Disclaimer: Do you think if I stockpile enough laundry bleach, I'll be able to convince Kubo Tite to trade me the anime Bleach for it? No? ::sigh:: Still not mine, then...
Author's Note: This story has had over 1000 visitors and over 2600 hits! I am utterly amazed! I'm especially grateful to the 12 people who have reviewed (five of whom have been reviewing repeatedly, thank you so much!!)! To those of you who have been reading but not reviewing, I hope you are enjoying the story. I understand completely about not always having the time or energy to comment. But all reviews, even very short ones that only say whether you liked or disliked the story, are extremely appreciated! Every comment is incredibly helpful, both as simple encouragement, and as advice and input about where you'd like the story to go. So if you do have the time or energy, I hope you'll consider dropping me a line, through review or PM. I always show my appreciation for reviewers by responding to every signed review I receive. Anyway, to the people who reviewed over the last couple days: Thank you again!!

By the time Rukia reached the location of the hollow attack, she knew she was far too late. She was also extremely confused. While she had darted from rooftop to rooftop, she had followed the fight with her senses. The hollow's power had surged for a brief moment, and then the hollow hunter's reiatsu had plummeted. Whether he had been killed or simply knocked out, she did not know. But then, to her complete bewilderment, a third reiatsu had appeared on the scene, and this one she had recognized. It was Kurotsuchi Nemu, the fukutaichou of the 12th division, who, along with her father the captain, had been missing and presumed dead for months.

Her reiatsu, though still familiar, had felt strangely changed. Any shinigami trained to do so could glean certain aspects of a person's personality by studying their power. There had always been an analytical, almost robotic, quality to Nemu's. It had always been easy to accept the fact that Nemu had been created by science, as her reiatsu clearly felt alien and unlike anyone else's. The surge of power Rukia had felt as she ran towards the fight had been different, though. The logical, analytical bent had still been there, but it no longer had felt robotic at all. There had been passion, anger, and grief, as well as fierce determination, mixed in with the cold rationality that was the norm.

What could have pushed such emotions onto the surface of someone as completely unemotional as Kurotsuchi Nemu? More importantly, how on earth was Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou even alive? Where had she been for the past few months, and why hadn't she contacted the Soul Society? All these questions, and more, were spinning through Rukia's mind as she came to a stop at the scene of the attack. Even curiosity and concern for the mysterious hollow hunter had been pushed from her mind at the revelation that one of the casualties of the war might not be a casualty at all.

Then she looked around the area and all thoughts fled. With her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open in shock, she turned in a slow circle. Surrounding her was utter destruction. Buildings were crumbling, their walls splintered and their roofs caved in. The road had been torn up and ripped apart like old carpeting, and huge chunks of pavement had been thrown in all directions. The single street light in the blast zone had been twisted into a pretzel and flattened against the ruined street.

"But-," Rukia whispered, amazement driving her to voice her thoughts aloud. "But the fight only lasted for seconds! How on earth could all this have happened in such a short time?"

A moment later, finally shaking off her shock, she started to move towards the nearest pile of rubble. She thought she could still feel Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou's reiatsu, albeit very faintly, somewhere in this area. Hopefully it wasn't just residual energy from the fight, and the missing shinigami was still here somewhere. Before she could start her search, though, motion to her left drew her attention. It was Inoue and Ishida, running toward the scene of the attack.

The two of them didn't appear to see Rukia where she stood in partial shadow next to one of the shattered buildings. Instead their eyes were pinned on the devastation in front of them. Inoue's face had turned pasty white and one of her hands had come up to cover her mouth in distress. Ishida also looked horrified, which worried Rukia. The young Quincy was not the sort to allow his emotions to become so visible. She started forward to meet them, and Ishida turned at the movement. Seeing the shinigami, he nodded briefly, but before either of them could say anything, Orihime let out a desperate shout.

"Tatsuki-chan! Tatsuki-chan, answer me! Where are you!?"

Rukia's jaw dropped and she exclaimed, "Tatsuki!? Why would Arisawa-san have been here?"

Inoue either didn't hear, or was ignoring everything going on around her, because she didn't respond. Instead, she rushed into the middle of the broken street and started to dig around in the rubble, frantically looking for her missing friend.

Rukia turned to Ishida and asked again, "Why would Arisawa-san have been here?"

Ishida bit his lip then said simply, "It was her."

"What do you-," she stopped as Ishida started to walk over to join Inoue in her search. Running after them, Rukia tried again, "What do you mean 'it was her'? What was Arisawa-san doing?"

Ishida knelt down next to a pile of jagged-edged concrete and started to shift through it. He didn't look up as he answered, "Arisawa-san is the one who has been fighting the hollows recently."

Rukia's jaw dropped and she exclaimed, "What!?"

Immediately, her thoughts fled back to the fact that she had started in this direction after having sensed the unknown hollow slayer fleeing from Inoue and Ishida's presence. He, no she, had stopped here, and-. She blanched and dropped to her knees to start shifting a different pile of debris. In her surprise over Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou's reiatsu, she had completely forgotten the injuries that had almost surely been dealt to the hollow hunter. To Tatsuki. She shuddered as she remembered the way the girl's reiatsu had suddenly cut off.

Finding nothing in his pile, Ishida moved over to a rent torn through the middle of the street and started digging around inside it. As he worked, he continued speaking, "We caught her just leaving the scene of a hollow attack earlier. She'd hurt her leg, but when Inoue-san suggested it be treated, she exploded at us."

He sighed, and shook his head. "It would seem she's known about hollows for a long time, and taught herself how to use her own power."

Rukia was impressed, despite the overwhelming concern still running through her. Ichigo was a prodigy when it came to most spiritual skills, but even he had needed teachers. For Tatsuki to have self-taught herself well enough to fight and defeat so many hollows over the last few weeks, to say nothing of the battles she had surely faced during the years of the war, was nothing short of astounding. Perhaps Tatsuki wasn't as powerful as some, but that would likely change if she could have the benefit of a teacher. Rukia bit her lip, reminding herself that they would have to find the girl alive first, before thinking of future training.

Ishida paused for a moment, then started speaking again, his tone heavy with regret. "I realized soon after we returned from Hueco Mundo that first time that she had developed power," he said softly. "Kurosaki's fault again, no doubt. But I said nothing. I knew Inoue-san and Kurosaki would prefer it if she stayed out of these affairs, and I thought it best also."

Rukia stopped digging for a moment, frowning over at the boy. "Isn't…isn't that what you accused your father and my nii-sama of doing, though? Holding someone they love back for their own safety? Or helping someone else to do that, at least?"

Ishida flinched, but nodded. "I made a mistake. One I will do my best to atone for, as soon as Arisawa-san is found."

Suddenly his eyes widened behind his glasses. He gestured urgently for Rukia to join him. "Kuchiki-san, I think I feel something warm down here. Help me move this cement! Arisawa-san may be under it!"

Rukia leaped to her feet and ran over to help. Before they could start to lift the block of cement, though, there was a cry of anguish from nearly ten yards away. They both turned to see Inoue pulling a black fabric belt from the splintered house wall that had trapped its folds. Even from the distance, they could see that it was wet, and the black coloring was tainted by another, indistinguishable, dark color.

Inoue turned to face them, her eyes wide with shock and horror, her hands trembling as she held the cast-off piece of clothing. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she said weakly, "It…it's…covered in blood. It's T-tatsuki-chan's."

Rukia immediately whirled back to the cement they needed to lift. They needed to get this off so they could reach the girl and tend to her injuries before it was too late! She didn't really register Ishida's confusion as he moved to help her, but she did hear him mutter, "But if the belt is all the way over there, and she was injured so badly, how did she get over here?"

The question made sense an instant later, as the cement block tumbled to the side. Lying unconscious in the narrow crevice, a small trickle of blood from her forehead the only sign of injury, was Kurotsuchi Nemu. There was no sign of Arisawa Tatsuki in all of the ruined area, save only the bloody belt clutched in Inoue's quivering hands.

Author's Note: Hehe, well, I did warn you there'd be more cliffhangers, right? So where has Tatsuki disappeared to? And where has Nemu been, and why is she here now? ;) You'll find out next chapter!

A quick note on Inoue: I do not find her to be a weak character! I think she's actually quite a strong character, and she could probably be incredibly powerful if she let herself. Her problem is a lack of confidence, not a lack of power. In this chapter, she probably seems rather weak, but remember she's had a huge shock, and her closest friend is seemingly hurt and missing. Starting next chapter, her strength will begin to show. In fact, some people might think I'm writing her with too much of a backbone, given her typical behavior in canon. My excuse is that I truly believe that after 3 years of war, she'll have gained a good deal of confidence and maturity that she doesn't have yet in canon. Anyway, that'll start next chapter, so I hope you'll let me know what you think.

Anyway, stay tuned next chapter for a number of revelations and explanations! Chapter 10 will be coming your way on Friday, May 1!