Well, I'll admit, the lack of feedback for this story is a bit discouraging. Especially since this is my first AU story. But, I'll post this chapter just in case another chapter is what is needed for you to have an opinion for this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 2

They each felt a chill run down their spines at the sight of the body and blood-stained floor. It came as a little relief when they saw that it wasn't Toshiko who was on the floor, but one of her neighbors, Old Man Wally. He was retired and spent most of his days in his apartment. However, the fact that they saw Wally's ghost hovering just inches away from his body confirmed that his days of retirement were over.

Then the woman who lived across the hall, Ms. Smith, came running out. She was a middle-aged woman who often looked after Toshiko as if she was her daughter. If anyone knew what was happening with Toshi, it was her. She moved to check on Wally when she saw them. She jumped, then calmed down when she recognized a couple of their faces.

"Oh! Thank God! You're all friends of Toshiko, right?" Renji nodded. While he was relieved that it wasn't Toshi who was on the floor, the fact that she had yet to show herself sent a feeling of dread to the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah. She wasn't at school today, so we came by to see if she was okay. Two of our friends are chasing after the guys who just ran out and dropped a gun," explained Rukia. Worry was suddenly etched on Ms. Smith's face. It also showed on Wally's pale, wrinkled face as he hovered.

"You mean she didn't spend the night with you like old times? Oh no…" She slumped against the wall. Old Man Wally's ghost tried to console her, but he found that she couldn't see or hear him. Only the four teens in the hallway could. That was the one thing that everyone in their group had in common. They could see ghosts. But right now wasn't the time to be thinking about ghosts.

"What do you mean, Ms. Smith? Didn't she come back from the library?" asked Renji. She shook her head, and the feeling of dread intensified.

"She never came back last night. She said that she would only be gone for a while to help out a friend. I made her some food for when she got back and left it in front of her door, but it was still there when I woke up." Toshi was at the library because of him. And she was walking the streets alone because he bailed on her.

Rukia saw that Renji was beginning to panic. She knew that he was going to blame himself for this, but now was not the time. Toshiko was tough and able to fight her way out of almost anything. But they need to find her in case she did need their help.

Just then, sirens could be heard out the open window. Ms. Smith had called for help when she ducked back inside her apartment to call for help.

….

By the time Old Man Wally was carted into the ambulance with a white sheet covering him, Ikkaku and Yumichika had caught up to, beaten the shit out of, and dragged back the two teens. When the cops on the scene gave them a look, Ichigo explained to them how, when they heard the shot, these two came running out moments later and had dropped the gun. When they tried taking off, Ikkaku and Yumichika chased after them before they could escape.

The police accepted the story and cuffed the two teens when Ms. Smith identified them as the two who tried breaking into Toshiko's apartment and killed Wally. And, of course, a quick search of the place showed that Toshi was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, we want a lawyer!" yelled one of the teens.

"What you're gonna want is a damn doctor if you don't tell us what happened to our friend!" yelled Ikkaku. Before the police could tell him off for harassing the culprits, one of them, apparently the stupid one, said something of interest for everyone present.

"Well, it's not like she's going to need her stuff anymore. It would be a waste to leave it there…" he only meant to mumble it, but the cop next to him, Ikkaku, and Yumichika heard it.

"What did you say?" asked Yumichika.

"I believe what he said is enough to make us suspect that the missing persons case involving your friend, Toshiko Yamashita, is actually a kidnapping case and that these two are accomplices," said the cop.

The two teens started to panic when they heard this.

"You can't send us to jail!"

"If he finds out we got caught, he'll kill us coming out of jail!"

"Who's he?" asked a man in a suit. He flashed his badge to show that he was a detective. The two cuffed criminals, for once, remained quiet. When it was apparent that they weren't going to say anything, they were put in the backseat of a police car.

The detective then turned his attention to the six teens that were both skipping school for the rest of the day and connected to the victims.

"I'm Detective Maloni. Would you mind telling me what you six were doing here at the time of the shooting?" They explained how they came because none of them had heard from their friend since yesterday and she wouldn't answer their calls. Then they explained how they literally ran into the criminals and that two of them chased them down and the rest went to see what was happening in the building.

"I see, and you're all good friends of Toshiko Yamashita." They all nodded.

"Then could you perhaps explain a few things to me about her?"

"Like what?" asked Renji. The detective looked through his notebook.

"Well, did any of you know where she was last night or when the last time you saw her was?"

"She was at the library last night. I was supposed to be there studying with her, but…..I canceled on her." Renji was really starting to feel the guilt here.

"Okay, did she live alone? Or did she live with family?"

"Toshiko's an orphan. She's been living alone since she was able to leave the orphanage and rent an apartment," answered Rukia. The detective scribbled some stuff down before asking another question.

"Okay and what can you say about her as a person? Was she nice? Was she mean? Could she typically fight off her assailants?"

"Well, yeah. She's a nice person…" began Rukia.

"….but she can kick some serious ass when she needs to. Or wants to. She has a short-temper, and it's easy to set her off with a few key words," finished Ikkaku.

"Like what?"

"Wuss, weakling, and wimp are the big ones. She sometimes reacts to 'little girl', but we managed to get her to calm down about that," said Yumichika.

"So basically anything that implicates that she can't take care of herself?"

"Yes, but what has that got to do with anything?" asked Renji. What did these questions have to do with who took Toshiko?

"Just one more thing: does she use drugs?"

"No!" was the indignant reply from both Rukia and Rangiku. The boys shook their heads to confirm that this was true.

The detective took a few more notes before snapping his notebook shut.

"Okay. That's all I need to know for now. Which one of you should I contact should I find something?" Both Renji and Rukia held their hands up.

"We're her oldest friends. We'll act as next of kin," said Rukia.

"Okay. And should any of you hear or see anything that might help, don't take matters into your own hands. Just call me. I'll be there." He handed out his contact information and then left with the police.

Everyone just looked at each other for a while, wondering what to do.

"Well, what now? You can't really expect us to do nothing and just wait to be told by the police whether or not they can find her," said Ikkaku. Yumichika was in agreement. Despite their rough beginnings, Toshi had grown onto them like a little sister. And there was no abandoning the little sister here.

Ichigo shook his head.

"Actually, I was thinking of taking the route she would have taken to get to here from the library. She was most likely ambushed on the way home, and maybe she left some kind of clue behind. It's better than just standing around." Everyone agreed and followed Rukia, who knew the path since she walked with Toshiko to the library before.

They searched everything and everywhere. This included the gutter, alleys, dumpsters, and even an alley cat they found when they were in sight of the library. They searched thoroughly, but they couldn't even find a hair that indicated that Toshi even came by there once.

By the time they reached the library, they were frustrated and concerned. The librarian did confirm that she came and went, but nothing more.

It was late afternoon by the time they came out of the library. They all decided to head home for the day and think of a new plan of attack.

However, there wasn't anything that could be said to ease the anxiety that some of them were feeling.

….

The first thing that registered to her when she woke up was that she was in pain. IMMENSE PAIN, mind you. She struggled to remember where she was and how she got there. After a few minutes of deliberating, she remembered that she didn't know where she was and that she got knocked out cold by drugs.

Damn bastards…..that was cheating. If she ever saw them again, she wasn't going to kick their asses. She was going to murder them. Brutally. And since they were the ones to attack her, she could claim it as justifiable homicide.

And then she saw some of her blood on the cold floor in front of her and refused to remember what happened the last time she was awake. She wished she could move, but between her bindings and the lack of blood, she could barely stay awake.

"Well…look who's decided that she's too good for sleeping." Shit! That voice! He was back!

She refused to show fear, but she couldn't help the anxiety that attacked her when she heard that voice. She refused to remember what happened the last time she was awake, just like how she refused to acknowledge that this was really happening to her now. But, there was one thing that stuck to her mind, no matter how much in denial she was.

Her friends weren't going to come in time, if they even noticed that she was gone in the first place.

And that is it for this chapter. I get that this story is darker than what I usually write, but some form of feedback is needed so I know if there is anything in this story that can be improved.

Also, points for those who can figure out where I got Toshiko's last name from.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Peace out!