Man! I've finally gotten off my backside and finished the latest chapter. This is now the second long hiatus this story has had. I'm sure a few of the fans will look forward to this chapter. I'm eager (now that the holidays have started) to finish this story soon. Now enjoy the 21st chapter, then perhaps review.

21. The third wave, death's grasp

RIHOKO:

I feel something strange around me. It's similar to the one I got when the monster showed up a while ago. I can make out a mirage of what looks like a person; she's crouching down and stretching her arms. Could it be…?

"MAMA!"

*****

REIJI TAKAYAMA:

I call out to my daughter. "Rihoko. What are you talking about?" She walks forward in a strange trance. Why does she keep calling out to her mother? Has she forgotten that she passed away? Perhaps she is just doing this for comfort – no, this is different. She is literally walking in one direction towards 'Masane'.

"Rihoko get back here." I negotiate the many people to try and find her. Each step I take she is further away. "Rihoko...Rihoko! RIHOKO!"

"Hey man we've been looking for you pair." Tozawa – a friend of Masane, stops when he realises Rihoko is missing. "Where did the little girl run off to now? She's such an explorer."

I get anxious. "Dammit help me find her!"

"Okay! Okay! Just chill she used to go wandering when Melony was alive. She'll be fine."

"No this was different." I begin to feel agitated about my daughter. "She was in a sort of hypnotic state, determined she was talking to her mother."

"Well we can leave the chit-chat for later, let's look for her then." Soon we get the help from the others but it seems useless. I had begun to fear the worst scenario. Was she kidnapped?

-----

"So can you describe your daughter for us?" A policeman holds a pen and pad of paper in his hands as I describe my angel of a daughter. I sometimes wish that Masane never brought me back into this child-rearing. Once you get attached, you lose a part of yourself when you lose your child. After the collapse of Douji industries and the loss of Masane, Rihoko's all I have left. How would I cope if she never came back?

"We will try all we can to find your daughter." The officer tries to reassure me but I still feel hopeless about this whole situation. If only I was more watchful.

"Th-th-thank you..." I mutter as I drown my throat with some hot coffee.

"This is just terrible. Poor Rihoko's out there somewhere lost and scared." I hear a concerned Cho. Mariko sits down next to me and rubs my shoulder comfortingly.

"It'll be alright Mr. Takayama. They'll find her before dinner and she can make us a feast as punishment for getting us all worried!" She cast her gaze and I could hear her sniff back her tears.

"You don't need to pretend to be happy for me." I respond. "We're all upset about this, we just need to have faith that she'll return."

"Yeah." Mariko clutches my hands and whispers a prayer. "Please be okay Rikoho."

"Hey Takayama." Tozawa returns trying to maintain his cool. He dons a pair of sunglasses – possibly to hid his tears. "Can I talk to you in private for a sec?"

"Thanks Mariko." I get up and walk a few metres away from the police and the group.

"Y'know that thing you said about a trance? Her following someone she thought was there..."

"Yes."

"Well..." Tozawa scratches the back of his mopped hair allowing white skinflakes to snow down. "I think I may have seen someone as well."

"Who." I impulsively grab him.

"Well its strange coz he's dead too but I swear I saw my dad right in front of my eyes."

"What?"

"My Dad was talking to me. He complained how I 'copied his style' or something then walked off. I was too shocked to say or do anything until now."

"But maybe you were just thinking about him in front of you."

"No I literally felt his presence. I actually bumped into him – I felt the impact and it hurt. Actually." He pulls of his sunglasses. "He punched me and said I should grow up."

Could this be related in any way? I observe Tozawa's dark ring circling his right eye. If this were true, then maybe someone is involved.

"We should tell the police."

"Nah. They would say it's ridiculous and arrest me for drug abuse. I mean maybe I was just hallucinating as a result of a gas leak I dunno but I just felt like telling you my story."

"Okay then thanks." Tozawa returns to the group. My mood of despair has changed into one of interest. The only reason I may believe him is because...well I thought I may have felt a supernatural presence more than once. When a mysterious explosion occurred a while ago, Rihoko was briefly surrounded by a shimmering aura which I initially thought was a hallucination. Only she seemed to be hovering in the air. Could this kind of phenomenon have been responsible for taking my daughter?

Perhaps a bio-weapon or...no they were all wiped out last year. And why would they be invisible to everyone else? Such technology has not been developed yet. It seems I have a choice now: continue to mope around in despair and hope someone else finds my daughter, or revive my other passion and try to find Rihoko.

*****

?????

RIHOKO:

Where am I? It's cold and dark. I'm scared but I can't move. Everything seems to be swirling and growling noises enter my ears.

"MAMA!!!"

*****

MASANE:

"Rihoko!" I swore I just heard her voice. I could almost pinpoint the direction if not for this barren landscape.

"Ichigo!"

"Eh?"

"Did you just hear that?"

"A hollow?"

"No it sounded like a person – I think it may be someone I know."

"Well where did you here it?"

"How should I know dummy? We're in the middle of nowhere." I'm beginning to become agitated at this boy's lazy attitude. Yet it reminds of Higouchi ever more. "Ah forget it." I shrug the thought off and follow Ichigo into the eternal darkness...Until.

"A LIGHT!!!"

We begin to quicken our pace. It is only faint, no bigger than a lone star in the night's sky, but it's definitely something to look forward to.

Slowly, it grows larger, larger, and larger.

The light engulfs the two of us and it takes a while to regather our senses but soon we can see our surroundings. It is a dark landscape; full of desert far reaching beyond the horizon with some dead trees to add to the otherwise bleak scenery.

"Where are we?" I ask the Shinigami.

"Haven't you been here before?" He responds to me like I'm an idiot. "This is Hueco Mundo. The world of the hollows. Somewhere in these plains is our destination – a palace called Las Noches."

"Then we will find a way home right?"

The boy groans. "Yeah sure."

I cheerfully salute to the frozen lands. "TO LAS NOCHES!"

*****

REINA:

My daughter remains in a state of suspended animation while my comrade and I transport her to the palace. I know we have failed our intended mission but perhaps Maria will be interested in this token.

Suddenly my skin burns at the sit of contact with Rihoko. I instinctively drop her and yelp in pain. Stark manages to grab her before she falls.

"What gives lady?"

"I'm not sure." Actually I'm afraid I might know. Her reatsu has heightened ever since we brought her here. It is radiating something unlike a normal human's would but rather something closer to...

"She is ready..." I state to Stark.

"For what?"

"To inherit the Witchblade."

Gasp Rihoko's been kidnapped and sent to the scariest place of all - Las Noches. Now Reina has hypothesised that she may soon obtain the mighty Witchblade. What effect could this have on Rihoko? Masane? Or even the fate of the world? Let's find out in the next exiting chapter!