Guess what? I'm still alive!

And I would never abandon this story. So don't worry about that.

I'll keep it in Ichigo's point of view mostly, but there will be Orihime's too as a minor perspective.

Could it get any worse? Yes

A good trick in this situation is not to panic. I remember when I was about thirteen, not long after Two was killed, and Zangetsu went through various scenarios where I might be in serious trouble and he may not be there.

For instance:

a) I find myself surrounded in a public place by Hollows and he is nowhere in sight.

Stay calm, and don't rely on humans to protect you, because they are weak next to me and the Hollows.

b) He is dead and I am being chased by them.

Don't stop, no matter how frightened or upset I am. Do not fight unless I know I can handle the consequences. By that, I mean that if I do actually manage to somehow defeat a Hollow army, expect there to be reinforcements.

Naturally, we didn't actually bother discussing a situation in which I might find myself close by to a Hollow, and that Hollow may not even know I am the enemy.

I've been keeping a close watch on Momo, but she doesn't seem to be pulling out a walkie-talkie or anything like that, so I am to assume there really is the possibility she doesn't know I am Loric. But, unfortunately, it is getting darker and darker as we get into the night and we are now under the cover of trees on the Spook Walk. Oh, and I am still holding Rukia's hand.

Not relevant.

Shut up.

'Just to warn you Ichigo, Grimmjow and his mates always sign up to be the monsters on the Spook Walk,' Toshiro says, and I can just make out his eyes narrowing in the light, or rather, lack of light.

'So, they may try to give us hell,' I mutter.

'Isn't that the point of the Spook Walk?' Rukia says with a daring grin.

'Yeah, I guess so. So, how come I haven't seen you around school, Momo?'

Smooth.

'Oh, my family and I have been away for a bit,' Momo says with a tired smile.

Does 'away' mean training to kill Loric children?

You worry too much, Ichi.

'Where abouts?'

'New York area. We visited it a couple of times.'

Dig ding ding ding ding! The New York area; the place where they almost caught Nine a few weeks ago. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, now would you, Miss Hinamori?

'Did you go up the Empire State Building?' Toshiro asks.

'Yep, and I spent a long time in Central Park, too. It's really amazing, you know, you should really go there one day!'

'Yeah, that sounds great-' Rukia begins, but at that moment we hear a creepy scream somewhere nearby, and we all stop walking, grinning as we realise the actual spooky part is about to start. I personally think Halloween is overrated, but Rukia seems really excited so I guess I might enjoy it.

Suddenly, a figure dressed in black with a painted pale face and plastic chains smeared in crimson jumps out from behind a tree. Momo and Rukia scream in delight and Toshiro gives a little yelp. I decide to act surprised, despite the fact that I could actually sense the spiritual pressure of the person behind the tree.

Heh, no more surprises for me.

The figure runs off into the night, making ghoulish noises in a desperate bid to frighten us. We laugh, and Toshiro mutters, 'You're going to have to do better than that.'

'It's only the beginning,' Rukia says excitedly.

We continue to make our way through the forest, the occasional figure dressed in various monster outfits jumping out to scare us. They have actually given this whole setting an awful lot of thought, with the plastic spiders the size of footballs dangling from trees and the ghostly shrieks in the distance. The girls seem to be enjoying themselves, though I notice they are huddling closer together and Toshiro goes a little quiet whenever they get a surprise.

Heh heh heh, Shiro sniggers. They'll be scared as shit by the end of this. Sure you're not getting freaked out, Four?

As if. Being able to sense the spiritual pressure is a bit of a spoiler.

Another figure appears through some artificial mist being pumped out by a machine at the base of a tree. This one is extremely tall and dressed as a vampire, and I recognise him as the one that Rukia hit on my first day at school, Nnoitora.

'End of the line,' he hisses, a sinister grin appearing on his face. I roll my eyes, feeling that this is by far the poorest attempt to scare us.

Look out-

A searing hot pain flashes across my head and the blackened world is alight in bright sparks for a moment as it swirls at a disturbing angle. More pain erupts throughout my body as it comes into contact with the ground. I can faintly hear outraged yelling and a couple of screams over the ringing in my throbbing ears.

Get up! Don't black out!

Naturally, it all goes black.

Just my luck.

'You coming, Orihime?'

'Not right now, Tatsuki,' I reply, taking a seat at one of the computers in the school library. The bell has just gone but I want to stay after school. The computers at the convent where I live are always being occupied by other girls so I always take an opportunity to see what's happening around the world here in the library after school.

'Okay, I'm going. See you tomorrow!'

'Bye!'

I immediately click on a world news website to see if there are any big stories, and I wonder if the other Garde are as persistent as me. Probably not. I would imagine their Cêpans do it for them.

Whenever there are big stories involving teenagers, my heart skips a beat as I wonder whether any of them could be fellow Loric. Wishful thinking, I know, but there are others out there and I do need to find them. For instance, a few weeks ago in America, a father and son were attacked by a gang and the father is still in a private hospital. The boy is still missing, believed to have been captured by the gang.

Father: Cêpan.

Son: Garde.

Gang: Hollows.

It certainly makes sense to me, in any case. I'm probably just desperate.

… hear me? WAKE UP.

As I finally open my eyes, I realise I am alone. Well, aside from Shiro, anyway.

Damn, I should have taken control. You are useless, Four-

Not helping! Where are Rukia and the others? Did Momo have something to do with this?

How the hell should I know?! Get up already!

I pull myself to my feet, feeling dizzy and a bit sick. Looking down at a faint glow beneath me, I find my palms are alight like torches. Zangetsu told me that strong feelings or emotions can bring on my Lumen Legacy. It must be the panic taking control-

Oh, no. We do not need panicking. So we may need to fight- get it over with. Rescue your friends or whatever.

'Yeah... you're right...' I mutter aloud. 'What d'you reckon happened?'

Either that Hollow did something or Grimmjow and his mates have taken your friends hostage.

'Seriously, what century are they living in?' I groan.

In any case, I guess it is time to do some fighting. I wonder how this'll turn out.

Just like how some of you wanted, we should get some good Ichigo vs Grimmjow in the next chapter. REVIEW!