Author Commentary:

R. Lively: Wooooo! Chapter 2!!!

J. LaBeouf:D

R. Lively: Yes, it is very :D.

PREVIOUSLY (In case you forgot) VALUED MEMBERS OF SOUL SOCIETY DISAPPEARED WITH INTENSE MYSTERY SURROUNDING THEM! WHAT KIND OF DIABOLICAL EVIL WOULD DO THIS?!?!?!?! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE TITLE OF THE STORY AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT, THEN YOU'RE AN IDIOT!

Chapter 2

Attack of the Living World! The Mysterious Evil Continues!

For Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends, life was returning to normal after the debacle in Soul Society involving Rukia's rescue and Aizen's betrayal. School resumed for the four students and it was nice that their lives were no longer in any mortal peril. Or so it seemed…

"Kurosaki-kun! Look what I made!" Inoue Orihime exclaimed. Ichigo stared at the awkward box of mystery.

"Uhh, what is that?" He asked, careful to not hurt her feelings. She smiled brightly.

"It's a victory cake! I combined everyone's favorite snacks into one! Now we can all enjoy everything we like! I made some for everyone!" She giggled, intense pride shining on her face. Ichigo stared at the mess of food, the smell making his stomach churn nauseatingly.

"Th-that's great Inoue, but, uh, I already brought a lunch and Yuzu would be sad if I didn't eat it." He lied. She pouted for a second, but then she smiled cheerfully again.

"Mmkay! More for me!" She said happily, digging into the mess of colors. Ichigo held back the urge to vomit, the smell overpowering.

"Y-yeah, you go for it…" He muttered, trying not to breathe.

"What a rude guy, Ichigo. Inoue-san worked hard to make something special and you won't even try it. For shame." Ishida Uryū commented, straightening his glasses. Ichigo glared at the Quincy.

"You haven't tried any of it either!" He snapped.

"I'm full." He answered simply.

"Liar! You haven't even opened your bento!" Ichigo thundered, pointing an accusing finger at the small box in front of Uryū

"I had a big breakfast." He lied again. In a flash, Ichigo was standing.

"You damn liar!" He accused.

"It's not a lie, I am simply not hungry." Uryū answered again. The second he had finished his sentence, his stomach let out a long, low growl. A silence hung over the group. Ichigo's finger was still pointed at him, shaking with irritation. Uryū stared at him indignantly. The fight was imminent. A second passed, then Ichigo grabbed Uryū, his arm locked around his neck. He snatched the box from in front of Orihime, holding it under the Quincy's nose.

"Eat it liar!" He roared. Uryū struggled with the substitute shinigami frantically.

"I said I'm not hungry!" He yelled, trying to pry away Ichigo's arm. Orihime seemed oblivious to fight taking place in front of her.

"Hmm, I wonder where Sado-kun is…" She pondered, looking at the sky. The two boys stopped fighting for a moment, looking at her.

"Hey you're right Inoue, doesn't he usually sit up here with us?" Ichigo commented, his arm still tight around Uryū's neck. Uryū straightened his glasses again.

"I heard he left early. Something about not feeling too well." The Quincy told them, then coughed slightly, "By the way, Kurosaki, I can't breathe!" He snapped.

oOo

Meanwhile, the subject of Ichigo and his two friends' conversation was walking home from the school, a slight headache bothering him. It had become unusually warm in Karakura, the weather usually balmy instead of stifling. Yasutora Sado continued walking; thinking about the previous adventure he and his friends had been part of. He started to wonder how Kuchiki Rukia was doing when suddenly a young girl appeared in front of him. She was wearing a rather festive flamenco dress, making him stare at her awkwardly. She stared at him with a look that he assumed was meant to be seductive, but it seemed overdone and rather disturbing. Then, without warning, she began dancing.

"Doesn't this heat make you just want to jump up and dance!" She exclaimed, doing a dizzying spin, the nauseatingly bright colors of her dress making his headache worse.

"Not really." He answered. He started to walk past her when she grabbed his arm.

"Wait! I'm Mexican too! I had to transfer to Japan after my grandmother died! Don't you find that interesting!?" She cried desperately.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm not feeling well. Have a nice day." He explained, pulling his hand away and continuing to walk away from the strange girl.

"But! Wait! I'm a fantastic singer! I can sing in your band!" She called to him. He paused, and then looked at her.

"How do you know I'm in a band? We haven't done enough shows to make us popular." He asked skeptically. She slowly started to approach him, her eyes burning into him.

"I know a lot of things about you…For instance, I know your nickname is Chad!" She exclaimed, as if this statement made perfect sense. He stared at her.

"Uh, what?" He asked, confused. She flew at him.

"We'll talk more later!" She squealed, stabbing a needle into his shoulder, "Now it's sleepy time!"

Sado let out a grunt of pain, but soon felt his mind drift away into unconsciousness.

oOo

"Ugh, I think I have bruises on my neck now! Such barbarianism!" Uryū complained, rubbing his neck. He heard footsteps running toward him from behind, making him turn to look at whom they belonged to. It was Orihime, a worried expression on her usually cheerful face.

"Ishida-kun! It's terrible! Just terrible!" She cried, stopping in front of him, gasping for breath. Uryū looked at her puzzled.

"What? What is it Inoue-san?" He asked anxiously.

"Well, I was walking home the other day and I remembered that Sado-kun didn't get to eat any of my victory cake! So I went by his house to give him some but he wasn't there!" She explained. Uryū stared at her.

"He probably was out somewhere, you shouldn't worry. I'm sure he made it home alright." He explained rationally.

"But I stayed by the door until three thirty in the morning and he still didn't come home!" She whined. He stared at her again, this time in disbelief and shock.

"Wha?! What were you thinking?! Go home this instant and rest!" He ordered.

"But I just got here! And I didn't even have to change!" She said, trying to sound logical. He turned her and pushed toward the direction of her home.

"Go home this instant! I'll have an excuse made for you!" He insisted. Orihime pouted for a moment, but listened and started the long walk home. She suddenly turned, waving at him madly.

"Tell Kurosaki-kun for me that Sado-kun was kidnapped!" She smiled.

She seems so happy about it…he thought to himself, waving back awkwardly.

oOo

"Eh? Chado-kun disappeared?" Ichigo asked, not quite sure whether they could believe Orihime or not. Uryū raised a finger.

"I propose we go and see him after school." He decided.

"For once, I agree with you." Ichigo answered, looking away. Uryū detected sarcasm in the substitute shinigami's voice.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" He snapped. Ichigo ignored the irate Quincy, but then a female classmate interrupted their conversation.

"Excuse me Ishida-kun, but I was told to give you this." She said meekly, handing him a small piece of paper. Uryū looked surprised, but took the note, thanking the girl. He opened it carefully, reading its contents, his eyes widening as he continued down the page. Abruptly, he stood and dashed out of the classroom. Ichigo looked surprised, wondering what could have disturbed Uryū from his usually calm manner. He stood quickly and followed him, trying to find out what had made him leave in such a hurry. As he followed, he managed to glimpse Uryū long enough before he disappeared from sight. Soon, he found the Quincy running towards the roof of the school. He kicked open the door in time to see a pale, aqua-haired girl embrace what appeared to be an unconscious Uryū. For a moment, Ichigo was not sure what to do.

"Eh…Hey! What are you doing?!" He thundered. The girl looked up at him with alarm and suddenly turned, heading for the edge of the roof. Ichigo let out a yell, dashing after the girl to stop her from jumping, but she was over the edge and out of sight before he was close enough. He looked over the edge bracingly, waiting to see a bloody mess on the ground, but there was nothing. Frantically, he looked from side to side, trying to find some sign of the vanishing girl. A small flapping noise drew his attention to his shoe. A small piece of paper clung to his heel. He recognized it as the note Uryū had received moments before. Snatching it up, he read through it quickly, but was not sure what to make of it.

"What the hell is this? What does it mean?" He puzzled angrily, and then he remembered what Orihime had told Uryū about Sado's disappearance.

"What the hell is going on?" He wondered, and then realized that there was one place where he could get answers.

oOo

"Welcome Kurosaki-san! Back so soon?" The disheveled but cheerful owner of the Urahara shop smiled, his fan flipped open. Ichigo shoved the note in his face, making the owner lean back a bit.

"What does this mean?!" Ichigo demanded.

"Oh? Down to business already? You don't want any tea first?" He attempted, reading the note anyway. Ichigo continued glaring.

"No! What's this mean!?" He snapped. Urahara was silent for a moment, continuing to study the note.

"Hmm… 'I can help you regain what you have lost. I am the same as you.' Hmm, well first off, whomever wrote this spelled 'regain' wrong." He commented.

"I'm serious!" Ichigo roared.

"Me too! Spelling errors are bad!" Urahara replied, "How can you get by in life if you can't spell properly?"

Ichigo restrained himself from attacking the owner.

"What. Does. It. Mean!" Ichigo demanded again, his eyes menacing.

He was quiet for a moment, but then decided to humor the substitute shinigami.

"Alright, alright. Come inside and I'll figure this out for you." He offered, moving from the doorway to let Ichigo inside. Ichigo plopped down at the table near the back of the shop, an angry vein pulsing in his forehead.

"Hurry up and tell me what the damn note means." Ichigo snapped again. Urahara slowly read through the note, a look of serious thought in his eyes.

"I have no idea!" He answered, a large smile plastered on his face. The table went flying, just inches away from knocking Urahara off his feet.

"Godammit! Tell me what it means you son of a bitch!" Ichigo thundered, another five angry veins appearing in his forehead. Urahara decided not to annoy him any longer, seeing as how furniture was now being destroyed or becoming dangerously close to being attached to his body.

"Hmm…where exactly did this note come from?" He asked.

"A classmate gave it to Uryū and he took off. Then something weird happened." Ichigo explained.

"And then?" Urahara urged, listening intently. Ichigo scratched the back of his head, the events unfolding in his head again.

"Some girl was up there. She had Uryū and then jumped off the building when I yelled at her. I can't figure out why she'd do that."

"Well, you are very scary looking guy." Urahara commented, the remark earning him a cup to the face. He recovered slowly, a line of blood running down his forehead.

"But like I was saying," he continued, his smile faltering, "what happened after that?"

"I looked to see if there was a body, but she just disappeared along with Uryū. I found the note and figured you might know what was going on." Ichigo explained. Urahara's smile returned.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me! However," he started, quickly blocking a flying teapot from making contact with his face with his fan, "I'm not sure what to tell you."

"Uryū also told me that Inoue-san told him that Chado-kun had disappeared." Ichigo told him. Urahara was silent for a moment, snapping his fan shut.

"This is peculiar…" He muttered to himself, thinking. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that?" He asked. A very serious look of concern was on the shop owner's face.

"Soul Society has been experiencing strange events like what you've told me. A total of five captains, a lieutenant, and a lower class squad member have disappeared with very few clues to go on." He explained. Ichigo looked at him stunned.

"What?! Are you serious?!"

"It looks like whatever was committing the kidnappings in Soul Society is starting to extend its reach to the Living World. What I find most unusual about these disappearances is that only men have been victimized." He noted, thinking of all the possible culprits. He suddenly went quiet, a stony silence hanging between them. Ichigo looked at him anxiously.

"What is it? Do you know what could be doing it?" He asked tensely. Urahara looked at him, his eyes dangerous.

"I'm not certain, but it could be—" He started, but then something caught the corner of his eye. He leapt up suddenly, an enormous grin on his face.

"Yoruichi-san has come home!" He sang joyously, his arms spread, "Quickly! Break out the milk for her!"

Ichigo was barely able to dodge the overzealous shopkeeper as he jumped over the remains of the table and headed out the door.

"Hey! You didn't finish!" Ichigo shouted, watching the silhouette of Urahara disappear to follow the feline shadow. A long pause followed. The silence was unsettling; normally all nearby heard Urahara's shouts and praises of his feline companion. Ichigo opened the door, looking out to see why it was so quiet. A breeze stirred the air, but there was no sign of Urahara.

"Urahara-san? Hello?" Ichigo looked about, desperately searching for any sign of him. The breeze stirred again, stronger this time, blowing something against his feet. Looking down, he stared in utter horror at the object brushing his feet. It was Urahara's hat. Ichigo started to tremble from fear.

"Are you starting to understand now, my lovely strawberry?" A voice asked sweetly. Ichigo's head snapped up, staring at the owner of the voice. She held out a hand to him.

"Everyone's going to a better place…to become a better person…" She told him, her emerald eyes boring into him as if they could see into his very soul, "Don't you want that too…?"

"Wh-who are you!? What are you?! Where are the others?!" He demanded, sweat sliding down his temples from abject fear. She only smiled that sickeningly sweet smile.

"I can show them to you…all you have to do is take my hand…" She commanded him gently. He had not noticed, but she was suddenly in front of him, her hand brushing his cheek lovingly, "…and be mine…"

Ichigo tried to yell, but suddenly, his vision hazed and blurred, his mind overwhelmingly dizzy.

"No…" He murmured, fainting slowly, the girl catching him, a wicked smile on her face. She stroked his hair gently.

"Soon, my little Ichi-chan…soon…"

To be continued...

Author Commentary:

R. Lively: Creepy, ne?

Ichigo: WTF?!

J. LaBeouf: You're not supposed to be here!

R. Lively: Preview?

J. LaBeouf: Yosh! -ahem- ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF BLEACH!! WITH THE DISAPPEARANCES INCREASING, HELP IS SENT FROM AFAR!! AND WHAT'S THIS? WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THOSE THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED THAT HAVE NOW REAPPEARED?! BE CONFUSED!!!

Ichigo: ...I'm already confused...

R. Lively: YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! -boots him out-