1. Something's Wrong!

MIDDAY

KARAKURA HIGH SCHOOL

A crow rasped from atop a classroom. A rock soared through the air and scared it away. The crows beady little eyes glared at the orange haired boy who brandished another rock.

"Go away you stupid bird!!" The boy roared.

Reluctantly, the bird accepted. It flew off of it's perch and went away to find food.

The boy sighed and leaned against a wall. He looked as though he was about to fall asleep, but his eyes shot open and he stared at a spot to his left. In seconds, a small girl materialized in that exact spot. She brushed back the stray black strands from her face, leaving a thin bang in the middle. Her eyes shone a vibrant, deep, oceanic blue.

A hint of a smile crept across her features. "You're improving at sensing me Ichigo. Even now, you are still growing in power!"

"Yeah whatever..." Ichigo said distantly, his gaze concentrating on nothing in particular.

"What? Is something wrong?" The girls smile faded into a concerned frown.

"No, it's nothing...but...Rukia, can you hear that?" Ichigo asked, his eyes narrowing.

Rukia turned in the same direction and listened. Sure enough, there was a faint noise. A high pitched whine. Rukia frowned and squinted at a blurry shape in the distance. "Whatever it is, it's coming for us!" Rukia's hands drifted towards her sword which was stored in a scabbard at her side.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" The shape became clearer. It took on a human form and was moving very quickly towards them.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"What the...is that?" Ichigo cocked his head. "Oh crap!! Rukia, get in your gigai!!" Ichigo stepped out in front of her as she changed forms. She no longer wore a samurai uniform, but instead, wore the grey skirt and plain white shirt which was worn by school students.

A young man with wild brown hair finished his marathon and wheezed while doubled over. "I... Ichi...Ichigo...How...Are you?" He stammered.

"Keigo...you ran all the way here to ask me how my day was?" Ichigo scratched at his fiery spikes.

"Yeah." Keigo laughed. "Pretty much."

"Why?!"

"Well. I got tickets to the premiere of 'Bad shield 3' and was gonna see if you wanted to go." Keigo reached inside his shirt pocket and took out a handful of tickets.

"Why are there so many?" Rukia asked, pointing a slender finger at them.

Keigo grinned and leaned close to her. "Well Rukia...I was saving one for you as well." Keigo raised his eyebrows and his grin doubled in size.

"Oh, that's so sweet! I'd love to go!" Rukia beamed. "But only if I get to sit next to you..." She smiled seductively and Keigo ran off cheering.

Once he was out of earshot, Rukia laughed hysterically.

Ichigo shook his head. "I know he's an idiot, but that was low!"

Rukia tried to respond but her laughter had caused her to fall to the ground and cry.

"Oh for gods sake! Will you control yourself! You're supposed to be 150 years old, why don't you act like it!" Ichigo crossed his arms.

Rukia giggled. "Ok." She hunched over and held a hand in front of herself, grasping an imaginary cane. "Oh sonny, be a dear and get me medicine will you?" Rukia lost control and laughed boisterously again.

Ichigo cursed under his breath. "Could this day get any worse?! I have to put up with you while you're fucking high!!"

Rukia frowned and gave him a perplexed expression. "High?"

"High...it's like when you take- Wait! Why do I need to tell you all this stuff? I thought you researched people in your spare time, why don't you find out yourself?!"

A loud bell signalled a return to class.

"Come on, lets go."

*****

SEREITEI

"Oh, my head! I think I drank too much last night!" Whined Matsumoto Rangiku, a buxom blonde who, despite her bad habits and laziness, had risen to the rank of lieutenant. She grasped the side of her head and winced.

"Dammit Matsumoto! I told you to quit!!" Roared captain Hitsugaya. He glared at her from his desk, but his head barely rose above the pile of papers planted on the table.

"I swore I would quit by next month!" Matsumoto claimed in defence.

"I know..." Hitsugaya closed his eyes. "You did say that...the only problem is...YOU SAID THAT SIX MONTHS AGO!!!" His green eyes blazed and a vein appeared at the top of his forehead.

"Sorry..." Matsumoto slumped into the red lounge and turned away from him.

"Look, if I got a bit angry, I'm sorry but-" Hitsugaya stopped as Matsumoto snored. He snarled and his teeth ground together. "DAMMIT MATSUMOTO!!!"

*****

Outside, a small woman shrieked. The loud yells had scared her.

"Momo? Is that you?" The thin door slid aside and Toshiro stared at her. His face was red and his hair was frayed.

"Hi Toshiro, you look stressed." Momo giggled sheepishly.

"For a start...It's captain Hitsugaya! And secondly, you have no idea what it is like to live with such a lazy, ignorant-"

"I can hear you!" Matsumoto yelled from inside.

Hitsugaya groaned and faced Momo. "So, what did you want anyway?"

"Oh, yes. Um...There is a meeting for all captains and their subordinates. Didn't you hear about it?"

"Probably, but I have so many other problems right now! I must have forgotten. When is it?" Toshiro rubbed his eyes.

"Well. Now."

"What?! We have to hurry!!" Toshiro flash stepped to Matsumoto's side and prodded her. "Wake up! You can sleep later, right now we need to get to the captains meeting!!"

Matsumoto grunted angrily and shakily rose to her feet. "Oh...I don't feel like running."

"Fine!!" Toshiro growled. "We'll see you there and don't be too late!!" With that, he and Momo flash stepped away.

******

FOUR HOURS LATER

Toshiro stood out in the rain, in the courtyard in front of his squads barracks. The flood of the skies soaked his haori to his skin. His usually spiky hair was now laying straight down the sides of his face. His eyes darted about nervously, searching.

"Toshiro-kun, you shouldn't be out there. You'll catch your death!" Momo called from the roofed area of the barracks.

"There are worse things than death..." Toshiro muttered. "Matsumoto never showed up to the meeting." His voice took a deeper tone than usual. He was scared.

"Maybe she was just sleeping. You know her. She-" Momo was cut off mid sentence.

"She never returned to the barracks either! She's missing!!" Toshiro turned to Momo. His eyes pleaded with her to give any information she knew. Momo felt like telling a lie just to calm him down. It was painful to see him like this.

"I can go ask around. If I find out anything, I'll tell you immediately. Ok?" Momo disappeared.

Toshiro scanned the foggy distance. A slumped figure leaned against a wall.

Matsumoto!! Thank god she's okay!!

Hitsugaya dashed forward. His legs submerged to his knees as he waded through a large puddle. As he got closer, he could see her more clearly. She wore a black cloak and was holding a long stick to hold herself up.

"Matsumoto? Are you alright?"

She took a slow step forward and grunted.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you hurt?"

Still no response.

"Matsumoto?"

The hooded figure vanished.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he spun on his heels just in time to see the cloaked figure jump over a rooftop.

"Cap...tain..." A female voice gasped from nearby.

Matsumoto?!

Toshiro ran towards the source of the noise but when he got there, he only glimpsed a senkai gate closing. Toshiro cursed and gritted his teeth. Water was getting in his eyes, clouding his vision. His legs suddenly felt weak and he collapsed in the mud. He felt weak for no reason. Out of the corner of his eye, another hooded figure walked past. Toshiro wanted to yell after the figure, but decided against it.

*****

WORLD OF THE LIVING

KUROSAKI CLINIC

Ichigo became bored with watching the television and now stared out the window. Dark clouds had taken hold of the sky, sending the small town of Karakura into darkness.

Ichigo frowned. He missed Rukia. She had gone out to kill a hollow an hour ago and hadn't come back. He felt worried, but not enough to go look for her.

His phone rang. The loud tinny song startled him. Ichigo flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. Someone was breathing heavily, they sounded like they would collapse any moment now.

"Hello?" Ichigo said.

#I-I-Ichigo... Please...Help me!#

The voice was Rukia's. He could hear Rukia groaning. "Where are you? What happened?"

#I...went to... kill...the hollow... but...# She stopped.

"Rukia? Rukia?! Can you hear me?! Where are you?!" Ichigo was starting to panic. Sweat dripped into his eye and he wiped it away while cursing.

#Oh no!! Please... HELP!!!#

"RUKIA!!!"

#No...stay away!! AAAAAGGHHHH!!!# Ichigo heard a crackling noise. Rukia was screaming for a while but then a loud wet 'shunk' echoed. Rukia gurgled and a loud thud followed. Then all went silent.

"Ru...kia..." He dropped his phone and buried his head in his hands.

I hope you're enjoying it so far. This chapter was much longer, but the prologue was never intended to be long anyway.

In the next chapter: The search begins. More people go missing. And also, the hooded figures show themselves! Don't miss it!!

Now review!!