Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I wish I didn't have to type this at the head of every chapter, but I guess better safe than sorry :/

Chapter 3: Confusion

Ichigo stared blankly. "Missing?"

"Yes, missing. Do you understand now? We have to figure out what's going on."

"Hold on…" came a quiet voice from the hall. "What do you mean Toushiro has gone missing?" Karin was standing in the doorway to her brother's room, holding a tray of snacks. "What's going on Rangiku-san?"

Matsumoto's eyes saddened once again as she looked over to the young Kurosaki.

"We shouldn't talk about this here." Karin set the tray down on the chair near the door and rushed forward, grabbing Matsumoto's shihakusho.

"Please Rangiku-san! I need to know what's going on!" Ichigo quietly grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. He squatted down so that they were at eye level with one another.

"Karin, I know Toushiro is your friend, but this is dangerous. If a captain has gone missing, whatever we're dealing with must be strong. I can't let you face it."

"But-" Ichigo held up a hand.

"Actually Ichigo, I think Karin should come with us. He is a precious um… friend to her after all…" Karin looked gratefully at Matsumoto, and then expectantly at her brother. The count was two against one and so despite his worries, Ichigo conceded.

"Fine, you can come. But if there is a fight, there is no way I am letting you get involved. Do you understand me?"

"Thank you Onii-chan!"

"Oi, what is she doing here?" Jinta drawled as he pointed an accusing finger at Karin, who glared at him.

"Shut up shorty. Why can't I be here? This involves me too."

"What, that a captain went missing? Get real. How does this involve you?"

"He's not just a captain, idiot. He's…"

"Oh yes, of course." Jinta smiled slyly. "The shorty with white hair is also yo-mmf!" Karin grabbed him, slamming a hand over his mouth. Hearing the scuffles behind him, Ichigo turned around and saw his younger sister with the red head in a headlock.

"Karin…? What are you doing?"

"What does it look like she's doing?" Jinta spat out as he tried vainly to get away. "Argh, get off me yo- woahh!!" he screamed as he was hoisted into the air by an extremely muscular Tessai. When the two kids had stopped struggling in his grasp, Tessai set them down on the ground.

"Alright everyone!" Urahara called with a snap of his fan. "Come in. It seems we have some very serious matters to discuss."

"And that's what happened. He just disappeared. Right after our phones alerted us to the pulses, I contacted him and asked him if he needed assistance. He told me to keep patrolling the town and that he would proceed to investigate the aforementioned pulses. Several hours later, I tried contacting him again but I couldn't get through. I also can't sense his reiatsu…" Matsumoto looked down at her cup of tea, at a loss for words.

"Well," Urahara started, "it's apparent that whatever is causing those bursts of reiatsu is responsible for this. I've been doing some research and we have a few things confirmed. However, Ishida-kun, could you do me the favor of answering this question?"

Ishida, who had showed up at Urahara Shoten after feeling the congregation of spirit powers there, looked up at the store manager.

"You said you sensed reiatsu whenever objects disappeared. Could you tell if they were from the same hollow?"

"They didn't seem to be. But it was a little weird. All the bursts had something in common with the others, but the wavelengths were definitely different. I felt like I even recognized some of them, although I couldn't recall where I had sensed them before."

"I see. That's actually very useful information. Because these bursts of reiatsu never occur simultaneously, I've concluded that there is only one source. But as you said Ishida, every time we sense the reiatsu, there's something different about it. This leads me to believe that the hollow is somehow manipulating the wavelengths of its reiatsu. But Hitsugaya-taichou confirmed with me earlier that Menos Grande, and yes, it is a Menos Grande, cannot mask their reiatsu. I think I have an idea of what's going on, but I'll need a bit more information. If someone can help me get a visual of this elusive hollow, or a sample of its spirit energy, I'll figure out the rest."

"… But Urahara-san," Karin asked slowly, "what makes you so sure that the missing objects have anything to do with this hollow? I mean I know it's hard to take it as coincidence that the energy bursts occur at the same time the objects go missing, but still… Toushiro was going to answer me, but he had to leave…"

"Well-"

"Hitsugaya-taichou also lost an item," Matsumoto cut in, "when he faced the hollow last night. He told me that the river froze over and he was at the center of the energy pulse. He said he managed to freeze what he thinks was the hollow but the ice exploded. When he came to his senses, he noticed a shadow that looked suspiciously like Hinamori… But it disappeared quickly. When the smoke cleared, he realized that the crystal around his neck was gone."

"Woah now, hold on." Urahara motioned to Tessai who quickly flipped open a notebook. "That's important. Where did Hitsugaya-taichou get the crystal?"

"Hinamori asked me to give it to him, as a reminder to stay safe in the human world."

There was a silence as everyone processed the information. Finally, Urahara spoke up.

"Alright, it's late. Everyone go home and get some rest. It seems as though this is more complicated that it first appeared to be. I still need a visual on the hollow, or some sample of it that I can study. And Kurosaki-kun, Karin-chan, please remember to ask around about the missing objects."

They all bid their good-nights and left the shop.

"STRAAAAAAAAAAAWWBERRRRRRRYY!!!" Whack.

"Hm… 'sup Keigo?" Ichigo looked at his outstretched arm, and then down at the face that had run into that arm.

"Ichigo! What was that for?" Keigo asked indignantly.

"Oh! Keigo, you said you lost that charm your first love gave you right?"

"Huh? Oh yea…"

"Did you notice anything weird about the disappearance?"

"Are we playing detective now? Can I join?"

"You are joining, by answering my question. Hurry up."

"Fine," Keigo pouted, "I didn't notice anything weird, oh great and masterful detective sir."

"Ugh, whatever. Oh hey Mizuiro!"

"What's up Strawberry?"

"When you lost your watch, did you notice anything weird?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno, people, animals, strange unusual phenomena, monsters…?" Ichigo tried.

"Huh…? I don't think so…"

"Oh wait!" Keigo exclaimed. "Now that you've brought up people, I do vaguely remember seeing a hazy person in the distance on my way home from school. It looked just like that girl who gave me the charm except she was still small. But she's older now, so I must have been imagining things…"

"Huh… weird…" Ichigo looked out the window as he pondered, but couldn't make heads or tails of the information he was just given.

"Hey Midori!"

"Y-yes Karin?"

"Did you notice anything weird around the time you lost your hair clip?"

"No…"

"Okay thanks." Karin ran off. Midori stared after her, not quite understanding what was going on. Next, Karin found the boy from her P.E. class.

"Oi, Hashigami!"

He answered her impudently. "What?" She glared at him, and he flinched back.

"Answer me now. When you lost your game system, did you notice something weird?"

"Why should I answer you?" Karin grabbed his shirt.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll talk to avoid getting your face smashed into the ground." Hashigami started quivering.

"Fine, fine! I didn't notice anything weird! Except that there was a large fuzzy heat blur a bit ahead of me when I realized my game was missing."

"What did the heat blur look like?"

"It was tall and skinny. I couldn't see it clearly, but at the top, it looked a bit like my mother's head. Can I go now?" Karin dropped his shirt and he quickly ran away.

"Coward." Karin muttered under her breath.

That night, everyone reconvened at Urahara Shoten. They gathered around the small wooden table at the back of the shop and told all they had learned that day.

"Hm… it seems, from what you're telling me, that certain people are experiencing the same phenomena. Kurosaki-kun, has Asano-kun showed any signs of spiritual power?"

"I don't think so… but I can never be sure with him. Keigo's always so weird so I can't tell whether he's being serious or not when he screams about monsters."

"Actually, Kurosaki, Asano has demonstrated quite a bit of spiritual recognition. He's been seeing hollow flying in the sky. I can sense a minute amount of reiatsu leaking from him."

Everyone looked at Ishida. He shrugged.

"Your ability to sense reiatsu seems just a little super powered…" Ichigo commented. Ishida shrugged again.

"I'm not sure what happened. One day, my ability to sense things just shot through the roof." Suddenly, Ishida stiffened. Everyone noticed the change in his gait and fixed their gazes on him, waiting for him to speak.

And then the wall exploded.

Author's comments: Long chapter :D And I'm a bit worried that I'm rambling now, because I'm typing this as I go along... Anyway, if it's confusing now, don't worry! I'll make sure everything gets explained clearly soon :D