Unrequited Knowledge/Rare Finding Part 1

Because no matter how smart she was, knowledge was just theory without loosely based probable cause. Even still, she found herself drawn to the librarium as soon as she was placed within this world. Already she had read over 1000 books all between the 9th and 23rd floor. Yet, with all the knowledge that was once again just theory, she couldn't understand a single word of it. Only because she hadn't experienced any of it. She read books on love, on war, on murder, and justice. Karma, torture, sex, planes, ships, fairy tales.

Yet none of it meant a damn thing to her.

She loved reading and gaining knowledge, however, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew just knowing and not doing wasn't going to help her. It wouldn't bring her pleasure for much longer either. However, there was something missing. There was something she was looking for yet she didn't know what it was. Instead of dwelling on it, she felt if she kept reading, she would find it eventually. Whatever it was.

"Restricted?" She read aloud as she approached another stairway. A bit ways away and another stairway lead up to the 24th floor. She wondered exactly where this one lead to. With no care for why the place was restricted, Nia began to head up the stairs...until she sensed powerful presences downstairs on the first floor. She decided that searching for the source of the powerful presences was more interesting than what was beyond the restricted area and began to head back to the 1st floor.

Lucky for her, because a tentacle monster with a taste for female juices had been lurking just outside of her sight.

Gintama let Marcy drag him from the mission hall through Esperanza. The place was completely different from Transylvania. Everyone was smiling, their was no killing, and people were friendly. Though Gintama did give quite a few men piercing scowls when they eyed Marcy for too long or attempted to get too close to her. By the time they made it to the Mall, a lot of people were slightly afraid of the two. Regardless, they would enter the mall and easily find the Librarium. As soon as they walked over the threshold, they would feel an extremely powerful magic sustaining the place, as well as a faint but powerful presence somewhere far above them.

"This place looks pretty amazing. It's almost as big as the library in the castle." Gin admired the place, feeling a bit more peaceful due to the place of knowledge, as well as the fact that he and his imouto had somewhat made up already.

Marcelle happily walked with her brother through Esperanza. The city was alive and filled with smiling faces. Marcy felt the good vibes that came from the place and couldn't help but smile as well. There would be several stores that they would pass by and Marcy would point out the various clothing and foods that she wanted to try. She decided that Gintama would treat her after the mission and clung to his arm even more. Though as oblivious and naive as Marcy was, she didn't notice any of the men or women who took an interest in her. Eventually, they did make it to the Librarium and Marcelle's first impressions of the place were nothing but positive remarks.

"Look, look, Gintama! Do you feel this magnificent weight? This is how a true library should feel and look! So many floors and shelves, of nothing but books, books, and more books!" Marcelle squealed happily and quickly let go of her brother's arm and ran off to go look at all the genres of books, that were available to her.

Nia could have simply jumped back down to the first floor, but decided it would be more suspenseful to take the long route to the powers she felt. As she traveled, she felt the power seperate into two smaller powers, though they were still formidable. It struck a new chord in her curiousity and she quickened her pace, gliding over the stairs and floors without touching the ground. She moved swiftly with her magic, bound to the first floor, or at least the power that was slowly drawing closer to her as well.

Gin couldn't help but chuckle at Marcy's innocent energy inside of the library. That's the side of her he loved most, and had become a bigot trying to protect, instead of all parts of her. "Don't forget that we're here for a mission!" Gin called, but figured it would be on deaf ears as she ran about enjoying the atmosphere.

Shaking his head with a small laugh, Gintama would turn his attention towards the counter in hopes of finding the librarian whom had discovered the ancient text they were looking for. If there was someone there, he would approach them with an alluring smile.

-Marcelle continued to excitedly look about the library, while her brother kept himself busy up front. She would still be on the first floor and marveled at the wide selection of romance that they had. Of course, there were some really good fiction, non-fiction, and science-fiction that were available. However, Marcy was in the mood for a more fantasy-romance type deal. She continued to explore the aisles and gleefully let her mind wander.

She did, however, feel that a powerful presence was within these walls. Better yet, it came closer and closer. Just from how magical the place already was, Marcelle guessed that it was probably the librarian coming to greet her brother, and give him the mission details, so she simply dismissed it as that, and continued her search.-

"I'm still on the first floor, yet they have such a huge selection... I wonder how many floors are here in total..."

-She asked herself, as she felt the spine of a book with a hand.-

As Gintama went up to the counter to speak with any form of librarian, he was met with the sight of the sleeping Alisa Hecto. A normal person would be asleep in a chair, with their head on the counter, however, in Alia's case, she was curled up on the counter entirely. She snored loudly and was covered in papers that were neatly stacked on her body.

The sounds made from Gintama and Marcelle, caused a large bubble of magic to blow from Alisa's nose. The bubble would face Gin and started to read out a message.

"Hello! Welcome to the Librarium! I am Alisa, the librarian for the day! How may I help you?" Was what the bubble message read. Alisa herself, was still asleep and changed her position so that she was now sleeping on her back. The stacks of paper lifted momentarily while she moved and would gently fall back to place on her body, after she got comfortable in her new position.

Nia had finally set eyes on her prey. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened. The power she felt was nothing compared to the beauty that she had seen right before her eyes. Her heart pulsed heavily in her chest as she slowly took in a woman whom she would honestly say was as beautiful as her sister and mother, which she never thought possible. The curves of the woman, the breast as her cleavage peaked through her dress shirt, her lucious whit hair and sharp red eyes. Her pale skin made her ghostly beauty all the more entrancing to Nia. The red cross the hung between her breast seemed to pulse with an energy all its own as well. Unbeknownst to her, Nia shed a tear at the beauty in front of her.

Without a word, she would float over the ground and clasp onto Marcy, wrapping her legs around her waist and her arms around her shoulders. The warmth that surged between them would instantly send a pillar of fire high into the far reaches of the library. Nia's eyes would widen again as the fire formed into a phoenix before dispersing into the warmth that was the Embodiment of Flame. Nia for a fact knew that she did not posses the Embodiment of Flame.

'She's my soul mate...' She thought with more tears entering her eyes.

As Gintama saw the woman sleeping on the counter, he would have a similar, yet not as powerful thought as Nia. The girl before him was cute. Her sleeping form was adorable. The paper that sat on her body intrigued him and he found himself smiling at the magic he knew was being used. It was confirmed when the papers floated up when she rolled over and set back down. Gintama had barely been paying asleep to the talking bubble as he wished to touch the girl, but knew doing so while she was asleep was not the gentleman thing to do.

'I'll just touch Marcy later.' He thought with a smirk, picturing Marcy sleep and feeling the same attraction, if not more so, that he did with the sleeping Alisa.

He was about to respond to the bubble asking what he needed, however, that's when the flame ignited in the area. Gin flinched and covered his eyes, feeling a calming warmth from the flame, though his worry for Marcy's safety fought against the calm. When the phoenix formed and burst, Gin forsake the bubble and went to find Marcy.

"Imouto, where are you?" He called and rounded a corner only to see a younger girl clinging onto his little sisters back and both of them glowing?

However, taking in the sight of their glowing forms would cause Gintama's own spirit to feel with an emotion he had never felt. It was as if his soul was being pulled towards both of the girls. Their bodies together looked almost like a burning angel and Gin found himself wanting to grab hold of them both.

'Who...is she?'

-Marcelle continued to feel the spine of the books with her fingertips. Her brother had yet to come and find her, so she figured she had a lot more time to explore and browse. However, there was something that came to Marcy. Before she was able to turn around towards the presence she thought was the librarian, something grabbed hold of her.

A rush of energy filled Marcelle's body and the physical connection between she and this person quite literally turned her on. The warmth of flames that surrounded them warmed Marcelle's icy exterior and allowed her to present herself as something more than an ice princess. The young woman looked above to see the image of the phoenix. A magical and romantic sight indeed.-

"Who is doing this...?"

-She asked herself and turned her face to look over her shoulder. She would be awarded with the beautiful sight of Nia Kusanagi's face. Marcy's pale cheeks brightened red and out of instinct, she moved her face over to Nia's, and softly pressed her lips against the young girl's. Her eyes would close as she performed this action.-

"She's beautiful and she's perfect... Who is she...?"

-Marcelle hadn't noticed Gintama arrived, due to the fact she already locked lips with the young woman who clung to her back.-

The woman that took her lips filled Nia's mind. She felt pain, love, and a deep hatred within her. In turn, Marcy would feel a huge emptiness from Nia's kiss. Their emotions would bleed into Gintama as well, even as far away as he was. The glow about them would shine bright to the point where no one except the three could see anything. And just like that, it was gone, along with the feelings that had arisen with them. Nia slowly released herself from Marcy's back, showing that Marcy was taller than her. Nia looked up into her eyes and then to Gintama.

"Hello. I'm Nia, and I love you both." She said with a bow. Her words were monotonous, and her display of emotions was lack luster at best. The love that they had felt from the kiss wouldn't be there, and this would truly feel like meeting each other for the first time.

The phoenix girl looked to the shelves for a moment but realized she had read everything on the first floor already.

Gintama didn't know what to think. All the emotions that flooded his being where overwhelming to say the least. And then just like that it was gone. Gin stumbled back from the feeling and then began to calmly walk towards the new girl and his sister. When she introduced herself, he was a bit taken back. For a moment he felt as if he knew everything there was to know about the girl, and then in the next second he knew nothing about her. Her monotone voice and demeanor still entranced Gin just like Marcy, and when she said she loved them both, he felt a mix of confusion but also affection.

"I'm Gintama. That's my younger sister, Marcelle. The pleasure is ours Miss Nia." Gintama bowed elegantly to the girl, showing the regal aptitude he and Marcelle rarely exhibited. He gave an alluring smirk as well, his red eyes sparkling for only a moment as he took in Nia's eyes. Then he would look to his sister to see how she was fairing with this odd predicament.

Alisa's snot bubble would have taken the time to travel with Gintama and go investigate the source of the light show, but even Alisa's own laziness caught up with her magic, and it too decided to go to sleep, popping in the process.

Marcelle's lips locked with the girl's and their entire emotions and memories melded with each other. Though Gintama was some distance away, Marcy too felt his own emotions ensnared within the flames. There was an instance of passionate emotion being blended within the three of them, but the next moment, there was nothing. Marcelle took a step back from the girl after she had released herself from her back.

Marcy took in the very image of the girl, even her tone. Everything about her was monotone and her confession of love between she and her brother was empty. Marcelle's emotions took a fusion between confusion, frustration, yet love and happiness. However, she was torn between which to feel the most and remained quiet. Gintama had already introduced them anyhow.

Her response to the introduction was a deep and long curtsy. Marcelle remembered the love shared between the three of them momentarily, but wondered why the girl didn't show any. The conflict made the young vampire princess shy away to her brother. There was a sense of frustrated anger over the fact that someone could simply revert to such an empty tone, after doing all of that. Marcy felt a little used. She decided to let Gintama do the talking.

Nia returned her attention to the two whom had drawn her attention as Gintama introduced them. She noted that Marcy seemed to edge away from her and didn't speak. Nia gave a minuscule frown, wondering why. After the introductions, an awkward silence would fall. Nia wasn't one to speak much before anyone and now that she had said her piece, she wasn't sure of where to go from there. The fact that she was not used to interacting with other people on such an intimate level began to show as she suddenly held her arm and began to avoid eye contact with the two. Her eyes seemed to show a bit of sadness and her legs seemed to bend together just a bit. A small blush began to creep onto her face.

"Um..." She tried to begin but didn't know what to say. They had piqued her interest at first, like a book in the library. However, the books couldn't respond. Plus it didn't answer why she felt that she loved the two strangers in front of her. She had blurted out the emotions that she felt when she had first met them, but now those emotions seemed dormant. They were still there, she could feel, but they weren't as powerful as when the embodiment of flame suddenly erupted within her. She began to get frustrated with her inability to perform in a real life situation, once again feeling that all the book smarts in the world didn't equate to actual real life experience.

She clenched her arm tighter, seeming to draw into herself the more she realized that she could not interact with the two in front of her. She knew for a fact that if she were Kaitlyn this wouldn't be a problem at all. Tear began to well in her eyes as she continuously ran through the thoughts in her mind. However, she would hold them in and try to hide them as best she could with her rising frustration.

The change in the atmosphere was not lost on Gin and the emotions of both Nia and Marcy reached him clearly. For a moment he felt as if the two were far more similar than their appearance hinted at. He looked to Nia and felt the same worry that he felt when Marcy became down. Judging by the way she seemed to close off herself and then start avoiding eye contact, he was right on the dot. He glanced at Marcy out of the corner of his eye and saw that she too was a bit uncomfortable now. He didn't really feel it, being a bit more level headed than the other two.

"I would very much like to know all about the love you suddenly bloomed for us Nia, but I think it should be done over time. We should start with getting to know each other, right? So if you wouldn't mind me asking, what are you here in the Librarium for?" Gin spoke gingerly and smiled warmly at Nia. Though his eyes still held a slightly carnal look, one that he wouldn't be able to lose when gazing upon either Nia or Marcy's body. And maybe the sleeping form of Alisa too.

Marcelle continued to study the girl with her blood-red eyes. She managed to see the look of frustration and even more, tears that she held back in order to keep from crying. Marcelle felt bad in that instance and realized that he might have taken the wrong direction in the meeting. The vampire princess looked down slightly and cursed herself for having the awkward tendencies of social ineptitude.

"..." Marclle wanted to speak, but couldn't muster any words. Luckily for all of them, Gintama managed to say something to break the silence. Once he did, Marcy looked up from her downward gaze, to peer at the face of her older brother. A sting of jealousy ran through her, as she saw the desire and lust he showed through his eyes, while he looked upon the small girl that was Nia. She frowned momentarily, but looked back down, and chose to listen to how the conversation was going to continue from there.

Nia's form would relax a bit at Gin's words. However, she still didn't understand how to speak her mind to them. Instead, she took a moment to meditate internally, closing her eyes and trying to calm down. After a few minutes, she would unfold her arms, her body completley relaxing before she would gaze upon both Gin and Marcy with a calm gaze.

"I'm attempting to read every book within this place." She answered plainly. "I like reading." She had given them just a very tiny taste of her likes. It was still a bit awkward for her, but now she was ready to speak to them a bit more comfortably. "I'm not from this dimension."

Gin gave Nia all the time she needed to calm herself down. He turned to Marcy and noticed a small scowl but just smirked at her. He put a hand around her waist and pulled her forward, pushing her just a bit in front of him. When Nia began to speak, Marcy would be able to see all of the hesitation that she had, and all of it bleeding away too. He had said his piece, so he would let Nia and Marcy converse for a bit unless he was needed to keep the conversation from dying again. He would have his arms wrapped around Marcy's waist with her back pressed to his chest. He would lean his chin on top of her head as he looked at Nia.

"Marcy likes to read too, right?" Gin called, mostly talking about her doujins and manga.

Marcelle blushed slightly when Gintama held her closely in front of him, so she could face Nia and talk to her. Marcy was able to see that the young girl was just as much trouble as she was when it came to the situation, so she lightened up a bit more. Marcy listened when Nia explained that she wanted to read all the books in the library and took a slight look up at the floors that towered over the three. She smiled softly.

"I do like reading. Mostly about romance, but I've had 300 or so years, in order to read about other things. Gintama doesn't share my same passion, unfortunately."

Marcelle giggled as she made fun of her brother and would gently sway her hips when she did so. However, something about Nia's second statement stuck out on Marcy and she wanted to bring it up.

"What do you mean by you're from a different dimension?"

She asked and would tilt her head to the side.

Nia paused at the intimate position Gin and Marcy had entered. For them to be brother and sister yet take such attitudes with one another, she knew from her books that they were either really close or really incestuous. A gleam appeared in her eye at the thought and it felt like butterflies had entered her stomach. It was another new feeling, in the fact that it had come out of nowhere this time. Why did she feel happy looking at the two? Putting those thoughts aside, she listened to Gin and Marcy continue to speak and let a small smirk tug at the corner of her lips when Marcy teased Gin.

The grin turned inquisitive as Marcy asked her question. Nia tilted her own head to the side, not expecting a question. She folded her arms and looked down in thought, yet something else she had in common with her mother and sister. "Um...I'm from another dimension. Once similar to this one, but it was destroyed. My mother and father sent me and my sister her to protect us." She gave the minimum recount of the tale. For some reason, she felt as if a huge chunk of detail was missing from even herself. She didn't remember exactly what happened the day they were placed into the time pocket, nor did she remember the short time before the fall of their dimension.

"I don't remember very much, I'm sorry." She bowed lightly, thinking it was the right time to do so from several books she had read. Speaking of which...

"I've read lots of romance novels!" She spoke with a small trace of excitement. "Even three different versions of Romeo and Juliet."

"Well while you two enjoy your conversation on books, I'm going to go take care of that mission. Take care of her for a bit if you don't mind." Gin called to Nia before kissing the back of Marcy's neck and giving her a light squeeze. He let her go and proceeded back over to the obviously still sleeping librarian.

"Sorry about that, something extraordinary just happened." Gin didn't speak to the sleeping body and actually thumbed through some of the books on the counter, reading almost as fast as Marcy did. "The mission we came for was from a Relius Marvello, and yourself apparently. Sir Marvello wanted us to retrieve an ancient document that you all found here?"

-Marcelle would have giggled after her brother kiss and squeezed her. She her eyes locked on Nia's the entire time and saw the small smirk at the corner of her lips. Marcy wondered what the young girl was thinking about. It was probably about the small excerpt she just told the two about, concerning her origins. Marcelle had never heard of pocket dimensions, but was amazed by the story nonetheless. Especially the part of how Nia's mother and father sent her and her sister to this place in order to protect them.-

"I see, it's okay don't apologize. Gintama and I left our home some time ago too, so in a way, we're both in the same situation."

-She said with a small smile. Nia went on with sort of romance novels and books she read. She mentioned Romeo and Juliet and the title of that play made Marcy's eye glimmer brighter.-

"I love Romeo and Juliet for it's romantic tragedy aspect. A relationship between two lovers like that, is simply perfect. However, I am upset with the fact that the families got in the way of their love and such stress placed on both Romeo and Juliet, caused their deaths. Such a waste of passion and life!"

-Marcelle's own excitement had caught up with her and her brow furrowed. She enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, but disliked pretty much every other character in the play, due to them having a hand in the deaths of the two lovers.-

When Gintama returned to the sleeping Alisa, the bubble came back out of her nose. The bubbled stretched, yawned, and even rubbed its own "eyes." A small smile appeared on the bubble and it listened to Gintama while he spoke. He mentioned the mission Relius and her older brother sent out on the mission board. She was put in charge of handing the documents over to anyone who took the job and it seemed as though Gintama was the one who offered his help.

"Ah! Thank you, thank you for your help towards the Librarium. These documents are important, so handle them with care!" The bubbled urged and went under the desk for several moments. It popped back up, holding an aged folder of some sorts, covered in a plastic looking case. The bubbled went towards Gintama and held out the case for him to receive it.

"There you go! Please handle it with care and Relius should be the one to pay you for its safe transport into his hands. Good luck young adventurer and don't die!" The bubble said excitedly.

Nia nodded as Marcy spoke. She had found that the people around the two lovers of the tale to be true monsters. To drive the two to the point in which they would end up committing suicide was unforgivable. As well, Nia's heart swelled when Romeo and Juliet showed that they loved each other enough to die for each other. It was tragic, yes, but showed just how powerful love could be as well.

"I would have destroyed the families and lived with my love over their ashes." Nia spoke her most logical view of the outcome. If the families would not have let them be together, damn them and do it anyway.

"Are you a vampire?" Nia suddenly asked, cocking her head to the side. Going from Romeo and Juliet to asking if Marcy was a vampire would seem like it was random, but in truth, she had been wondering about it for a while. She felt the energies of a powerful vampire inside of both Marcy and Gin, but she wasn't sure what a vampire really was. "Vampires have lots of romance novels. I wonder how many of them are true."