Creeping Terror, the Second Victim.
After what had happened, we searched the entire town, but there was no sign of Orihime anywhere. It was like she had vanished off the face of the Earth or something. We slept on the situation for the night, and decided to tackle it first thing in the morning.
The next day at school we met up outside and discussed the situation. Renji joined us in his Soul Reaper form, which only we could see.
"I can't even sense her Spiritual Pressure." I sighed, looking down.
Momo nodded. "And Zak's the sharpest when it comes to that sort of thing." she added.
"I still would like to know what that strange gate was." Uryū noted.
"To me, it looked like the Gate straight into the Underworld." Renji pointed out.
"Is there really such a thing?" Uryū asked.
Ichigo, Momo, and I nodded. "Oh yeah." Momo answered.
"And it's not a pretty sight." I added, remembering my fight with a Hollow known as Shirker, who was dragged into Hell after I broke his mask. It was the first Hollow I defeated on my own.
"There's no way Hell would make off with a living human." Renji continued.
"Hope you're right." Ichigo muttered.
"By the way, what are you doing here at our school Renji?" Momo asked, looking over at him.
"I've been put in charge of this town, remember." Renji reminded her. "So, if anything strange happens, it's my job to handle it."
"That's all well and good Renji, but it isn't what she asked you." Uryū said, pushing up his glasses. "We all know why you're in town in general, but she asked why you're here at our school."
"And I just explained it." Renji replied, raising his voice. "Dumbass."
I rubbed my temples and groaned. "Okay, shut up, both of you!" I snapped, from between them. "Please, the last thing I need is you two getting into an argument."
Both of them looked down at me and I avoided both of their eyes.
"The thing that worries me is what happed with the girls earlier." Chad voiced, referring to the fact that none of our classmates remembered Orihime, like someone had erased their memories or something.
"The same thing happened back when Rukia disappeared." Momo reminded.
"That's it." Ichigo concluded. "The fact that someone went as far as to use memory replacement, means that Orihime's disappearance was no accident."
"But who would want to kidnap Orihime?" I asked, looking across at my brother.
"I say we go to her apartment to try and find out." Uryū voted.
We all nodded and stood up.
"Aren't you guys supposed to be in class?" Renji called after us.
"Oh lighten up." Ichigo chuckled. "This is more important."
"Besides, normal teenagers cut class all the time." Momo added, giggling.
I waved back at Renji. "And hey, with my brains, I can afford to skip a few classes." I giggled.
Ichigo rang the doorbell and tried turning the door handle, no luck. Chad volunteered to break down the door, but instead Uryū opted to pick the lock instead.
"You know what, you kinda have a knack for sneaky jobs like this, Uryū." Ichigo noted.
"I don't think I like what you're insinuating." Uryū replied, unlocking the door.
"Score one for Zak's sneaky boyfriend." Momo chuckled.
I rolled my eyes and shot her a glare, "Bite me." I spat, following Uryū inside.
Orihime's apartment was completely empty. The kitchen faucet was dripping and her bed looked like it had been slept in.
"Looks like she had company." Chad noted, pointing to the two cups of tea on the round table in her bedroom.
"Whatever that strange Spiritual Pressure was, Orihime invited it in to have tea." Uryū inferred.
"It must've taken the form of someone she knew and trusted." I added, tapping my chin.
A ringing suddenly went off. I blinked and reached into my book bag, but it wasn't my Soul Pager going off. It wasn't Momo's either.
"It looks like someone's calling me." Renji muttered, looking at his Soul Pager.
"When did you two get those things?" Ichigo asked me and Momo.
"When we left the Soul Society." Momo answered. "Captain Komamura gave it to me, along with his and Tetsuzaemon's numbers already in the contact list. And he also gave me a little charm that looks just like him." she smiled and pointed to the gold and white dog charm.
"Captain Kyōraku gave me mine, along with his number on speed dial one, and Nanao's on speed dial two." I held up my Soul Pager, which also had a pink flower charm.
Renji put his Soul Pager on speaker so we all could hear, and a little girl's voice came from the other line.
"Now that's just creepy." Momo muttered, shuddering from the girl's high-pitched voice.
"Why did you kidnap Orihime?" Ichigo asked, demandingly.
"Hmm, that question's no fun." giggled the little girl. "I don't think I'll tell you that." after a few seconds of silence, she continued. "Let's play a little game."
"What kind of game?" Ichigo demanded.
"A fun little scavenger hunt." the girl replied. "And if you guys win, I just might return your friend to you."
"Why you little-" Ichigo started to say, but took a deep breath and exhaled. "What do you want us to do?"
"Get to the park down the street from you in the next three minutes." the girl explained. "If you show up even one second late, there's not telling what might happen to your friend. Talk to ya later!" and she hung up.
Knowing we had no other options, we all ran down the street, heading for the park.
"This little girl has a twisted sense of humor." Momo noted as we ran.
"No joke there." I agreed.
We picked up the pace so we could make it in time, but it turned into a competition between Ichigo and Renji.
I sighed. "Doesn't he realize that the only ones who can see Renji right now are us?"
"I don't think he really cares." Uryū admitted.
We made it to the park just in time. I put my hands on my knees and caught my breath. The payphone began to ring and we all crowded into the booth.
"Congratulations, you passed the first test." the little girl answered.
"First test?" Momo questioned.
"For the next test, go to the supermarket, the one over by the big shopping mall." the little girl ordered. "I'll give you three minutes to get the phone okay?"
"But that's miles away!" Ichigo yelled. "We'll never make it."
"You'd better." the girl replied. "Or something bad will happen to your friend." she hung up.
We bolted in that direction, running as fast as we could.
"If I would've known that we'd be running all over town to find Orihime, I wouldn't have worn this stupid skirt." Momo huffed.
"No kidding." I agreed. "This skirt and these sandals, not the best attire for running all over the town."
The supermarket was up ahead and it almost looked like we would make it. The phone started to ring and we almost made it, but someone else answered it first. Chad ran up to him and Ichigo took the phone.
"Too bad, you failed the test this time." the girl informed, sadly.
"We got here in three minutes." Ichigo reminded.
"Sorry." the girl apologized. "Someone else answered the phone. That means you loose."
"But you never told us that before." Ichigo grunted.
"Guess it slipped my mind." the girl defended, before hanging up.
"Damnit." Ichigo cursed, slamming the phone down on the receiver.
After a minute, the phone rang again, and this time the little girl told us to go to a small shop on the other side of town. A little shop we knew all too well.
Ururu and Jinta were outside Kisuke's shop when we ran onto the property.
"Are you guys crazy!?" Jinta exclaimed, once we all came to a halt.
"Where's the phone?" Ichigo asked. "We need to use it right away."
Tessai and Kisuke stepped outside. "Welcome Kurosakis and Friends." Kisuke greeted. "Oh, the phones inside if you need to use it."
The phone suddenly rang and we ran right past the shop owner. "Thanks Kisuke!" I called, skidding to a halt once Ichigo picked up the phone.
"How did you get this number?" Ichigo asked the girl on the other line. "And where are you calling from?"
"Can we trace the call?" Chad wondered.
"I think only the police can do that." Uryū reminded.
Kisuke walked up behind us. "I can record the call if you want." he suggested.
We nodded in agreement and Kisuke pressed the record button an a crassest player hooked up to the phone line.
"Go back to your friend's apartment at eight tonight." the girl told us. "Who knows, she might be there."
"But why wait till tonight?" Ichigo asked, getting very impatient.
"My, my you're such an impatient boy." the girl giggled. "Eight tonight. See ya." she giggled again before hanging up.
"It sure does sound like a kidnapping." Kisuke concluded.
"I highly doubt that whoever is behind this is just gong to give Orihime back tonight." Uryū added. "I'm certain it's a trap."
"The fact that they knew the number to call here at the shop also means it's not an ordinary person." Yoruichi noted.
"So, you're saying it's a Soul Reaper?" Ichigo questioned.
"I didn't say that." Yoruichi corrected. "The fact of the matter is that we don't have a lot to go on."
"What do you think Kisuke?" I asked, glancing at the store owner.
"I have to agree with Yoruichi." Kisuke answered. "We don't have a lot to go on yet."
"So eight o'clock tonight." Momo reiterated. "We'd better be prepared for anything."
"Eight sounds good." Jinta muttered from behind me.
"Why, you're not going with them." Ururu reminded.
"No, but Renji won't be here, so that means we don't have to cook dinner for the moocher." Jinta replied.
Renji groaned and fell over, his head landing on my lap.
"Wow, that's pathetic." Momo stifled a laugh.
I couldn't help but giggle.
Eight rolled around and I stood outside of Orihime's apartment, in my Soul Reaper form, along with Ichigo, Momo, and Renji. Chad and Uryū met up with us.
"Any signs of life inside?" Uryū asked, standing next to me.
"Nope." Momo answered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Hey, how come you're not wearing that cape of yours?" Ichigo asked, looking over at Uryū.
"Oh, I had to take it to the cleaners." Uryū answered.
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "You're Quincy uniform is dry-clean only?" I questioned.
Before I could get an answer, a bright light radiated from Orihime's window. We all ran to the front door, which was locked.
"Chad, break it down." Ichigo said.
But, the door suddenly opened and Orihime stood in the entryway.
"Think back to last night, what do you remember?" Ichigo asked her, ready to get some answered.
"Well, first there was school, since the new semester started today." Orihime started. "Then Tatsuki and I ate ice cream and got headaches from eating it too fast. Then I did my homework, had dinner, and went to bed."
I blinked. "Orihime, the new semester started yesterday." I reminded.
"Huh?" she questioned.
"They erased her memory too." Renji noted. "She lost a day."
We went inside, trying to sense any other Spiritual Pressure around the house. From what I could tell, Orihime looked and seemed like herself, but something was still bugging me about this whole situation.
Ten minutes passed when suddenly there was a surge of Spiritual Pressure, and the lights in Orihime's room went off, followed by a small earthquake.
"What the hell?" Momo gasped, bracing herself.
It looked like there was a twister or something forming just outside the apartment. Then, Orihime's eyes glowed red and she grabbed Chad and held him in a chokehold.
"Monster, you're not Orihime!" Momo spat, gripping the hilt of her Zanpakutō.
"That's still Orihime's body they're possessing." Uryū reminded.
Chad collapsed to the ground and Orihime stood in front of us. She suddenly morphed into someone else, a tall man with glasses and duel green and blonde hair.
"Bastard!" Ichigo cursed. "You're the one who's been calling us."
The man chuckled. "That's just ignorant." he rebuked. "Do you really think that little voice could come from somebody like me?"
"He has a point." I noted, glancing at my brother.
"My name is Kurōdo." he introduced.
Then, someone else appeared from the ceiling, landing next to Kurōdo. "Nice to meet you, I'm Noba." he added.
Kurōdo laid his foot on Chad's back. "We'll be taking this one with us." he said.
A bright, red light appeared behind them and the gate from the previous night appeared once more. Chad was sucked into the vortex.
"Chad no!" Momo called, jumping to the roof. Ichigo and I followed her.
Sitting atop the gate was a little girl with, short blonde hair. On her right was a girl with long, copper brown hair in high pigtails. On her left was another girl with duel colored black and orange hair, tied together in a long braid, with a portion of black fashioned like cat ears on the top of her head.
"So you're the little brat that's been calling us." Momo concluded.
"My name is Ririn." the blonde girl giggled. "And these are my sisters, Kitsune and Neko."
Noba and Kurōdo appeared atop the gate and Renji joined us on Orihime's rooftop.
"I don't think I can kill a kid." Renji admitted.
"Agreed." I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"I'll deal with the guy in the hat." Ichigo called.
"Then I'll take the clown in the hood." Renji added.
Momo narrowed her eyes. "The girl in the pigtails is mine."
"Then I'll take the chick with the cat ears." I claimed.
We all jumped into air, unsealing our Shikais.
Ririn giggled. "Silly Soul Reapers." she noted.
The gate's glow intensified and suddenly vanished before we could even land a hit. We landed on the roof and just stared up into the night sky.
"Damnit!" the four of us Soul Reapers cursed.
"So much for trying to get back into the normal swing of things." I thought to myself.