Disclaimer: Creator Tite Kubo owns the manga and anime Bleach and its characters. No offense or infringement is intended.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Thanks to Allyieh, emmy, Miss T Hyuga, darkangel1910, dragonlayer and Achalys for leaving awesome feedback for this story thus far! You guys rock!! Since this new chap was ready earlier than expected I went ahead and threw it up here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Nightfall- Karakura Town, 7:25pm

--

As the last hints of maroon from sunset faded into the warm night, the streets of Karakura grew unusually quiet. The lone runner didn't seem to notice.

Tatsuki ran to clear her head- ear buds blasting her favorite tune into her skull as her feet pounded out the beat into the pavement. She'd been running a lot lately- every evening for over a month, actually- in her own valiant attempt at channeling her frustrations and raw emotions into something semi-productive.

Pity her brain never wanted to cooperate. Regardless of her speed, sweat or the volume of her music, the events of the last few months continued to cycle through her head like a runaway merry-go-round…

Snatches of memories that didn't make sense… giant monsters and searing pain…

Orihime's house… the school yard… the park…

So many people died that day… why was she the only one to survive?...

And those words… 'It is trash'

The young girl pushed harder, ran faster, but the memories just kept coming…

-

The night she'd secretly watched a black-clad Ichigo fighting that floating spirit with the hole in his chest…

The night not long after that Orihime's presence disappeared. Poof (she hadn't even been aware that she'd been able to sense such a thing)…

The frantic search for her best friend…

The confrontation with who she thought was her oldest friend (the pain she'd felt in her knuckles after punching Ichigo's stupid solid head still haunted her- she would always remember the sound of the shattering glass…)

It had actually been Keigo's idea to follow them to that strange little Shoten with its other-worldly secret under the floor. Watching the trio disappear into a rip in space had given her an instant migraine…

Then there was the little 'chat' with the bizarre blond shop owner, who knew far more then she knew he'd ever tell them. Still, what he had shared made her head spin. She'd actually tried to heed his parting words of patience…

But the waiting had almost been too much- a seeming infinity of powerlessness and frustration. An uncertain number of weeks cruising on auto-pilot, her only fuel the burning curiosity sparked by the things she'd seen. Knowing there was so much more happening just beyond her fingertips…

-

Tatsuki rounded the corner that used to mark her old turn-around point and pressed on. She'd been running much farther in the last few days, straining her muscles, pushing herself, perhaps searching for catharsis in her exhaustion. The events of late (or lack thereof) had only made things worse…

-

Exactly two weeks ago, in the middle of the night, she'd felt it- Orihime suddenly existed again. The rush of relief that flooded her had instantly calmed her frazzled nerves and harried thoughts; still, something told her to give the girl some space.

But they didn't come to her. She had to find them- at school. Four students reappeared after weeks of absence as though nothing had happened. At first, their pointed determination to carry on 'business as usual' was just confusing. All too soon it quickly became infuriating and insulting- especially from him- after the circumstances under which they'd parted, he owed her! She was being denied the answers she needed- deserved- for reasons she couldn't fathom.

The only barrier to a full-on inquisition had been the shop owner's ominous parting words. At the time he had been so convincing, but now…

-

Tatsuki revved her speed, pushing her muscles until her legs began to burn. Even in just her tank top and running shorts, she felt as though her body temperature was climbing with every jostling step. Darkness was settling around the town so that she was running in and out of the yellow circles of light cast from the incandescent streetlamps high above. As she approached a familiar set of storefronts, something odd caught her eye. Nearly hidden in the shadows of the awnings was a tall figure leaning against the bricks.

'Weird…' she thought, finally noticing how empty the streets were around her, 'Who else would be out at this time of night… besides a neurotic teenager running off her frustrations?'

By the time Tatsuki finished her thought she was only meters from the stranger, at which point she was able to discreetly get a better look- one that only proved more confusing. Tall, yes, and lean but with a noticeably muscular frame. Dark skin, long dark hair down the back, a jutting angular jaw… masculine, mysterious… Luminescent eyes narrowed, tracking her as she passed…

Their strange, unearthly glow was enough to convince Tatsuki that- while certainly not human- this being was far from the typical ghosts she'd become accustomed to seeing. Kicking up her speed even more she raced past the figure pointedly staring forward- she was in no mood for spiritual company tonight, especially some so unsettling. Even as she put more distance between them, she could have sworn she saw a small smirk creep into his shaded features before he'd slipped from view.

Pushing further down the street, Tatsuki realized that her heart had sped up even more- not from the added exertion but from a sense of trepidation tugging at her insides from the sight of him. The glow, the unmistakable twist of arrogance… somehow it seemed all too familiar.

Determined to put him from her mind with each pounding step, she was about to crank up the volume of her music player when a flash up ahead caught her eye. Not more than five meters in front of her leaning casually against the face of the next building was the same figure, twisted smirk and all. This time she noticed his clothing- Tatsuki almost stumbled over her sneakers when she saw the long white robes with thin black trim. There was also a giant sheathed sword slung at his waist. A cold chill raced up her neck into the back of her spiky damp hair. Her pace inevitably faltered; yanking the blasting ear buds from her ears, she couldn't help but stare.

Watching her eyes grow large in disbelief the figure chuckled, coming off the wall in long strides. He came straight at her, the harsh light of the streetlamps overhead illuminating more of his features including a set of piercing golden eyes with slit-like pupils. The gaze from them was paralyzing- Tatsuki's body felt frozen in place as he approached.

He was extremely tall- with at least two feet of height on her. The volume of his robes did not disguise his toned physique- an absence of sleeves and an opening just below the sternum bared well-toned abs and long, sinewy arms. His skin was dark and smooth, stretched over angular features. The long hair cascading down his back was actually many thin dreadlocks. A white band stretched above his forehead proved on closer inspection to be a row of glinting pointed teeth- they continued down and around his chin giving the look of a reptile's open jaw surrounding his face.

When he finally halted, towering over her, there was less than an arm's breadth of space between them. Looking down into her wide, unblinking eyes, his lips spread into a conniving smile revealing vampiric pointed canines.

"So ya c'yan see meh, little one," the spirit drawled, his accent thick with a Caribbean lilt. "Boss-Man Granz jus' might ha'been right 'bout j'ya. An intri-guin' specimen…"

The tone in that last word made Tatsuki's skin crawl, breaking her trance. As the being reached a large hand towards her chin she yanked her head away and took a decisive step back. She also gulped in a huge breath of air that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Don't touch me," Tatsuki barked at him. Her arms raised themselves into a defensive posture without a conscious thought. "Who the hell are you?" she challenged.

But this only made his smile broaden, "A feisty one, 'eh? Hu-mans ah such tedious, insignificant little crea-'chas. But 'de Boss-Man has a beady red eye fixed on ya, wo-man… so we'll be takin' a trip. Ya're gon'ta be comin' wit meh now."

She narrowed suspicious eyes up at the strange being, "What the fuck're you talking about? I'm not goi-" Tatsuki didn't see his arm move, only felt the surprisingly tight grip of long callused claws closing around her neck. She did manage to grab the being's wrist, but her fear only mounted when she found his arm as solid as a rod of pure steel.

The yellow of the Arrancar's eyes seemed to spark with licking flames as his face descended towards hers. His voice darkened, "Ya'll be watchen' ya're tongue 'dere, wo-man. Granz didn'ta specify bringen' ya in one piece- so play nice now." The energy emitting from him suddenly flared, the force crushing against the girl's chest. Her legs gave way- if not for his ironclad grip on her throat she would have dropped to the pavement. However, her captor didn't appear to notice, "Come, little one; mustn'ta keep 'de Boss-Man wai-tin'…"

Suddenly Tatsuki was yanked skyward by the neck with enough violence to tear off one of her sneakers. It was a startling sensation- the absence of earth beneath her feet. Chilly air whipped her hair and buffeted her bare skin, forcing her eyes shut; she realized they were ascending- flying upwards, leaving the streets and buildings far below them. She fought against a convulsive shiver, even as her throat burned beneath his grip. Her head quickly began to throb- she figured he had a firm grip on both jugulars; she knew she would pass out within moments.

But then the spirit slowed their ascent- Tatsuki cracked her eyes only to have the frigid air sting them, drawing tears. She peered through the obscuring moisture to the sky around her, noticing how much darker the night seemed from so high up. A blink cleared her vision, sending drops skating down her cheeks until the thrashing winds dried them against her face. The stars shone around her rather than above her; from the corner of her eye she could see the bright glow of a perfect waxing crescent moon. Rolling her eyes downward brought the vast expanse of Karakura into view- despite her peril she couldn't help but notice that from such a great height the city below somehow resembled a delicately woven spider's web, lined and dotted by hundreds of tiny lights in place of dew drops…

Tatsuki's head began to feel light. Her fingers slipped numbly from around her captor's wrist. As whipping air chilled her limp body, the night darkened and she slipped from the waking world…

-

-

-

-

-

When Tatsuki next regained consciousness she was falling, dark pavement racing up to meet her flailing limbs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Trying to spread the love amongst other characters but you've likely found from this chapter that this fic is becoming unabashedly Tatsuki-centric because- damn it!- she's my favorite character! And she's totally underappreciated in the manga and anime (in my humble opinion)!

Also, don't go looking for this particular Arrancar in the manga- he's fabricated (Kubo sure didn't leave me much to work with)- hope he's believable. What's going to happen to Tatsuki? Tune in to find out! Again, reviews are much appreciated- even flames are welcome as they will be used to roast errant plot bunnies. Thanks for reading!

Mira ^_^