Research

enjoy~

It was three minutes past five and Nasako still wasn't home. Toshiro was becoming antsy. He didn't like it when she was out this late. Man, did he sound like a father. Tapping his foot in a cliché manner, he sighed into the palm of his hand that supported his face. Suddenly, the door swung open with Nasako standing on the 'welcome' mat. Toshiro stood up abruptly, hands on his hips.

"Where were you?" He yelled the question threateningly, pointing an accusing finger at Nasako as she slipped out of her coat. She rolled her eyes. "Calm down, mom. Some kid got ran over by a car and we had to wait for the ambulance to come because Haru called the police," She explained. Toshiro narrowed his eyes as he advanced to his third seat. "Put your coat back on, we're going to Urahara's." Nasako made a face of disgust and sighed.

"Oh~hohohoho, isn't it this a surprise! Hitsugaya-taicho and a commanding officer. Let me get you some tea! TESSAI! GET THE TEA!" Kisuke hollered with a fan in his face, Tessai in the background cringing at the shrill call. Nasako wrinkled her nose in confusion, leaning down to whisper in Toshiro's ear.

"And you say this guy is a genius?" She muttered as Toshiro nodded, "I sometimes wonder myself..." He thought aloud.

"So what brings you two to this amazing establishment?" Kisuke finally asked as Tessai finished placing three tea cups. Nasako had heard rumors about a great man named Urahara Kisuke who came up with some many things, one being the Gigai, but this man was a complete weirdo. Toshiro leaned in to look at Kisuke seriously, hands on his knees.

"Urahara, no more jokes, please. My life is already Hell with that over there–" He paused to point at Nasako, "and now we need some answers about this hollow. You heard about haven't you?" Kisuke nodded with a grin on his face, his striped hat shading his green tea stained eyes. "Ichigo filled me in, being that no one tells me anything anymore," Kisuke said as he wiped away a fake tear. Toshiro shot him a dirty look before his face was swept over with seriousness.

"Well, from what I had heard from Ichigo and Kuchiki-san, this hollow has the ability to travel through shadows and is rather hard to find, correct?" Toshiro nodded. "Based on previous encounters with odd hollows, I can't really say if this is something new. I've seen a hollow like this before, but that was long ago. I'll have to look into my files," Kisuke paused to take a sip of the steamy tea in front of him.

"It's not that, it's something else," Toshiro hissed. "Matazashi, leave the room for a few seconds. I need to talk privately with Kisuke." Nasako growled at Toshiro and followed Tessai into a room down the hall. "What else is it, Hitsugaya-taicho?" Kisuke asked inquisitively, a twinkle caught in his eye.

"My third seat, Matazashi Nasako, got attacked by the hollow,"

"Oh dear Heavens! Is she okay? She seemed fine to me,"

"She's more than fine, it's just these weird things that are happening to her. Urahara tell me, what color are her eyes?" With a perplexed look, Kisuke took a moment before answering.

"A shade darker than my own, I do believe,"

"And her hair?"

"Quite peculiar, I might say. A little black in the fringe and down the sides, the rest white."

"That's the thing, Urahara. I've known Matazashi for a long time – I watched her rise to a third seat position. Her hair and eyes have always been those colors,"

"And this has something to do with the hollow, how?"

Toshiro gritted his teeth impatiently.

"What I see is different from what you see." Kisuke let out a small 'oh' before easing back into the air.

"Well then, that is different." He thought aloud. Kisuke grew silent for a moment, one hand on his chin and the other resting on his knee. He licked his dry lips whilst squinting his eyes, a thoughtful look growing upon his face. "Hmm. Do you mind if I do a quick test on– oh what is her name? Nasako is it?"

"Tch, I could care less. You've got to ask her," Kisuke nodded, clapping his hands together. That goofy grin reappeared onto his stubbly face. "TESSAI! BRING NASAKO-CHAN BACK AND PREPAIR THE MACHINE!" He screamed as Nasako reentered the room.

"Which machine?" They heard Tessai call back. Kisuke stood up brusquely, "THE SCANNING ONE!" He cried. There was a loud clatter and many footsteps before there was complete and utter silence. Kisuke sat back down onto his mat with a grin that stretched from ear to the other. Nasako cringed in horror, her eye twitching slightly.

"Well then. Nasako-chan, would you mind if... I ran a small test on you? It's nothing big; you're just have to stand in a large container while a blinding light scans you," He said as Nasako wrinkled her forehead. She looked at Toshiro who only gave her that look that she could not deny; the "I'm-your-captain-so-you-better-do-it" look. She heaved a sigh and stood up, "Yeah whatever." Kisuke squealed with joy. Toshiro wondered what was wrong with him.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeep. Beep.

"All right, Nasako-chan, whatever you do, don't sneeze, move or open your eyes... Unless you want to lose your sight, then do as you please," Kisuke said in a sickly sweet tone. Nasako rolled her closed eyes, trying to stay completely still. With a loud click, a blinding light seeped into her shut lids, a grimace wiping away her content face.

Sch-eeeeek, sch-eeeek, sch-eeeek.

The machine made a horribly annoying noise, and Nasako had an urge to open her eyes, but stopped herself because she liked seeing the world.

Toshiro watched with a smug look and arms crossed, chewing on his lip. With a loud crash, Toshiro staggered backwards in shock. "Urahara! What the hell! Is it okay?" He cried, Kisuke standing there as he shook his head. "Oh yes, it's perfectly fine. That's the sound it makes when it's done." Toshiro felt a bead of sweat dribble down his face as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh-kay~ Nasako-chan, you can come out now!" Kisuke sang gleefully, waving the fan in front of his grinning face. Stepping out, things were outlined in a spectrum of colors. Toshiro stared at her for a moment, taking in the difference of her hair. Only a few hours ago, it was grey. Now it was an offset white that contradicted her snow white hair. That smug look returned to his face.

Turning to Kisuke, he parted his lips to speak, " When will the results come in?" Kisuke stared at the weird contraption that was connect to the 'machine' before wrinkling his nose. "Hard to say. I'll call you when they come in. On the other hand, keep me posted with any changes," he said as he motioned to Nasako who was halfway out the door.

"About that Urahara," Toshiro began as Kisuke raised his eyebrows, "As she stepped out of... your scanning machine thing, her hair – her bangs – were white. An offset white," Kisuke hummed slightly as he stroked his chin. "Interesting, very interesting indeed. You go home now, Toshiro, and don't think about it too much. I'll figure it out." Toshiro nodded and said his thank yous.

As Tessai showed them the door, Kisuke turned to stare at the papers coming from the end of the machine. Taking the long roll into his hands, he took in the information before setting it down. "TESSAI! GET MY PAPERS!" Kisuke cried.

Tessai sighed, walking to the back closet. "Why does he have to yell..." He wondered aloud.

AN: I'll tell you guys this one time; I finished this in one day, no procrastination. Aren't you PROUD? Yeah so, this chapter was a little boring but I hope you found the humor in it. This chapter is actually very important to the storyline, but that's my little secret. ;) so please review, it will make me VERY HAPPY. ALSO I am going on vacation from the 18th to the 27th so don't expect any updates between those times. (: