf deemed 'safe', if we were doing it just to see what's down here, that seems less like a waste of time."

Of course, it wouldn't be much more time before the spiral finally came to an abrupt end, the path finally altering its course and curving further inward, it very succinctly met its end. There, against a flat wall, the only thing at the end of the shelf, even the books missing from the walls around them at this point.

The only thing there was a mirror, roughly seven feet tall, with ornate markings all around it. "Huh... Well, would you look at THAT..."

"You say that but duty is the most important thing. Duty to others. Also you are correct, but it is a potential hazard. That makes it just as bad. You don't know what could happen, what if someone was silly enough to run headlong into it on your watch, hm?" Yuzuki nodded, even as she smiled brightly and turned away. He couldn't see that his words made her very happy. She liked adventures, she liked exploring and seeing new things. Things outside her home, outside the bodyguards that followed her. Outside of the approved list of things she could do.

As the path curved oddly and the books disappeared, Yuzuki had a sinking feeling in her stomach as the end of their adventure appeared. Glancing at Hideki for a second, she waved her arms at it. "See? Wasn't it worth it? Look at how pretty it is. I want to..."

Running forward with a laugh, she went right up the mirror and examined the markings before running a finger along the mirror itself as a sort of test. She had no idea what would happen, and wasn't afraid at all.

"Well, I suppose you're right, but it's hard to imagine anyone ever being that silly." He said with a voice that reeked of exasperation with a dash of sarcasm as he closed his eyes for a moment, before quietly smiling to himself. He opened his eyes lazily and looked over the mirror. "Hrm.." He made his thinking noise aloud. And then she was running off after it. "H-hey! D-don't do that!" He sprinted towards her but it was too late. She touched the mirror. The mirror, completely dustless, almost rang with crystal clear noise as her finger ran along it...

and then nothing.

"Huh... I was... super worried something bad would happen." He said, walking over to the mirror, he reached up and knocked on it. "Huh. It can't just be a mirror." He said, looking at the designs along the outside. "These look weird... sort of.." He tilted his head to the side. "They look almost like upside down bookshelves." He muttered to himself before taking a few steps back and pulling his glasses out. "Well, we'll just see what we can see." He said confidently as he slipped them on to scan the mirror... buuuut.... He was about to look the mirror over when his gaze wandered, as if on its own, Juuust a bit to the side. The ever so slightest twinge of red brushed at his cheeks as he cautiously opened his zanpakuto. W...Well... he scanned everyone... It'd be odd NOT to scan his new friend too... right? Yeah, that was a pretty good justification, he thought to himself as he glanced down at her page, happy the mirror was there to distract her.

The noise startled Yuzuki and her finger slipped off of the mirror for a brief moment. However nothing followed that and she gave Hideki a smug smile for a second before turning back to the Mirror. "Why not? See nothing happened. You are too worried Hideki."

Running her fingers along the edge, she half listened to the Shinigami and half didn't. Her own thoughts were tangled up in figuring out this design. Upside down bookcases? How odd. She traced the edges, bending forward to look at the bottom of it. He muttered something about seeing, but she was seeing. What was he doing? Oh well, wasn't important. What was important was this mirror.

Feeling the surface of the mirror again, she knocked against it too. It didn't feel like any mirror she knew, even the ones in human world. "Why would they hide it all the way back here? Its a pretty mirror, but its not very mysterious other than the odd sound, the spot its in and the design around the edges. It was then Yuzuki decided to pay attention to her own reflection and saw Hideki glancing at her with glasses on and holding a book. Frowning, she turned around and moved to look at the book too, placing her hand so he couldn't turn the page. "What are you doing?"

He was mostly half listening as the page filled in. He pursed his lips, struggling for a moment before deciding that..... with a heavy burden.... the right and gentlemanly thing to do would be to simply close the page before reading it. The entry would be there and he hardly needed to see the information on it at the moment. That's what he told himself to shut the book, anyway, before suddenly a hand entered his frame of view, stopping the book from closing. He looked up to see a frowning Yuzuki. Poor Hideki. His face turning red, he opened his mouth. "I.. I uh... T..This is my Zanpakuto, Librom. It uh... can scan things. I uh.. was scanning the mirror, but I think you were standing in front of it." Good save Hideki... Good save. "See it uh... scans all the physical information of..things.. of a thing. stuff. Yeah." He took the glasses off and almost by reflex handed them to her to try, wanting to turn and be looking somewhere else as fast as humanly possible.

"That is the best zanpakuto to have for your division. How nice." Yuzuki looked down to see her name and stats written in there, but she merely glanced. His explanation made perfect sense and she accepted the glasses from him and placed them on her face crookedly.

...After a second she frowned and tried to adjust them just right, not used to such items on her face. Her bangs were in the way first, and then it wasn't sitting right on her nose. Finally set though, she felt better. This would be a good chance to help! His zanpakuto would be insanely useful as the mirror had not given up its secrets yet. With the glasses in place, she gave a quick grin to herself (it promptly disappeared though) and flipped around. Looking over the Mirror in Hideki's place, she made sure to examine it thoroughly. "Is this enough? Should I get closer? Is it picking up the information yet?"

Bending down so she could look at the bottom edge, she was making sure every bit of this was captured.

Hideki looked around, trying to do what he usually did when he got too nervous around an attractive woman in the library and just read book titles when they weren't looking... but there weren't any book titles to read, damn it... stupid barren shelves... He took a deep breath... Just... remember where you are Hideki... this place is super dangerous and scary.. You don't have time to be thinking anything about that girl, physique or otherwise. Yeah. Focus on the terror.

He turned around and immediately swallowed down the wrong pipe, breaking into a coughing fit. Oh god... How did legs even get to be that shape. Why did he put her in something that covered so VERY little of her lower body. She was clearly too ADD to be embarrassed by it. This just made things worse for HIM...

He quickly made his way to the mirror where he couldn't see... any of THAT. "Y-yeah, it should have scanned it already." He said, looking down at the book. "Uh.. That's... weird......" He tilted his head at the book. "The mirror is... not abnormal even a little...? That can't be right..."

Yuzuki jerked up as Hideki started coughing, wondering if it was some sort of Curse From the Mystery Mirror. He seemed fine however, so she went back to looking over the mirror, this time using her hands. His glasses stayed on her face as she poked and prodded the mirror's edge. It seemed...loose somehow. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary about it so far, it was just a silly mirror. What if the mystery would be solved from BEHIND the mirror though? "Maybe it isn't a monsterously mystery mirror and is just hiding something... Hideki, it's a bit loose. Help me pull it."

Sliding her hand behind the frame, she pulled slightly on it to show him. If they both yanked...maybe it would come off?

Hideki, still a little flush in the face, was suddenly oh so VERY thankful for this mirror and its distracting capabilities. Giving him a moment or two to calm down, he looked over at her in glasses. Okay... he didn't feel flush or anything. This was a good sign. "Sure thing" He said, thinking she could be on to something. He wedged his fingers behind the mirror and tugged it out of the wall. Tilting it a little bit, he looked up and narrowed his eyes.

"That's... weird..." He tried tilting the mirror back and forth. "Uhhh... Yuzuki? Look." He gestured up. As he tilted the mirror back and forth.... their reflection in it did not seem to change... When Hideki gestured with a nod of his head, it was reflected but.... it seemed that moving the mirror itself had no effect on the reflection.

With Hideki's help it was removed from the wall a bit, and Yuzuki noticed the different right away. As he gestured, her mouth hung open. She was shocked and a bit scared... What kind of mirror was this? Her hand reached out and grabbed one of his wrists, holding it for comfort.

"...What is going on Hideki? Why... why isn't...it acting right?" Yuzu's voice wavered a bit, but she was determined to examine it. Reaching forward, she went to touch the mirror again and see if it was still the same sort of surface as before.

If it weren't for the cold ball in his stomach and the ice running through his veins, Hideki might have better noticed Yuzuki's violation of her own no-touching rule. Partially because... well... holy shit, this was super creepy... But primarily because... he was already putting pieces together. He didn't have a conclusion but that just made it worse.

"Y-Y-Yuzuki? Maybe we should go..." He said, gripping her wrist back without thinking. "Cause uh... It's um... It's acting just fine..... Remember?" He gestured to the glasses. "If.. If the mirror is normal... the only way it could be acting funny is if the images were acting funny..." He said, his face slowly turning white. "Let's... Let's put it back and go."

That mirror was so close. She was touching it and nothing was wrong. At Hideki's words though, she jolted her hand back and nodded forcefully. Her body had started shaking slightly and she was glad for his hand on her wrist. "Yes, lets...just put it back. And walk away slowly and then quickly. Very quickly."

"Dead run." Yuzuki tried not to look the mirror image in the eye, she wasn't sure what was going on but now her terror was great and she felt like it was watching her. Even if that wasn't possible, it just felt like it. Gulping, she spoke in a bit more like her normal voice, imperially commanding...slightly."If...I fall I give you permission to manhandle me away. Just in case. Y-You should be honored."

Hideki gave her wrist a reassuring pat, but he didn't take his eyes from the mirror. He strained for a second though as she jolted back and was forced to, very gently, set the mirror down on its side against the wall. He just needed to get a better grip to put it back. "Y..Yeah... just sprint out of here." He nodded, still staring at the mirror. Even though he was terrified, his sense of humor still managed to play its role. As she informed him of his new duties, he nodded with a "mm." of acknowledgement... and then silently placed his arms to the side as if there for her to fall into.

The reassuring pat was a bit reassuring though she honestly wished he'd hurry. The terrified young woman couldn't touch it again and she felt a bit guilty for making him. But she had been touching...it so much. What if the image had felt her... what if... Shaking her thoughts away, she actually smiled at Hideki's goofy action. It drove those awful thoughts from her head for a second before she found her voice.

"...Not yet! I mean...when running. I admit this clothing choice has made it easier than my usual clothes... You have foresight. Just...hurry."

He hazarded a rather awkward smile, still not able to look away from the mirror.... He.. honestly wasn't afraid of picking it up... He still wasn't sure Yuzuki had fully realized what was wrong... The mirror was fine... The reflection was wrong because what it was REFLECTING was wrong... the space they were in was what was bizarre... and why he was so unnerved. He reached down and picked up the mirror, putting it back into place. He immediately turned and bolted with Yuzuki, clinging her wrist for dear life. If he outpaced her, he didn't know if he'd have the courage to come back... which was why he under no circumstances was going to let her fall behind.

"K...Keep running or I swear, I will carry you!" He said, almost as a threat.

As Hideki put the mirror back, Yuzuki prepared to bolt once it was in place...only to glance one last time as he set it. Their reflections were upside down. Stifling a scream, it was lucky that Hideki had a hold of her, as it yanked her back to the idea of running.

Before it was the perfect plan, now it was the only thing she ever wanted. To flee and never come back. Her legs pumped, keeping up with Hideki for now as they were driven by pure terror. His hold on her not needed for now, she managed to yell out as they fled. "We were upside down! HIDEKI WE WERE UPSIDE DOWN!"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!" He managed to shout back as they sprinted full speed through the bookshelves. Although she was keeping up, he nevertheless kept a firm grip on her wrist. He'd be lying if he said he weren't terrified right now. Maybe part of this was for his comfort. But he really would rather die then leave someone behind right now. Deciding it was better to act now then to wait for her to slow down, he turned and, still running, slid an arm under her legs and at her back, picking the girl up. With more then enough adrenaline to make her seem weightless, even with his strength, he kept running at full speed.

He was so focused, he did not even notice how dark it had become amid the shelves. Or how cold... Or how dusty..

Yuzuki let out a small sob, not willing to cry but still scared enough to want to just go home. They kept running and she knew soon she would run out of energy. She wouldn't weigh down Hideki though, he had a chance to escape all this. She was a noble, she knew what honorable death meant. He could do more good, thus he needed to live more.

Before she could voice those thoughts, Hideki scooped her up. A small sound came out of her, but the fear was too great. Maybe later she would flip out, for now she clung onto him and tried not to think about what they had seen. She wanted to just get away, even if it meant in his arms. Shivering was the first sign she noticed, now that she wasn't running and was wearing this skimpy thing. It also was getting darker... This definitely didn't seem like the path they had taken before but there was only ONE way back... "H-Hideki? Do you notice... Its cold.... It wasn't cold before."

Her voice got high pitched the more she spoke, till it cracked at the end of her sentence.